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Hi friends! Time for a midweek treat! Continuing on the Thanksgiving thread, I've moved from Cranberry Apple Sage Stuffing to Homemade Green Bean Casserole complete with freshly pan fried onions and cream of mushroom from scratch!
So. We need to talk about something briefly. My fantastic fiancé Dan took me out to Canlis (!!!!) for my birthday on Monday night. Ever since I moved here 5 years ago, I've wanted to get all dressed up, go to Canlis, and order the Chef's Tasting. Well guess what? WE DID IT! ???????????????????????? And it was just as wonderful as I thought it would be. First off, the service was absolutely impeccable. So friendly, and they make you feel like you're part royalty they take such good care of you! Secondly, that MEAL! It ended up being nine courses (nine!!!) and took about 3 hours. Worth. Every. Bite. It felt like we were eating art. And of course all the french wine. It was absolutely amazing, best birthday gift I could've asked for ????.
Ok, so back to Thanksgiving. Let's talk about this Homemade Green Bean Casserole. Surprisingly, my favorite part of this Homemade Green Bean Casserole isn't even the onions! Which are absolutely delicious by the by. It's actually....the homemade cream of mushroom!! OKok don't freak out, it's actually the easiest thing ever: melt butter, add mushrooms and a pinch of salt, saute, add garlic, saute, add chicken broth and cream, simmer and stir. DONE! Seriously though, after that you throw some blanched green beans into the pan, bake for a few minutes, and then top with your perfectly crispy pan friend onions. It's SO easy and SO MUCH BETTER than that gray, solid, flavorless, concoction deemed cream of mushroom that plops out of the can.
I also hate canned green beans. Hate them. That's right. It's a strong word but it's true. They have so little of the actual taste and texture of a true green bean they might as well not even be called green beans. Come to think of it, I'm not a fan of canned vegetables in general. Or canned soups for that matter. Sure, I'll save myself the effort of having to concasse tomatoes and just grab a diced up can, but that's about the extent of it. I think this deep dislike is pretty much the reason for my Homemade Green Bean Casserole. I've always found the dish vaguely "bleh" until I started making it from scratch. Fresh green beans add so much more delectable flavor and crisp texture to this dish that you'll never go back to canned!
Confession: I don't even like mushrooms. No joke. So if I love this Homemade Green Bean Casserole, which I can't even get enough of, I'm betting you will too ????.
Homemade Green Bean Casserole
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: Serves 4 to 6 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the Casserole
- 1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
- 16 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup vegetable broth (can substitute chicken broth)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
For the Pan Fried Onions
- 2 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
- ½ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons panko
- ¼ cup canola oil, for frying
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F. Grease a 9X13 casserole dish.
- Blanch the green beans: Bring a large pot of 1 gallon water and 2 tablespoons coarse salt to a boil. Add the green beans and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and immediately put the green beans into a large bowl full of ice water in order to stop the cooking process. Drain completely and set aside.
- For the Casserole: In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to release some of their moisture.
- Add the garlic and the flour to the pan and cook for about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Pour in the chicken broth and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Decrease the heat to medium low. Add the heavy whipping cream, and cook until the mixture starts to thicken, about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the blanched green beans to the pan and stir to coat. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
- Place the dish in the oven and cook for 10 minutes, until bubbling.
- While the casserole is baking, make the pan fried onions: Mix together flour, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and panko in a large mixing bowl. Add the onions and toss to combine, evenly coating the onions in the flour mixture. In a large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add the onions in single layer batches to the heated oil, frying until crispy and golden, about 2 minutes. Remove to a baking sheet covered in paper towels and set aside.
- Remove the casserole dish from the oven and top with freshly fried onions.
Notes
If the onions have cooled a little before the casserole was done baking, top the casserole dish with the onions and put it back in the oven for 1 to 2 minutes to warm them right back up!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Corene Finley says
How many servings is this
Aberdeen says
Good question - it serves about 4 to 6. Updated the recipe to include this info!