This easy Green Bean Casserole recipe is a classic side dish everyone loves. Made with cream of mushroom soup, green beans, cheese, and crispy fried onions, it comes together in only 10 minutes! This old-fashioned recipe makes an appearance on our table at Thanksgiving and Christmas every year!
The Best Green Bean Casserole
Everyone has classics that they make for holiday meals and this is definitely one of mine. For me, the best green bean casserole is what I’ve been eating every year since I was a kid – the classic with cream of mushroom soup, green beans and crispy fried onions.
Our secret ingredient to making it even better is a little trick my mom has always used – a little bit of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of hot sauce. That extra bit of flavor really does make the best green bean casserole!
What You’ll Need
This green bean casserole doesn’t need many ingredients, which is a big plus if you ask me! Here’s a quick rundown. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for specific amounts.
- Green beans
- Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Milk
- Black pepper
- Soy sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Hot sauce – I like to use Cholula hot sauce but your favorite brand works.
- Shredded cheese – I used white cheddar cheese
- Crispy fried onions
Canned, Fresh or Frozen Green Beans?
One of the great things about Green Bean Casserole is that you can really use whichever green bean is your preference. A holiday meal is a busy one with lots of prep, so you do whatever is best.
Growing up, we mostly used canned green beans, although lately, we’ve been using fresh green beans more and more. I played around with all three options in this casserole to really compare side-by-side and see what my favorite was. The winner was fresh! Canned green beans are the softest and tend to have the least flavor, whereas frozen green beans are the crunchiest and the strongest flavor. I loved the middle ground of the fresh green beans. Pre-cook them in the microwave for a few minutes to soften them up a bit and they are the perfect texture in the casserole. Plus, they have great flavor without taking over the other flavors in the casserole. Winner!
How To Make Green Bean Casserole
The greatest thing about this casserole is that you truly just throw everything together and toss it into your baking dish. You’ll keep some of the crispy fried onions aside to add to the top, but otherwise, it really is that simple.
One element of the green bean casserole that I find important is the amount of milk. I don’t love a green bean casserole that is too soupy or soppy, so I like to have just enough milk without it being too much. I find that a fourth of a cup of milk is just right.
Another great thing about this casserole is that you could totally prepare it ahead of time. Just add the crispy fried onions before you put it in the oven so that they keep their texture. You have so much to prepare for the holidays, why not make life simpler and do some prep work ahead of time?
The final casserole is that classic green bean casserole we all know and love. And you really can’t argue with a classic. 🙂
More Holiday Recipes to Try
- Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
- Overnight Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole
- Overnight Cinnamon Apple French Toast Casserole
- Thanksgiving Leftovers Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made with creamy cheddar cheese, crispy fried onions, cozy cream of mushroom soup and more, this classic Green Bean Casserole hits all the right notes. It’s a quick and easy side dish that nobody can get enough of!
Ingredients
- 4 cups green beans*
- 10.5 oz can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- dash of hot sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used white cheddar cheese)
- 1 1/2 cups crispy fried onions, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- If using fresh green beans, trim the ends and put in a microwave safe bowl with about two tablespoons of water. Cover loosely with clear wrap and microwave for 5-7 minutes, or until they begin to get tender. Keep in mind that they’ll continue to cook in the oven. When done, cover the green beans in cold water to keep them from cooking more.
- If using frozen green beans, microwave until thawed, then drain them.
- If using canned green beans, drain them.
- In a large bowl, combine the green beans, soup, milk, pepper, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, cheddar cheese and 1 cup of crispy fried onions.
- Pour the mixture into a 1 1/2 quart dish and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Top the casserole with the remaining crispy fried onions and bake for another 5 minutes, then serve.
Notes
- Can use fresh, canned or frozen green beans. If using canned, you’ll need two 14.5 oz cans. If using frozen, a 16-oz bag of green beans is about 5 cups.
- Makes 6-8 servings.
- To Store & Reheat: Transfer cooled casserole to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Note that onions will lose their crispiness – add new ones just before reheating if desired. Reheat casserole in an oven-safe dish at 350°F for 20 minutes, or until heated through.
- To Freeze: Fried onions will soften just like they would in the fridge. If you don’t mind this, freeze casserole in a freezer-safe container for up to 4 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 116
- Sugar: 2.3 g
- Sodium: 439.4 mg
- Fat: 7.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.2 g
- Protein: 5.6 g
- Cholesterol: 15.1 mg
Keywords: fresh green bean casserole, green bean bake, veggie casserole
Categories
Enjoy!
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First time to try and make it.
Lindsay, this is turning into a Lindsay Thanksiving so to try to be helpful, maybe I can ask you BOTH of my questions here rather than go to each recipe! (Only trying to help.)
1. I’ve double the recipe for the green bean cassrole. When it comes to reheating on TG, oven temp and time please?
2. I decided to take your advice and frost my Berry Marscapone cake only a day ahead. Once it is frosted and refrigerated, does it need to be covered or can I leave it without any kind of covering in the refrig? THANK YOU!
I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying the recipes for Thanksgiving!
It’s hard to say what the time should be. Are you using the same size dish the recipe calls for? If so, you’ll probably need another 15-20 minutes. If you’re using a larger dish, it depends on the size and thickness of the casserole. I’d keep an eye on it and bake it to the right consistency, keeping in mind things firm up as they cool.
For the cake, it should be ok leaving it uncovered as long as you don’t have something else with a strong flavor near it that would end up lending flavor to the whipped cream. The only other risk you run is the whipped cream drying out a bit.
Can the Worcestershire sauce be omitted or substituted with something else?
Yes, you can leave it out.
Would you lengthen the cook time if you doubled this recipe? Our leave it about the same?
It kind of depends. If you double it and put it in the same size pan, you’re definitely going to need to increase the time because it’s a lot thicker to cook through, if that makes sense. If you put it in a bigger pan then you may not need to increase the baking time by much.
We are a family that likes things anti-soupy. So finding this recipe made us happy. It turned out well and we were happy with the results. Another note: we have only eaten green bean casserole once before years ago. We don’t have much to compare it to, but we like it. 👍😁
★★★★★
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I made this and agree that I love the cheese in the casserole. I have used the soy sauce & Worcestershire sauce in it for years.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Can this be made the day ahead and then baked the day of thanksgiving?
Definitely!
What size pan should this be baked in?
It’s a 1 1/2 quart dish. Mine is about a 9×7 size, but another shape or size would work as long as it holds roughly the same amount.
My recipe has water chestnuts in it that gives it a little crunch and no cheese. I’ve never heard of putting cheese in it!
Oh, fun! I haven’t ever heard of the water chestnuts. 🙂 Fun to hear all the little differences everyone has! The cheese is a more recent addition for me and I love the flavor and creaminess it adds – so good!
This sounds amazing! For some reason I can’t find the print button!
Hmm, it wasn’t showing for some reason, but it is now. It’s just under the photo within the recipe card. Thanks Annie!