Learn how to make creamy green bean casserole completely from scratch with fresh vegetables and a homemade gravy sauce. Thickened with flour and a little butter, there’s no canned cream-of soups required. Out of all the Thanksgiving side dish recipes, this is our family’s #1 favorite, and the non-negotiable on the holiday table every year.
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and additional success tips.
Thanksgiving turkey and green bean casserole go hand-in-hand. This vegetable dish has always been a beloved favorite, but ever since I began making it this way, it’s requested at nearly EVERY holiday… and not just in November!
You haven’t had green bean casserole until you’ve had green bean casserole from scratch.
One reader, Sandie, commented: “Amazingly delicious—I never serve beans because they aren’t my favourite, but now they are!!! I followed the recipe as written and it all turned out beautifully! ★★★★★”
Another reader, Katie, commented: “Yum!! Best GBC I’ve ever made. I decided to skip the homemade fried onions part and just went with the store-bought, but I followed the rest of the recipe. Your recipes were the stars of our Thanksgiving meal. ★★★★★”
This Is Green Bean Casserole From Scratch
- No cans of condensed soup
- Use fresh green beans
- Real, homemade gravy
- Homemade “fried” onions
Not only are you preparing the homemade gravy, you’re also making the “fried” onions (pictured above). Of course, this is an extra step and completely worth it if you have the time. However, with a crowd to entertain, Thanksgiving pies to bake, and a million dishes to wash, I’m here to let you know that a carton of French’s crispy fried onions taste just as fabulous! (Pictured below.)
How to Make Green Bean Casserole
“Fry” the Onions: Coat sliced onions in some flour, then beaten egg + milk, and then a mixture of salt, pepper, and Panko breadcrumbs for extra crunch. Bake. Again, you can skip these and/or use a container of store-bought crispy fried onions.
The onions are golden brown and crunchy, the perfect texture contrast to the creamy sauce!
Here’s everything you need for the rest of the casserole. You’ll appreciate it’s a simple gravy sauce without any fancy herbs, spices, or specialty ingredients. Basic, everyday ingredients can produce outstanding results.
Blanch the green beans: Rinse fresh green beans, trim them, halve them, and then blanch them. Fresh green beans give the most wonderful flavor and texture; they aren’t soggy like canned green beans.
Make the gravy sauce: Melt butter with chopped mushrooms on medium-high heat in a large oven-safe skillet. Add a little salt and pepper, then some garlic. Next, add some flour to soak up all the moisture that the mushrooms have released in the cooking process. Add chicken broth and half-and-half, and cook to thicken the sauce.
Yes, absolutely. While the sliced mushrooms add wonderful flavor and some texture to the creamy gravy, I understand they are not everyone’s favorite! You can simply leave them out, with no other changes to the recipe. Or you can replace with 1 thinly sliced bell pepper. Some readers have even used 1/2 cup of sliced water chestnuts.
You can use heavy cream instead of the half-and-half for a much richer sauce if you prefer. In a pinch, you can use whole milk. But half-and-half is the preferred choice for the best results.
Stir it all together: Add some of your breaded onions and all of the green beans, then give it a good stir.
Bake: Top with the rest of the onions and bake for about 15 minutes, or until bubbly around the edges. I always appreciate a short bake time, especially on Thanksgiving!
If you’re not using an oven-safe skillet, transfer the green beans and gravy mixture to a medium casserole dish or baking pan that holds about 2–3 quarts. Top with the onions, and then follow the same baking instructions.
How Do I Make It With Store-Bought Crispy Fried Onions?
If you’d like to skip the homemade “fried” crispy onions, you can absolutely replace with store-bought. Stir about 1/2 cup of the crispy onions into the gravy/green beans, then top the casserole with about 1 cup of them. The baking instructions remain the same. Also, here I’m using a casserole dish:
How to Make Green Bean Casserole Ahead of Time
Prepare everything as directed, except turn the oven off after the onions are done. After the sauce is finished and the casserole is assembled, set aside and allow to cool. Cover tightly, then refrigerate overnight. The next day, bake for 20 minutes at 400°F (204°C) until bubbly. You can also prepare the casserole, including topping with onions, then freeze for up to 3 months before baking. Thaw in the refrigerator, and then bake as directed.
