Green Bean Casserole from Scratch - the healthiest way to make this creamy and delicious traditional dish. Made with fresh green beans and no cans of cream of soup!
Pair this delicious casserole with Oven Roasted Turkey Breast or Instant Pot Ham for a wonderful holiday meal.
This is our second side dish from our Family Day dinner. It's a classic but made from scratch, meaning no cans of cream of mushroom soup or canned beans here. It's really easy to make this dish from scratch and I highly recommend it. You can control the flavors and feel good knowing what's in it.
For holiday dinner, I like to make as many things from scratch as I have time for. I would never trade my homemade cranberry sauce for the canned stuff (yuck!) or my homemade pumpkin pie for the store bakery one. Side dishes that we have been doing the same way since forever, can easily be prepared from scratch and ahead of time! That's what I love about this Green Bean Casserole from Scratch! Make it a day ahead, refrigerate until dinner time and bake when ready. You can win some serious points for this. 🙂
Instructions:
- Cook the beans in boiling water until tender. Do not overcook them! They will finish up in the oven.
- The creamy sauce starts with bacon and sauteed onion and mushrooms and finished off with milk and cornstarch mixture.
- Top with French fried onions and bake until bubbly.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb fresh green beans
- half and half
- cornstarch
- white or baby Bella mushrooms
- bacon
- butter
- yellow onion
- salt and pepper
- French fried onions
Best tips:
- only partially cook the green beans for the best result
- use homemade fried onions, if you like
- use bacon for added flavor
Can I make it ahead of time?
Yes, you can make this casserole a day ahead and keep covered in the fridge. Top with French fried onions just before baking.
Related Recipes:
- Slow Cooker Sausage Stuffing
- Instant Pot Ham
- Oven Roasted Turkey Breast
- Slow Cooker Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀
Green Bean Casserole From Scratch
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh green beans washed, ends trimmed
- 2 cups half and half or whole milk
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 7 white mushrooms washed and sliced
- 2 slices of bacon chopped
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- ½ cup chopped yellow onion
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup French fried onions
Instructions
- Cut all beans in half and cook in boiling water until tender. Drain and set aside.
- Butter a 2qt baking dish and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, sautee bacon until crispy.
- Add butter, onion and mushrooms and cook until soft.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together milk and cornstarch.
- Add the milk to the saucepan, half of a cup at a time and whisk until it thickens.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the mixture over the green beans. Toss gently to coat.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. You can cover the dish with saran wrap and refrigerate overnight or bake right away.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Top with French fried onions and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Let sit in room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on October 10th, 2014 and updated on June 8th, 2019.
Brenda Bratton says
I never liked green bean casserole because I despise canned mushroom soup. Gonna give this a try, tonight as a matter of fact. Thanks for the recipe.. Probably will add a little dry mustard .
Anna says
I hope you love it, Brenda!
Michael in Croatia says
Just finished making it. Not difficult. If you live outside the States, you often cannot get canned mushroom soup, so this recipe was a godsend. I haven't baked it yet - will wait until dinner time, but I tasted it and it is delicious. I'm sure it will be even better once fully cooked and the flavors blend. And, of course, fresh ingredients are always preferable.
Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving.
Angie says
I am not sure as I have access to fresh green beans. Can I use frozen in a pinch?
Amalia C Oyarzun says
absolutely, frozen is better than canned.
Emily says
Great recipe that I'm going to make it again this year. I recently saw a recipe with fried leeks - slice them thinly and fry them up! I'm going to try that this time, although this part does look pretty labor intensive. One question I have is how far in advance it can be made. The recipe says overnight, but I'm wondering if I can push that and keep it refrigerated for two days. Will it keep that way?
Mari says
Excellent dish. Made it on Thanksgiving and everyone loved it!
Anna says
Thank you so much, Mari!
Peter St. John says
Take a gander at the Sodium content on Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup. Then make your own!
