Green Bean Casserole

Green bean casserole is one of those dishes that we only make once a year. At least that was the case until I came up with this version. Before this, I had made this a few times with the traditional cream of mushroom soup base. The problem is that I don’t like cream of mushroom soup – well, I don’t like mushrooms. I would pick through the soup, taking out the mushrooms – ridiculous, I know, which is why I didn’t make it all that often!

Not any more, now this is one of our family’s favorite sides. I honestly should make it more often because we all love it! It has so much more flavor than the cream of mushroom soup version. It might take a little more time, but it is so worth it.

Blanching

You’ll start by blanching the green beans. Blanching is when you cook a vegetable for a short amount of time and then stop the cooking by putting them in an ice bath. This makes the beans a nice bright green color. You’ll stop the cooking when they are still a bit crisp so that when you bake the casserole, they won’t turn into mushy beans.

Roux

The base of the sauce is a roux. This is made with melted butter, flour, and milk. Onion, garlic, and soy sauce add lots of flavor. If you still think you need mushrooms, by all means, add some sliced mushrooms – but not in my house! Panko bread crumbs top it off and add a nice crunch. I promise you will never make it with a can of soup again.

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Green Bean Casserole

Delicious green beans, onions, and garlic made this traditional Thanksgiving side, something you'll want all year.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs fresh string beans blanched
• 1/2 cup onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 5 Tbsp butter
• 1/8 cup flour
• 1/2 cup chicken or beef broth
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Blanch green beans by placing in boiling water for 3 minutes. Immediately remove and place into an ice bath. Dry beans on a paper towel.

2. In a frying pan, melt butter. Saute onion until tender, about 2 minutes. Add garlic saute for 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over and mix. Cook for one minute. Add broth and milk and stir until combined. Allow to come to a boil and thicken. Add soy sauce.

3. Place the green beans in a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish and pour onion mixture over the beans. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.