More Thanksgiving Recipes
If you’re looking for Thanksgiving side dishes and desserts, I have you covered!
- The Great Pumpkin Pie (reader favorite!)
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Homemade Biscuits
- Cranberry Sauce
- Cornbread
- Sausage & Herb Stuffing & Cornbread Stuffing
- Pecan Pie
- Candied Sweet Potatoes
- Apple Pie
For even more Thanksgiving recipe inspiration, see all my favorite Thanksgiving pie recipes and my complete list of 40+ Thanksgiving side dishes.
Print
Creamy Green Bean Casserole from Scratch
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
- Yield: serves 8
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Learn how to make creamy green bean casserole completely from scratch with fresh vegetables and a homemade gravy sauce. Thickened with flour and a little butter, there’s no canned cream-of soups required. For make-ahead option and freezing instructions, see recipe Note.
Ingredients
Baked “Fried” Onions
- 1 medium onion
- 1/2 cup (62g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 cup (45g) panko breadcrumbs*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
Green Bean Casserole
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, ends trimmed, and halved
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms*
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons (15g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (180ml) chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) half-and-half*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- For the onions: (While the onions bake, you can blanch the green beans—step 4.) Thinly slice the onion, and separate the slices. Pour flour in one small bowl, panko + salt + pepper into a medium bowl, and whisk the egg and milk together in another small bowl. To bread the onion slices, you’ll want to use one hand for dry and one hand for wet. It helps things move a little quicker and easier. First, dip a few slices into the flour. Then into the egg mixture. And finally, give them a nice dunk into the panko and coat them well. Place onto baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the onions. Bake onions until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Flip them twice during this time. Set them aside.
- Reduce oven temperature to 400°F (204°C).
- Blanch the green beans: Bring a gallon of water and 1 Tablespoon of salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the green beans and boil for 5 minutes. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set near the sink. Drain the beans and immediately transfer them into the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain again, and set aside.
- For the casserole: Over medium-high heat, melt the butter in a large 10- to 12-inch ovenproof skillet. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to release some moisture—about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and cook for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on top and stir until combined. The flour will soak up all the moisture. Add the chicken broth and simmer for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Stirring occasionally, cook until the mixture is thick—about 10 minutes or maybe more if you prefer a thicker sauce.
- Remove from heat and add about a quarter of the onions, and all of the green beans. Give it a good stir, combining the sauce and beans. (If you’re not using an oven-safe skillet, or want to bake this in a casserole dish, transfer mushroom/gravy mixture to a greased 2–3-quart casserole dish.) Top with remaining onions and bake until bubbling around the edges, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve warm.
- Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat as desired.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare everything as directed, except turn oven off after the onions are done. After the sauce is finished and the casserole is assembled, set aside and allow to cool. Cover tightly, either in the skillet or after carefully transferring to another dish. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, bake for 20 minutes at 400°F (204°C) until bubbly. You can also prepare the casserole, including topping with onions, then freeze for up to 3 months before baking. Thaw in the refrigerator, then bake as directed.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | 10- to 12-inch Oven-Safe Skillet
- Panko Breadcrumbs: Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb found in all major grocery stores or anywhere breadcrumbs are sold. It gives the onions a heartier crunch.
- Can I skip the onions? If you’re not into the onion topping, feel free to skip it and instead sprinkle the top of the casserole with 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs before baking.
- Can I use French’s crispy fried onions instead? Yes, absolutely! Stir 1/2 cup into the gravy mixture when you add the green beans in step 6. Then top with 1 cup before baking.
- Mushrooms: Feel free to leave out the mushrooms or replace with thinly sliced bell pepper.
- Half-and-Half: I tested this recipe with varying amounts of half-and-half—this amount does the trick. You can use heavy cream instead of the half-and-half for a richer sauce if you prefer. You can use whole milk if absolutely needed, but skip nondairy or lower-fat milks. The ideal option for a creamy, rich gravy is half-and-half.
