Created by the Campbell Soup Company in the 1950s, this quick and easy recipe caught on quickly, especially in the U.S. Upper Midwest, where convenience dishes were embraced wholeheartedly.
Campbell’s came up with the dish using ingredients that most U.S. households always had on hand: frozen green beans and cans of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup. The crispy onions were an special treat to add color, texture and flavor
Over time, green bean casserole became popular for pot lucks and is now a classic side dish on many American Thanksgiving tables.
While the original recipe is a sparkling example of mid-century American convenience cuisine, the recipe here is for a from-scratch version. It keeps the canned French-fried onion rings though. Because why mess with that perfection?
Green Bean Casserole
Course: Casseroles, VegetablesCuisine: United States, MidwestCreated in the 1950s, this quick and easy recipe caught on quickly, especially in the U.S. Upper Midwest, where convenience dishes were embraced wholeheartedly.
Ingredients
Fresh green beans, trimmed and halved — 1 pound
Butter — 3 tablespoons
Onion, finely chopped — 1/2
Garlic, minced — 1 or 2 cloves
Fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced — 2 cups
Flour — 3 tablespoons
Chicken stock or broth — 1 1/2 cups
Salt and pepper — to taste
Heavy cream, half and half or evaporated milk — 1/2 cup
French-fried onion rings — 1 (6-ounce) can
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over medium-high flame. Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes to blanch. Drain the beans and rinse immediately with cold water to cool quickly. Drain the beans again and set aside.
- Heat the butter over medium flame in a large sauce pan. Add the onions and saute until they are cooked through and translucent, 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are cooked through and reduced down a bit, 2 or 3 more minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour over the mushroom and onion mixture and stir the flour in well. Cook for a couple more minutes, then whisk in the chicken stock or broth. Stir until thickened and bubbly, then stir in the blanched green beans and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for another minute or two.
- Remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream, half and half or evaporated milk. Adjust seasoning to taste, then scoop everything into an oven-proof casserole dish. Spread the green beans smoothly in the dish, then top evenly with the fried onion rings.
- Place the casserole dish into the preheated oven, and bake until heated through and bubbling and slightly brown on top, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.
Green Bean Casserole Notes and Variations
- Original Campbell’s version: Thaw 1 (1-pound) bag of frozen green beans and add to a large bowl. Stir in one (15-ounce) can of cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 2/3 cup of french-fried onion rings and pepper to taste. Turn out into a casserole dish, and top evenly with the remaining fried onion rings. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until heated through and bubbling.
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