This Easy Green Bean Casserole has been a staple on our Thanksgiving table for my entire life, but it's simple enough for your next weeknight dinner. Tender green beans are cooked in a creamy mushroom sauce and finished with crispy fried onions. The quick make-ahead side dish is perfect with a holiday turkey, roasted chicken, or a cozy pot roast!
Classic Green Bean Casserole Recipe
The holidays just wouldn't be complete without an old-fashioned, easy green bean casserole! I grew up with this recipe, and it's now a dish that I serve to my own family on a regular basis. There's no need to wait until Thanksgiving to enjoy the casserole, which comes together with just 6 ingredients in about 10 minutes. Best of all, French's Green Bean Casserole can be prepared in advance to cut down on the last-minute chaos of getting dinner on the table. Ideal for busy weeknights!
The Best Green Bean Casserole
I've tried many different green bean casserole recipes over the years, but I always come back to the classic version originally created in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly at the Campbell Soup Company. The dish includes green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and french fried onions, and has since become known as Classic Green Bean Casserole. French's (the company that makes the fried onions) also has a similar recipe for French's Green Bean Casserole. This old-fashioned dish is the ultimate comfort food for so many Americans of my generation!
Which Green Beans for Casserole?
Our family prefers frozen French-cut green beans in this dish, which is a slight departure from Campbell's original recipe that's made with cooked cut green beans, or French's recipe that calls for canned green beans. The French-cut green beans are thinly-sliced, giving them a softer texture in the casserole. If you prefer, you can substitute with 4 cups of fresh green beans, 4 cups of frozen cut green beans, or 2 (14.5 ounce) cans of drained green beans. When using canned green beans, you don't need to cook them first. If you're using fresh or frozen green beans, you'll need to cook them until crisp-tender before adding them to the casserole. This takes about 5 minutes in the microwave for frozen green beans, or about 8 minutes in the microwave for fresh green beans.
How to Make Easy Green Bean Casserole
Truly, one of the easiest green bean casseroles that you'll ever make! It's no wonder that this side dish has been a popular choice on American tables for over 60 years. It's simple, convenient, and delicious!
Ingredients
- Green beans (fresh, frozen or canned)
- Condensed cream of mushroom soup
- Milk
- Soy sauce
- Black pepper
- French fried onions
Step 1: Cook Green Beans
Place the green beans in a microwave-safe dish, add a splash of water, cover, and cook in the microwave until crisp-tender. This will take about 5 minutes. Drain the liquid from the green beans.
Step 2: Add Remaining Ingredients
Stir in the condensed soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, and half of the fried onions until everything is completely combined.
Step 3: Transfer to Baking Dish
Spread the green bean mixture in a 1½-quart baking dish.
Step 4: Bake
Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Add the remaining fried onions on top.
Return the dish to the oven for about 5 more minutes, just to get the onions nice and toasty.
What goes with Green Bean Casserole?
This simple side dish pairs nicely with almost any entree. Here are a few options to serve with the easy green bean casserole:
- Roasted Turkey
- Slow Cooker Turkey Breast (so easy for a weeknight dinner!)
- Dutch Oven Pot Roast
- Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce
- Roast Chicken
- Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes
- Chicken and Potato Bake
- Farmhouse Chicken and Noodles
- Sour Cream Chicken
- Crock Pot Ham with Cola Glaze
- Cider Braised Pork Shoulder
Make Ahead
Whether you're preparing a big Thanksgiving feast, or just trying to get a head-start on tonight's supper, this convenient side dish is a great recipe to make ahead. The green bean casserole can be assembled up to 2 days in advance. Just prepare as directed, but leave off the remaining fried onions that go on top at the end. Cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.
When you're ready to bake the casserole, allow the dish to sit on the counter at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Bake according to the recipe instructions, adding a few extra minutes to the cooking time if the casserole is really cold when it goes into the oven.
Storage
Leftover green bean casserole will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, although the onions on top tend to get soggy as it sits. You can freeze the casserole tightly wrapped for up to 3 months, but again -- the onions on top may become soggy as it thaws.
To reheat the casserole, microwave individual servings for 30-60 seconds. If you're reheating a larger dish, cover with foil and warm in a 325 degree F oven just until heated through -- about 15-20 minutes.
Variations
- Swap out the frozen French-cut green beans and use 4 cups of frozen cut green beans, 4 cups of cut fresh green beans, or 2 (14.5 ounce) cans canned green beans (drained). If using frozen or fresh green beans, cook in the microwave until crisp-tender (about 5 minutes for frozen or 8 minutes for fresh).
