Green Bean Casserole From Scratch, No Canned Soup Needed
Green bean casserole from scratch uses a quick mushroom sauce made with butter, garlic, broth, and half-and-half instead of canned soup. The beans stay bright green and the sauce is creamy and full of browned mushroom flavor.
Equipment
- 10-inch oven-safe skillet
- Large pot
- Big bowl
- Clean towel
- 8x8-inch baking dish
Ingredients
For the beans
- 1 tablespoon fine salt for the blanching water
- 1 lb fresh green beans trimmed and halved
For the mushroom sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 12 oz mushrooms cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced or finely grated
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour for thickening the sauce
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth vegetable broth works for a vegetarian version
- 1 cup half-and-half
For the topping
- 1 1/3 cups store-bought crispy fried onions divided
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Bring a large pot of water to a boil with the 1 tablespoon of salt. Set a big bowl of ice water next to the stove.
- Drop the beans into the boiling water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until bright green and just tender but still have a little snap. Drain, plunge them into the ice water to stop the cooking, then drain again.
- Spread the beans on a clean towel and pat them completely dry. Wet beans water down the sauce and leave a pale puddle in the skillet.
- Melt the butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring only now and then, until the released liquid has mostly cooked off and the edges are browned. Don't rush this step, because pale, steamed mushrooms make a flat-tasting sauce and the browning is where most of the flavor comes from.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for another minute so it coats the mushrooms and loses its raw taste.
- Pour in the broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it bubble for a minute, then stir in the half-and-half. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, for 5 to 8 minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. It will look slightly loose, which is fine because it tightens in the oven.
- Taste and add more salt if needed. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the beans plus about a third of the fried onions. The onions soften into the sauce and thicken it a little.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling around the edges. Scatter the rest of the onions over the top and bake another 5 to 10 minutes, until deep golden. Store-bought fried onions burn quickly and ovens vary, so start checking at the 5-minute mark.
- Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving so the sauce settles. No oven-safe skillet? Move everything into an 8x8-inch (20 cm) baking dish after step 7, and bake for about the same time.
