Eight Ways to Make Green Bean Casserole Your Own
There’s a reason why this iconic side dish has stuck around for over half a century. We offer multiple ways to honor this classic recipe or adjust it to your liking. Sponsored by Campbell's Soup.
Sponsored by Campbell's Soup.
Green bean casserole is an essential part of Thanksgiving. Its simplicity and sheer deliciousness have earned it a rightful place among holiday spreads throughout America for more than 60 years. Home cooks love this dish because it’s so easy to throw together and also because its primary ingredients — string beans, French onions, cream of mushroom soup — may already be in their kitchens.
This cozy dish also lends itself well to tweaks. If you’re running short on onions, it’s OK to skip them or fry some leeks, shallots or scallions instead. If you hate mushrooms, mix things up with a different soup: cream of celery, asparagus, and chicken soup are also yummy. And if you’d like to make it a main dish (because, why wait for Thanksgiving when you could eat it for dinner tomorrow?), you can easily bulk up your casserole with chicken, bacon, tofu, or more veggies! You have plenty of leeway to make this casserole your own.
While the original recipe is timeless, we’ve included a few modern updates below to suit your tastes.
1. Green Bean Casserole
Let’s go back in time to the 1950s, with what began as a “green bean bake.” With just six common household ingredients and 10 minutes of hands-on prep, this dish is as uncomplicated and convenient as it is delicious. Note how the original recipe includes soy sauce, an umami-packed ingredient that injects key flavor into the casserole with just one teaspoon. Know that as you bake this time-honored dish, you're following a decades-old tradition to a T.
2. New Green Bean Casserole
This is hands-down the easiest way to add fresh veggies into this comforting dish without losing the classic flavor. The firmer texture of fresh green beans adds a lovely twist. I also love the addition of shiitake mushrooms, which adds even more savory, complex flavor to this veggie-packed comfort food.
3. Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Make your own dairy-free green bean casserole with almond milk paired with some classic, savory seasonings. Combine fresh green beans and mushrooms with a homemade, creamy, dairy-free sauce and bake it under a mound of crispy French-fried onions. No one will know that this is a vegan alternative to the original — unless you tell them.
4. Deconstructed Green Bean Casserole
Personalize your green bean casserole by layering the creamy mushroom topping over fresh beans! This deconstructed take on the iconic dish puts it front-and-center on your plate while keeping the flavors of the original dish intact. It also saves precious oven space. To make it, briefly boil fresh green beans on the stove and assemble the delicious mushroom sauce in a pan.
5. Bacon & Cheddar Green Bean Casserole
Love the classic, but this year, you want to go all-out? Or do you have a hankering to make this a main dish? Easy peasy: Add bacon and cheddar cheese. Simply stir soup, milk, cheese, bacon, beans, and onions in a 3-quart baking dish, bake for 25 minutes, and top with more cheese, onions, and bacon, baking again for just a few minutes. Personally, I'd like to eat this twice: once for dinner, and again with eggs the following morning.
6. Low Carb Green Bean Casserole
You can stick to your low-carb meal plan and still indulge in this homey side by skipping the fried onions (and replacing them with pork rinds!). This recipe incorporates lovely heavy cream, white wine, and fresh mushrooms. Simply throw these ingredients together in a pan after you sauté some fresh green beans. Last, but not least, sprinkle seasoned pork rind crumbs over the finished product to get that savory, crunchy topping without the carbs.
7. Stuffing Green Bean Casserole
Instead of using French fried onions, this cheesy casserole brilliantly features Stove Top stuffing mix instead. The result is a creamy, classic green bean casserole topped with fluffy, chewy stuffing. It's two classic dishes in one, which majorly cuts down on cooking time and table space. (If you’re anything like me, you’re going to combine these two dishes on your plate anyway!)
8. Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole
Not only does this option let you tend to the turkey while your slow cooker does the work, it also frees up coveted oven space. This recipe dials up the casserole’s delicious onion flavor with the addition of dry onion soup mix, and deepens its taste with everyone’s favorite ingredient: bacon. Just combine cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix, and black pepper in your slow cooker. Then add bacon, green beans, and fried onions, and let it cook for 3 to 7 hours, depending on your preferred cooker setting. Easy as pumpkin pie.