Let me start out by saying that I LOVE GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE. And I mean the canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup, mushy, casserole-y, classic that I eat 4 helpings of on Thanksgiving. That being said, my fiance doesn’t love it. He doesn’t like any canned vegetables. I think he is crazy, but that doesn’t mean I want him to starve. I’m not cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year (phew, thanks family!), but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to show Ben that green bean casserole can be made with fresh green beans and that he might actually like it.
Homemade Green Bean Casserole Recipe:
1 lb. fresh green beans – trimmed and cut
2 + 1 Tablespoons butter
8 oz. white mushrooms – sliced
2 garlic cloves – minced
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half & half or cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup French’s Onions
Salt
Pepper
Additional 1 cup French’s Onions for topping
First, you want to get your green beans ready by snipping off the ends and cutting them into rough bite size pieces. This is optional, but I don’t like trying to maneuver whole green beans on my fork.
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Once the water is boiling, add your green beans and let them cook for 5 minutes, until they’re bright green.
Use a slotted spoon to remove all green beans from the boiling water and into a large bowl of ice water. Set aside.
For the gravy, melt the first 2 tablespoons of butter in a large sauce pan on medium heat, then add your mushrooms.
Let saute for about 5 minutes, until they’re brown and soft. Next, add your garlic and saute for another minute.
Stir in your flour and another tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle in your salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg and let the flour get brown, about 3 minutes. It will almost look like your mushrooms are coated in a paste.
Add your chicken broth and bring back up to a simmer, still on medium heat, for about 2 minutes. It will thicken up quite a bit.
Pour in your half & half or cream and stir regularly until thickened, about 8 minutes.
Drain your green beans and add them, along with the 1/2 cup French’s Onions to the gravy.
Transfer everything to a baking dish.
Sprinkle the French’s Onions all over the top.
Bake at 400-degrees for 15 minutes, until the top is golden and the gravy is bubbly.
ps. Ben enjoyed this version, but I still say Long Live the Classics!