- If you’re not using an oven-safe skillet: If you’re not using an oven-safe skillet, transfer the green beans and gravy mixture to a greased casserole dish that holds about 2–3 quarts before baking.
- Want to double the recipe to feed a larger crowd? It’s easy! Simply double the ingredients. Then in step 6, remove the skillet from heat and pour the bean/gravy mixture into a large 9×13-inch (or similar size) casserole dish. Top with onions, then bake until bubbly, about 25 minutes.
Adapted from Alton Brown—he likes to add fresh ground nutmeg, but I wasn’t really a fan. Feel free to add some, though!
Reader Comments and Reviews
If I were to put this in a square or rectangular dish, what size would a single recipe fill?
Hi Gemma! A 9-inch square baking pan (or 10-inch or 11×7 inch) is deal.
Hi Sally- I made this last year for Thanksgiving & plan to again this year. I am not being dramatic in the slightest when I say I had alwayyyys hated green bean casserole; the smell of the “classic” recipe using canned beans & canned soup makes me gag. So to please my family I searched last year for a scratch version & made yours. I knew when I was making it it was going to be deliciously different & of course it was! Happily green bean casserole now graces our table at Thanksgiving 🙂 I took a shortcut last year though & used the packaged french fried onions instead of making them. I think this year though I’m going to just bake up a batch of the Alexia brand panko breaded onion rings & then cut them up a bit. Anyways, thanks so much!! (PS-also making your sweet potato casserole & sausage/cranberry dressing) Happy Thanksgiving!
Ahhh – I made the onions last night and put them in fridge and now they’re a big soggy. Do you think I can pop them back in the oven to crisp them up or would that burn them?
Hi Diane! They’ll crisp back up in the oven– and they’ll crisp back up when you bake them on top of the casserole too.
Made this for Christmas dinner. It was a huge hit. Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes!
Hi Sally! Once assemble can i cool it then freeze? Then defrost in fridge and add the onions then bake? Thank you
Yes! Cook and assemble, then freeze. Thaw and add the onions + bake.
This is an AWESOME recipe! My daughter has soy allergies and was always unable to try green bean casserole because of the canned stuff, so this year since we were hosting, I was able to try making it from scratch. My picky daughter loved this dish! The only change I made was making my own half-half (basically equal parts whole milk and light cream). Hubby said he could definitely tasted the difference homemade, and devoured almost half the pan himself. 🙂
Made this for Thanksgiving dinner, and my Dad said it was the best he had ever had. I munched on it and the baked onions all day while I cooked. It was healthy. Thank you!
We made this last year with the baked onions, but this year we fried them in oil. Much better! Thank you for this delicious recipe.
I’ll be making this for my family’s thanksgiving, it looks so good! Since our oven time is super limited I’ll be preparing before hand and putting it in thanksgiving day. I really would like to do the friend onions! I was wondering how that would work though? From the past putting them in the fridge makes them soggy so how would I go about that? I know it says to prepare them the day before and to mix them in.
Thank you!
I would simply keep the baked “fried” onions out on the counter (cover them) then mix some in right before you’ll bake the casserole. Top with the rest before baking too.
Hi sally,
This is the first time I’m writing a comment on your blog, but I had a really good idea for a substitution for the butter and was wondering if you think it would work. I really don’t like mushrooms and wanted to possibly substitute it with crumbled sausage then drain it and use 2 tablespoons of the grease from that for the butter instead. I was wondering if this would work? . I definitely don’t want to go forward with this idea if you don’t think it would work because of the sausage fat, so please let me know what you think about this addition and substitution.
Kristy
I don’t see these substitutions being an issue at all! In fact, quite delicious. Let me know how it goes!
This green bean casserole is amazing! Once I seen this pop up on your blog – I had a craving for it. I just made this yesterday and my boyfriend (whom hates eating casseroles, greens etc) has eaten almost the ENTIRE thing! Will defiantly be making this a staple around the holidays from now on. Thank you for the amazing recipe!
