Name: Green Bean Casserole
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 2 cans green beans, drained ((14.5 ounces each)); 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup ((10.75 ounces)); 1 teaspoon soy sauce; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; 6 ounces french fried onions ((divided)); 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese; 1 cup bacon crumbles ((cooked)); 1 cup chopped mushrooms; 1 cup chopped water chestnuts ((drained))

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If you’re looking for the best green bean casserole recipe, you’ve found it! We’ve got the top variations on this traditional side dish. Think bacon, cheese and slow cooker varieties! Plus tips on how to make this casserole in advance.

Green Bean Casserole Recipe

I’ll admit it. Green bean casserole is my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. You can have the potatoes, corn and cranberry sauce. It never fails that I go back for seconds on rich & creamy green bean casserole.

Campbell’s green bean casserole recipe and French’s green bean casserole are very similar. From my research, Campbell’s is different only in that it calls for less milk and a splash of soy sauce for flavor. Both recipes are timeless, but today we’ll share with you a few different variations of the traditional green bean casserole you know and love.

How to Make Green Bean Casserole

The base of this easy green bean casserole recipe are the following ingredients:

2 cans of green beans. You can use French style or traditional cut green beans. Whichever your family prefers! Be sure to drain the green beans.
Cream of mushroom soup. You can also use cream of chicken soup, although it will give the casserole a slightly different flavor. Do not dilute the cream of mushroom soup.
Soy Sauce. Throw a splash in. You’ll love the flavor boost this gives!
Garlic Powder & Black Pepper. I love adding in garlic powder. If you don’t feel quite the same about garlic powder, leave it out or add less if you’d like.
French fried onions. Mix in half of the onions with the green beans and soup. This distributes that classic flavor into every bite!

Notice that I don’t add salt. We almost always add bacon or cheese, so when you combine that with the french fried onions, we don’t think any more salt is necessary. You can always add it after if you’d like.

Green Bean Casserole with Bacon

We’re bacon crazy. It only makes sense that we’d add bacon to this. Use store bought REAL bacon bits or cook your own then crumble it. We add about 3/4-1 cup of chopped bacon.

Green Bean Casserole with Cheese

Have you ever tried cheese in green bean casserole? It’s delish! You can use cheddar (which we prefer) or swiss cheese. Either works, but each gives a different twist to the flavor. We recommend grating your own cheese because it melts more quickly and smoothly than pre-shredded, but if all you have time for is pre-shredded cheese, that’s totally fine.

Fresh Green Bean Casserole

Yes, you can make the best green bean casserole with fresh green beans. Just be sure to steam the green beans first to the doneness that you’d like. I recommend keeping the green beans at least somewhat crisp because they will continue to cook in the casserole.

Another way to cook the green beans is to boil them for about 10-15 minutes in chicken broth and then drain when they are done. This will add to their flavor!

Can you Make and Freeze Green Bean Casserole?

Yes! Mix together the green bean mixture and spread it in the prepared pan. Before baking, wrap the pan in plastic wrap, then again in foil so it is well sealed. Freeze the casserole. Remove the casserole from the freezer 1-3 days before you are ready to serve it so it can defrost and cook more evenly.

To bake the make-ahead green bean casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, unwrap it and sprinkle french fried onions on top. Then cook it for 35 minutes. It may take slightly longer to bake this way based on how cold the casserole is, so make sure you leave time if it needs a few extra minutes.

CrockPot Green Bean Casserole

You can also free up oven space on Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving by cooking your green bean casserole in the slow cooker. Make the green bean mixture and spoon it into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2 hours until it is bubbly and heated through. I like to wait to sprinkle the extra french fried onions on top right before serving so they are crisp.

Double the Green Bean Casserole

If you are serving a crowd, double the recipe and bake it in a 9×13 pan. Plan for this to cook about 40-45 minutes.

Other Green Bean Recipes

Tools to Make This Recipe

Green Bean Casserole Queen Dish: This is a must-have if you always bring green bean casserole to parties!
Cheese Grater: The easiest way to grate cheese.

Green Bean Casserole

4.84 from 6 votes

Servings 8

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

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Ingredients

2 cans green beans, drained (14.5 ounces each)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (10.75 ounces)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 ounces french fried onions (divided)

Optional Add-Ins

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup bacon crumbles (cooked)
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup chopped water chestnuts (drained)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together the green beans, mushroom soup, soy sauce, garlic powder, black pepper and half of the french fried onions.
Add in cheese, bacon, mushrooms or water chestnuts if desired. This is optional and you can add as much or as little as you’d like!
Spray an 8×8 pan with cooking spray.
Spread the green bean mixture in the prepared pan.
Sprinkle the remaining onions on top,
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the casserole is heated through.
Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 8, with 1 serving being ⅛ of the recipe. The calories shown does NOT include calories for the optional, add-in ingredients. If you choose to add any or all of those, recalculate the calories based on what you added. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.

Nutrition

Author Julie Clark

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Calories 178

4.84 from 6 votes (6 ratings without comment)

8 Comments

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Penny

5 months ago

How do you make French fried onions for this recipe, please?

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Eva Pitman

5 years ago

I am going to make this recipe tomorrow for Thanksgiving. I would like to add the cheese, bacon, mushrooms and water chestnuts. Would I need to add more liquid so it would not be too dry?

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Sheree

6 years ago

Thanks for the great ideas! I think I will try to make this and add some smoked sausage which we are both big fans of. Sherr

Kelli Reed

I have added cheddar cheese and canned shredded chicken breast instead of ingredients you added! I cooked in my slow cooked so it would be ready later! At the last, I added remaining onions on top!

Best Green Bean Casserole