Roasted turkey? Check! Mashed potatoes? Check! Stuffing? Check! Now what else could we be missing here? The answer would be a green bean casserole. Casseroles are perfect for feeding a crowd with enough leftovers for the day after. No traditional Thanksgiving feast would be complete without it at the dinner table. With its combination of crunchy organic green beans, sautéed mushrooms and garlic tossed together in a creamy sauce and topped off with plenty of crispy fried onions, it’s the ultimate comfort food classic. And this recipe isn’t put together using the canned or frozen stuff; it’s the real deal here with everything made entirely from scratch. Sure, there are a few extra steps such as making your own flour based cream sauce as opposed to using cream of mushroom soup. But we guarantee you it’s well worth it. A great thing about this recipe is if you’re pressed on time trying to put together Thanksgiving dinner on the day of, you can assemble your green bean casserole for up to three days ahead of time. Simply put together all of your ingredients, excluding the fried onions, wrap it up with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. When you’re ready, add the fried onions on top and then bake it in the oven.
When it comes to making a green bean casserole, the age old debate over what to use still prevails: canned, frozen or fresh? While you can save on time and cost using canned or frozen, nothing beats using the fresh kind. Melissa’s Organic Green Beans are vividly green, long and offer a sweet flavor with a crisp texture. They’re a great source of vitamins, nutrients and fiber and are preferred for their delicious taste, better health and environmental-friendliness. These versatile, high quality beans can be incorporated into a variety of dishes. Enjoy them in a simple green bean salad or in one of our special holiday recipes, Christmas Time Green Beans, which you can enjoy at any time of the year.
Green Bean Casserole
Yields: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
- 3 cups of organic green beans, sliced
- 1 can of French-fried onion rings
- 1/3 stick of unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups of whole milk
- 1 cup of Cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 cup of low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup of mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup of onions, diced
- 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms for around 5 minutes until softened. Add the minced garlic and cook for around 1 minute.
2. Clean and cut the green beans. In a pot, boil the green beans in the chicken broth for 10 minutes. Once boiled, drain them and set aside.
3. Add the flour to the mushrooms and garlic and stir to cook evenly for around 2 minutes. When the flour is no longer dry, add the milk, soy sauce and pepper. Simmer until the mixture has become thickened for around 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Remove the sauce from the heat and combine with the green beans and 1/2 the can of the fried onions. Stir to combine evenly. Then transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
5. Sprinkle the top of the mixture with the other 1/2 of the can of fried onions. Bake until golden brown for around 12 to 15 minutes.
6. Once finished baking, remove the casserole from the heat and allow to cool for around 10 to 15 minutes before serving.