Fresh Green Bean Casserole is a classic side dish, great for special occasions like Thanksgiving or Christmas, yet still perfect any time of year! This recipe features fresh green beans cooked until tender crisp in a creamy mushroom sauce. This homemade casserole is topped off with a cheesy panko topping!
The perfect green bean casserole homemade from scratch!
Fresh Green Bean Casserole
No turkey dinner feast would be complete without mashed potatoes, gravy and of course a yummy green bean casserole! My family looks forward to this fabulous side dish every year! Tender green beans cooked in a creamy mushroom sauce and topped a crisp Panko topping and cheddar cheese; so many family favorite ingredients all put together in one dish!
While I do love Campbell’s Green Bean Casserole (with canned beans and cream of mushroom soup), growing up my mom always made a fresh green bean casserole so that’s the way usually I make it too.
The green beans are cooked until crisp and I make a yummy homemade mushroom sauce (you can skip that step if you’d prefer and use Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup). Next I sprinkle in some diced red bell peppers which is not only flavorful, but makes this dish beautifully colorful and festive too.
Being prepared and doing as much as I can ahead of time, helps me keep organized and allows me to enjoy more time with family; especially when serving a big turkey dinner (I always use this printable Turkey Dinner Servings Guide and this Thanksgiving Dinner Planner)!
This Fresh Green Bean Casserole can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored in your refrigerator until time to bake. So simple to go from fridge to oven to table, giving you the time you need to prepare the stuffing, corn casserole and the rest of the fixings!
I do love french fried onions and sometimes put them on top but since this is a homemade version, I have opted for a bread crumb topping mixed with a little bit of cheese. Allowing this dish to rest about 5 minutes before serving will help the sauce thicken up.
More Side Dishes You’ll Love
- Sweet Potato Casserole – Classic casserole!
- Roasted Carrots
- Classic Deviled Eggs
- 30 Minute Dinner Rolls – Easy!
- Potatoes Au Gratin – Favorite!
Fresh Green Bean Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups green beans ends removed and cut into ½" pieces
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese divided
Sauce
- ½ small onion finely diced
- ¾ cup mushrooms about 4-5 mushrooms, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
Topping
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook green beans for 6 to 7 minutes or until tender. Drain well.
- Cook onion and mushrooms in butter until tender and onion is translucent, about 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes more.
- Add milk and cream whisking until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce.
- Combine green beans, red pepper, cheddar cheese, and parmesan cheese. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Toss with mushroom sauce and place in a 2 qt casserole dish.
- Combine topping ingredients and set aside.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Stir and sprinkle with topping. Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until bubbly and topping is browned.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
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This is an awesome recipe. Every time I make it nothing is left. The one thing I did extra and personally recommend is after the green beans are boiled to quickly put them in a ice cold water bath for about 4 to 5 mins. This stops them from continuing to cook. I noticed that before I started doing this one extra step, that after boiling and draining I was quick to add remaining ingredients as stated in the recipe and proceed to the oven to bake. The green beans seem to get a bit soggy after baking. By doing the ice bath after boiling the green beans have a better texture when the casserole is baked.
This recipe was a huge hit at our Thanksgiving
Dinner! Everybody asking for the recipe!
I am so happy to hear that, Wendy! I am glad everyone enjoyed it.
Very tasty and easy to make.
This dish was fantastic and even the non-bean lovers went back for seconds. We will be making this often.
I had no heavy cream so just opted for using 1.5 cups of 18% coffee cream. Worked like a dream.
I also had no fresh parmesan so instead used an Italian-blend of 4 cheeses which also worked well.
One recipe error … the total cheddar cheese called for is 1/2 cup, divided, yet the topping alone called for that much. I opted to err on the high side because, well, it’s cheddar. No regrets.
Highly recommend this dish.
Hi Peter, there is an additional ½ cup of cheddar cheese listed in the topping ingredients. So this recipe will use about 1 cup of cheddar cheese. But I am glad to hear those substitutions worked well for you!
