Best Green Bean Casserole

November 11, 2019

Here’s a modern spin that makes the very best green bean casserole! It’s made from scratch with fresh green beans, mushrooms, and crunchy potato chips.

Ready for the best green bean casserole? After moving to Indiana, I feel in love with this holiday classic: canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and french fried onions. It has this cozy, comforting quality like all great dishes of the 1950’s (right?). But after transitioning to eating less processed foods, Alex and I wondered: could there be a fresh, whole food take on the green bean casserole? So we set about to making a “from scratch” green bean casserole…and added a few innovations of our own.

Why it’s the best green bean casserole?

What makes this the best green bean casserole, in our opinion? First, let us get this out of the way: if you’re looking for the 100% classic, cream of mushroom soup plus canned green beans recipe, this isn’t the recipe for you! But if you’re up for a gourmet from scratch spin, this is where it’s at. Here are the features that make it the best, in our opinion:

Fresh green beans. Steaming the green beans gives them a crisp-tender texture: nothing like those mushy canned ones.
Real mushrooms. None of those scary black mushy blobs that used to be in my childhood nightmares. This version uses real mushrooms that are actually delicious.
Parmesan & a touch of cream. Instead of the can, let’s replace the creaminess with just enough Parmesan cheese and cream to make a “real” creamy base. It coats the beans just the right amount! (It also makes this a gluten free green bean casserole.)
Sour cream & onion potato chips. Yep, since French fried onions aren’t part of our standard fare, we decided to innovate and crunch up some sour cream and onion potato chips for the topping. We’ll never go back! It makes for a unique crunchy topping we’ll hope will catch on.

What people are saying about this green bean casserole.

This green bean casserole is already getting rave reviews! Here’s what one recipe tester had to say:

“It’s better than I expected! I’m used to the can of soup type of green bean casserole, so I wasn’t sure this would be as flavorful or rich. But it’s even more so! I will be making this for Thanksgiving for years to come!” -Kristi

How to trim green beans…fast.

The only part of this recipe where you might get stuck is trimming the green beans. Two pounds is a hefty chunk. And if you snap off each of the ends with your fingers like the traditional method, you might spend ages. Lucky for you, Alex and I found a time saving trick for how to trim green beans! Head to How to Trim Green Beans…Fast!

Where did green bean casserole come from, anyway?

This is what we were wondering as we made this recipe. Did you know green bean casserole was actually an invention by Campbell’s Soup? (I had no idea.) It was invented to use their cream of mushroom soup, and paired it with canned green beans and crunchy french fried onions. It’s an odd combination, but somehow it works! Americans have been making it ever since, mostly for Thanksgiving and other holidays.

Want a few more Thanksgiving (or Friendsgiving) recipes?

Alex and I made this green bean casserole for a virtual Friendsgiving with two of our dear friends! We teamed up with Erin of Well Plated and Becky of The Cookie Rookie to make a few Thanksgiving recipes that all paired well together. Erin and Becky were so kind as to make vegetarian recipes they knew would please all of you dear readers! Here are their drool-worthy recipes (not kidding, we are drooling over here…).

Becky hit it out of the park with this Cheesy cauliflower au gratin! Don’t you want to jump into this bowl?

On, Erin’s pecan pie cobbler is genius! It’s less effort than pie, and looks even more delicious (to us).

This best green bean casserole recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten free.