At the top of my shopping list for Thanksgiving are ingredients for green bean casserole. Have you ever thought out of the box and got creative with your green bean casserole? In this post, I share the original recipe and a few alternatives to spice up a traditional favorite.

For this recipe, you will need the following. You can use fresh beans or canned green beans but I love to use the frozen skinny bean. You can cheat and use a can of mushroom soup but making it from scratch is amazing!
- green beans
- butter
- sweet onion
- fresh mushrooms
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- garlic
- all-purpose flour
- 3 c. milk
- fried onions
Secret Ingredients

A few years back DEL MONTE’S took a ‘SECRET INGREDIENTS’ FOR GREEN-BEAN CASSEROLE below are the details from this project. I find the pepper addition interesting. Del Monte also asked U.S. residents to rate their favorite “secret ingredient” — a single, creative item that can be added to the casserole’s iconic green bean, cream of mushroom, and french fried onion flavors to make it unique and different. According to the survey, America’s Top 10 most-wanted secret ingredients for green bean casserole are:
1. Bacon (34%)
2. Mushrooms (17%)
3. Cheese (11%)
4. Grilled Onions (8%)
5. Almonds (7%)
6. Sausage (6%)
7. Bread crumbs or crushed crackers (5.6%)
8. Garlic (5.2%)
9. Jalapeños or hot sauce (4%)
10. Sour cream (3%)
The moral of the story is to BE CREATIVE! Add the ingredients you have on hand and that your family loves! I would love to hear from you so be sure to comment below and tell me your secret ingredient.
Green Bean Casserole Printable Recipe

Below is my famous recipe. The key is to saute the onion and mushroom before adding the mushroom cream soup. Fried onions are always last on top and don’t forget to use those skinny french cut frozen beans. ENJOY and do share with friends on social media.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. green beans, trimmed
- 6 tbsp. butter, divided
- 1 sweet onion sliced in moon shape
- 8 oz. sliced mushrooms
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
- 3 c. milk
- 1 1/2 c. fried onions
Instructions
- In a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter.
- Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are golden, about 5 minutes more.
- Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute, then transfer mixture to green bean bowl.
- In same skillet over medium heat, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter.
- Whisk in flour and cook until golden, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually whisk in milk and season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat, then add green bean mixture and toss until even combined.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until the casserole is bubbly.
- Top with fried onions and return to oven for 5 minutes.
Let me know what you think of this recipe. I used an image from Canva because I always forget to bookmark where my photo is after snapping during the holiday. It could be I am exhausted from all the cooking and this dish is always the last to go in the oven. I want to note that this dish reheats really well too!
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Let’s Connect
I would love to hear from you so be sure to comment on this post on my website. Don’t forget to tell me what you think about the survey feature on this post.
Happy Green Bean Casserole Creating Friends,