Sally, this was hands down the BEST green bean casserole I’ve ever had. Absolutely incredible!! I followed your directions exactly and the beans were perfectly tender and the sauce perfectly DELICIOUS!!! Thank you thank you for the recipe everyone oohed and aahed over at Thanksgiving dinner!
I know I’m probably in the minority, but I’d love to try this recipe except for the fact that I hate mushrooms! Can you offer any substitution so that I can still partake in this green been awesomeness?
You can just leave them out. 🙂
Delicious, but I prepared the green beans exactly as directed, and even after baking for longer than suggested, the green beans are still totally undercooked! Am I the only one with this issue, and is there any way to do ‘damage control’ once it’s done?
Made this for Thanksgiving yesterday and everybody loved it! I’ll definitely make this again, but next time I’ll probably double the amount of sauce because it needed a little extra after warming in the oven waiting for dinner to be served. And besides, the sauce/cream of mushroom soup was AWESOME! I’ll probably make just the soup part again soon and just eat it by itself! Oh, and I’ll probably try and find some pre-made crunchy onions next time because I learned very quickly that I’m not very talented at the whole one dry hand- one wet hand part! Thanks again for the great recipe! 🙂
Simply delicious especially the sauce. I will never use canned mushroom soup when this is so easy. You really have to constantly watch the baking onions or they will suddenly become burnt. Thank you.
Hi! I can’t wait to make this! I’m wondering how the onions hold up if I were to make them in advance? I’m worried they’ll lose their crunch factor if I make them a day or two ahead and refrigerate them. Any experience with this? Tips? Love your blog, thanks!
Hi Ashley! They’ll lose their wonderful crunch made that far ahead. You can make them a few hours ahead instead. Or, if you don’t mind less crunchy onions– you can make them a day or two ahead.
Sally – This looks amazing, I’m going to make for Thanksgiving. Question on the green beans, you say to be sure they are “halved”…can you give me a little more info., halved the length of the green bean or just simply cut in half? Thank you!
Just cut in half!
Hi Sally. Can’t wait to try this. What do you think about using coconut cream instead of dairy based? Thanks!
Worth a try!
Hello Sally, This looks delicious! One question, I plan on transferring it all into one casserole for baking the following day. What size of casserole would you recommend? I will likely double this recipe.
Thanks so much!
Any casserole dish around the size of a 9×13 baking pan works when doubling the recipe. Enjoy!
Made this last year… It was DEEEEEEEEEEEEEELICIOUS!
However, my onions were a real mess to make. I would not have it with canned French fried onions, but do you have any advice to help me get this part right?
Also, can the onions be made-ahead and reheated as well, or should I make them fresh before serving?
The crispy onions are best fresh. For making them, I suggest using one hand as a dry hand (flour and panko) and 1 hand as a wet hand (the egg). That seems to make less of a mess!
This looks wonderful! Do you separate the onion slices into rings before breading and baking them?
Yes, you’ll want them separated as much as possible.
Is it safe to double this? I just made this and it was too good. My husband and I ate all of it! Thanks!
Yes, doubling is encouraged if need be!
Hi–How do you think this would taste with veggie broth instead of the chicken? Does the chicken flavor really add that much flavor to this dish?
Thanks!
Veggie broth works just as well!
Do you separate the onion rings or dip the whole slice of onion? Also, just a comment, don’t know if I could find fresh green beans “up north” where I live!
Separate them.
I made this recipe tonight and the mushroom sauce you start out with I used whipping cream. It came out great. I have other uses for that sauce. I have to admit this stuff it great best casserole I’ve had in a long time.
Fantastic! Really worth all the work. Though keep an eye on the onions–in the hustle of all the prep, I didn’t check on them and about 75% of them burned. Had the perfect amount to mix in, just none for topping. So much better than the goop from the can. Thanks, Sally!
Hi Sally!
This looks delicious! I’m so excited to try such a favorite dish with fresher ingredients. I do have a question though- when you say the green beans should be halved, do you mean cut in half length wise or halved down the seam of the bean? Thanks!
Yep, chopped in half lengthwise. (Not split down the seam)
Hi Hope, I would leave the onions off until the next day so that they don’t get soggy!
Definitely!