This is a GREAT recipe! Tastes so much better than the traditional recipe using cream of mushroom soup. I do not eat this much saturated fat so I cut down on the cheese and it was still scrumptious. I sauteed the red peppers with the onions and mushrooms, added some garlic and onion powder and a tiny bit of Steak ‘N’ Shake seasoning to the sauce. I used a combination of cheeses including a shredded Mexican mix and blended it all in with the sauce in the pan, which helped to make the sauce really yummy ooey-gooey, almost like fondue. At the end I just poured the green beans into the saucepan, mixed, then put into the baking dish and baked as directed. For the topping I used a combination of crumbled crackers and salt and vinegar potato chips for more flavor and crunch and added onion and garlic powders to simulate the flavors in the traditional crispy fried onions usually used in the traditional recipe. This recipe is great as is and is a good foundation for changing it up some depending on your mood or to match it better with what you might be serving it with. Next time I will add some white wine and hot sauce to the sauce to give it some more zip.
Made this for dinner tonight. I used French Green Beans (haricot vert) and I did sprinkle on some fried onions and I also added some fried diced pancetta to the top. Talk about killer!
I was looking for green bean casserole recipe from scratch, because I do not like canned soups and never use them. I used a little more mushrooms and onion. It turned out so delicious! What a great way to use my garden green beans. Will be making them again for sure. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome Alena!
This was amazing! I’m always a little nervous when making something that doesn’t have a bunch of reviews, but I’m so glad that I didn’t let that deter me. I had the hardest time finding a recipe that used fresh green beans and homemade mushroom sauce, so I really appreciate your recipe even more for that. I really think that is what made it taste so much better than other green bean casseroles that I’ve tried. The boyfriend loved it as well. I made this very close to the instructions, only differences were that I didn’t use the red bell pepper and I added some french fried onions to the topping.
One thing I noticed is that you don’t mention what heat setting to keep the pan on when doing the mushroom sauce. I kept mine between medium-low to medium and it worked out fine. I also think it might be good to note to people that you shouldn’t use a non-stick pan for the sauce, as I’ve read that’s a rule when making a roux (butter + flour based sauce) if you want it to thicken properly. Mine worked great with a stainless steel pan.
Will definitely be making this again! Thanks!
So happy this recipe was a hit for you Kimberly! Thank you for the suggestions! :)
This is amazing!!! I loved it and so all my family.
Thank you for this recipe!
So glad you all loved it!
Im lookin forward to trying your fresh green bean method this year! Thank you! It definitely looked the best on Pinterest!!
If I made this without the mushrooms (hubby doesn’t like), is there additions or changes that could be made to keep it flavorful?
I have only made this as written so I’m not sure how it would change the flavor, mushrooms add a bit of earthiness to the sauce. If you try it, please let us know how it goes!
How many cans of soup would I use (if using canned cream of mushroom)?
Hi Laura, we love this green bean casserole with canned mushroom soup. It uses one can of mushroom soup.
Yep, this was delicious! (didn’t have the red peppers on hand to use though, but definitely will use them next time) My husband even commented how tasty it was. I usually open up a can of green beans because it’s just the two of us, but having made this casserole, we were both glad to have seconds, and leftovers too!
I love having leftovers of this casserole! It is so yummy, glad you guys enjoyed it as well.
That was a lot of work. Not very much flavor.
Best green bean casserole ever-light, tasty, allows the green bean flavor to come through
I’m so glad you loved it Kathryn!
I’d love to make this ahead! If I cool the mushroom sauce, can I combine everything early and pop it in the oven the day of (maybe letting it come up to room temperature first)?
I think that should work just fine! You may need to add a few minutes of extra cook time.
Hi Holly… My name is Brian Campbell from Fort Wayne Indiana. I’m including your bean casserole into my Thanksgiving day dinner.
Wish you well and a happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Cheers.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family too Brian! Enjoy the casserole!
I’m definitely making this recipe of Green Bean Casserole for Thanksgiving! I’m excited to make this casserole without canned cream of mushroom soup!
I’ll let you know how it goes over! I’m sure it will be a hit!
Thanks Holly for some wonderful recipes!
Enjoy Rose! We love this recipe!
I’m definitely making THIS Green Bean Casserole for Thanksgiving! I will let you know how this goes over! I think the homemade creamy mushroom sauce is the ticket!! Thanks Holly!
When you use 2 cans of beans how many will this serve?
I haven’t made this with canned beans but I would suggest measuring the drained beans.