- Instead of the cream of mushroom soup, use a different flavor of condensed soup. Cream of chicken or cream of celery would both be good in this recipe.
- Add cooked, chopped bacon to the green bean mixture, or sprinkle cooked bacon on top of the dish during the final few minutes to get nice and crispy.
- Sauté sliced fresh mushrooms and stir them into the green bean casserole before baking.
- Add 1 cup of grated cheese to the casserole before baking. Sharp cheddar cheese would be perfect!
- To serve a larger crowd, double all of the ingredients and bake the casserole in a 3-quart dish. This larger casserole will serve about 12 people. If you need to serve 20 people, I recommend preparing two large casseroles (3 quarts each), which will require 4 times as many ingredients.
More easy side dish recipes that you might enjoy:
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
- Mashed Potatoes
- Cranberry Sauce
- Corn Muffins or Jiffy Corn Casserole
- Cornbread Stuffing
- Apple and Butternut Squash Casserole
Easy Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 16 ounce package frozen French-cut green beans (or see note below for substitutes)
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, not diluted
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ⅓ cups crispy fried onions, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 1 ½ -quart baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Place frozen green beans in a large microwave-safe bowl. Add a splash of water, cover, and microwave just until crisp-tender (about 5 minutes). Drain and return green beans to the bowl.
- Add condensed soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, and ⅔ cup of the fried onions to the bowl with the green beans; stir to combine.
- Transfer the green bean mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.
- Stir, sprinkle remaining ⅔ cup of fried onions on top, and bake for about 5 more minutes.
Notes
- Swap out the frozen French-cut green beans and use 4 cups of frozen cut green beans, 4 cups of cut fresh green beans, or 2 (14.5 ounce) cans canned green beans (drained). If using frozen or fresh green beans, cook in the microwave until crisp-tender (about 5 minutes for frozen or 8 minutes for fresh).
- Instead of the cream of mushroom soup, use a different flavor of condensed soup. Cream of chicken or cream of celery would both be good in this recipe.
- Add cooked, chopped bacon to the green bean mixture, or sprinkle cooked bacon on top of the dish during the final few minutes to get nice and crispy.
- Sauté sliced fresh mushrooms and stir them into the green bean casserole before baking.
- Add 1 cup of grated cheese to the casserole before baking. Sharp cheddar cheese would be perfect!
- To serve a larger crowd, double all of the ingredients and bake the casserole in a 3-quart dish. This larger casserole will serve about 12 people. If you need to serve 20 people, I recommend preparing two large casseroles (3 quarts each), which will require 4 times as many ingredients.
- Original recipe from Campbell's Foods
Debbie Hill
I noticed you said we can substitute Cram of Celery soup For the Cream of Mushroom. Since I don’t like mushrooms I have always used the Celery soup in all recipes that call for a Cream soup. However, for at least the last 9 months, I can not find it in any of the grocery stores. Plenty of Cream of Mushroom and Cream of Chicken soups but no Cream of Celery. Have you noticed this? Have you found it in any of the stores? Do you know why it has been taken off the shelves?
Blair
Hi, Debbie! Yes -- I did notice that Food Lion in Madison hasn't had any of that flavor in stock for the past few weeks. So weird, and I have no idea why. I don't shop many other places so I'm not sure if that's the case in other stores as well. I did manage to find some of the cream of celery soup at Martin's in Culpeper last week, so you might try there. 🙂
Jolene Harrie
I make this as a regular meal by adding scrambled hamburger in the mixture and we also have garlic bread with it, it would also be good with shredded chicken by switching cream of mushroom with cream of chicken soup
Blair
Great tips, Jolene! I would definitely love to enjoy this as a main dish with the hamburger meat and garlic bread. Mmmm...
Debbie Hill
Good morning Blair. I have grown weary of the green bean casserole.
I now make your Arkansas green beans when I’m having people for dinner. They are so delicious.
But My “go to” green bean recipe when I’m fixing a quick meal was given to me by a friend here at the beach.
For a regular size can of cut green beans…….
Put a Tablespoon or so of olive oil in a skillet or frying pan.
Drain the beans.
Turn heat to medium high.
Dump the beans into the skillet.
Cook until the beans get dark.
I stir them very often. A little char is ok but you don’t want a lot of char.
That’s it. You can season with salt and pepper after cooking but I like them with out seasoning. They are really that good!!
Debbie Hill
An addendum to my green bean recipe….
You may want to add more than one Tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet.
That is kind of trial and error. I just pour the oil into the pan.
You do not want them greasy so use your judgement on the amount of olive oil.
Blair Lonergan
Sounds good, Debbie! It doesn't get much easier than that. 🙂 Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!