Monique Morgan says
What the heck is wrong with canned soup? I've made this for years -- with Frenched green beans, Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup and Durkee's French Fried Onions -- no cheese no bechamel no hand-dipping, frying my own onions -- you can make it in about 5 mins and it is DELICIOUS. I've tried it many times without the cans and it was good but didn't really WOW -- so why make the extra effort if the rest of Thanksgiving is waiting? It is my favorite Thanksgiving dish and I am a very old woman so I KNOW what I am talking about here. Make your green bean casserole and follow the directions on the soup can or the onions. Just sayin'. 🙂
Sarah says
Everyone’s taste is different and old age doesn’t imply a perfect opinion. I’ve been making green bean casserole without any of the canned ingredients, from scratch for years and I’ve always received compliments for how much improved it was over the old Campbell’s version plus it’s healthier. Thanks for another great recipe!
Anna says
Well said, Sarah! Thank you!!
Angie says
Nothing is necessarily “wrong” with using canned soup, but using fresh ingredients and making the sauce from scratch just tastes better.
Kristina says
Agree to 100%, respectfully disagree. From scratch is always tastier and healthier! You know what you're putting in and eating. Processed foods not so much. 🙃
Awesome recipe right here!
Sarah says
How many cans for this recipe would I use?
Michelle Goth says
This was way easier than I thought it would be! Thank you for sharing!
Sara Welch says
This is everything a gourmet meal dish be, and then some! Looking forward to enjoying this for Thanksgiving, indeed!
Anna says
Thanks, Sarah! I hope you love it!
Demeter says
This is a holiday must have side dish! Love that you can make it in advance since oven space is a high commodity.
Cheryl says
Can you use A P Flour instead of Coen starch
Anna says
Hi Cheryl! Yes, you can use flour. You will most likely need at least 3 tablespoons of it. I hope this helps!
AJ Johnson says
Hello...
I’m allergic to Monosodium Glutamate (MSG); that’s used in a lot of soups and various other dishes. So I’m glad the homemade recipes are an option, because I used to love green bean casserole!!!
Catalina says
This casserole dish is so tasty! Seems so easy to make!
Chrissie Baker says
I LOVE green beans, especially green bean casserole. One of my favorite meals! I can’t wait to try it!
Erin says
This Green Bean Casserole from Scratch couldn't look any more perfect!
Dorothy Reinhold says
It makes me so happy to see this casserole is made from scratch! Can't wait to try this version.
Jill Roberts says
This is absolutely magnificent, scrumptious, delicious, super yummy green bean casserole. Definitely I will prep it on the weekend for my family. Thx for sharing Anna!
Bernadina says
Thank you Anna.
Barbara says
Best green bean casserole recipe I've come across. Used it last two years for Thanksgiving and this year will make it three!
Diane says
Tastes even better with your own french fried onions! Slice 2 med. onions thinly. Toss in a bowl with 1/4 c. AP flour, 2 TBS panko bread crumbs and 1 tsp. kosher salt. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Spread coated onions evenly on cookie sheet. Bake @ 475* for 30 minutes, or until golden brown, tossing 2-3 times during that 30 minutes. Let cool while preparing your beans. Awesome!
Michelle says
This looks like a perfect side for Thanksgiving! We included this recipe in our Feature Friday blog post today for The Perfect Thanksgiving Menu!
Fay Leuck says
Do you have a GF french fried onions recipe, or is this not GF? Thanks!!
Curry and Comfort says
So much better than using the canned stuff... looks like a perfect side. 🙂
Aimee says
I love this!!! So happy to find one without the canned stuff 🙂 Pinned for Thanksgiving!
Stephanie says
Green bean casserole is hands-down my favorite Thanksgiving food... I could eat it alone and skip everything else. This homemade version looks outstanding!
Becca says
This is one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes and I refuse to eat the canned stuff anymore. Pinned!
Sue says
I love this idea --- the concept can be applied to so many of those 'old favorites' that are made with canned soup --- pinned!
realfoodbydad says
One of my all time favorite dishes, love this!