Green Bean Casserole (no cream soups)
This Green Bean Casserole recipe uses no cream of anything soups and features fresh cut green beans and those classic crunchy fried onions!
A FRESH AND CREAMY GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
Have you ever wanted to try making a tasty Green Bean Casserole totally from scratch. Well, now you can with this easy Green Bean Casserole recipe. Plus, if you forgot to purchase the cream of mushroom soup or perhaps you don’t like cream of mushroom soup, this casserole was made for you since it doesn’t use any. It only has fresh ingredients and is still full of flavor just like the green bean casserole with cream of mushroom soup and canned green beans. Perfect for any holiday gathering!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S):
Absolutely! If you like the convenience or prefer the taste of canned green beans, feel free to use them in place of the fresh beans. Whatever your reason, if you want canned beans, feel free to use them. You’d probably want about 4 (14.5 ounce) cans of green beans. Just be sure to drain them really, really well.
Of course. Slice up your mushrooms and add them into the skillet with the sliced shallots so they can soften up.
Trimmed green beans is just referring to green beans that have had their rough looking ends cut off.
A shallot brings so much flavor to this dish and many other recipes! To me, it’s like if a mild onion and garlic had a baby – it’s the best of both worlds! If you have larger shallots than what I showed here, you can use one whole large shallot instead of two smaller ones. 4rdsxYou’ll usually find the shallots near the garlic and onions in the produce section of the grocery store.
Other seasonings you could add are: paprika, poultry seasoning, Italian seasoning, creole seasoning.
Sure, cutting the green beans into bite sized pieces makes it easier to eat when serving.
I have not tested this recipe in the crock pot.
Yes but you don’t need to do it for long – only for about 5 minutes. This will soften them just enough and also keep the vibrant green color.
Well, if you’re making this for Thanksgiving, (along with turkey and maybe some ham) you’ll want to add extra side dishes of course! We also enjoy this casserole when I make roast chicken. Here are some more ideas:
– Crock Pot Stuffing
– Southern Sweet Potato Casserole
– No Boil Homemade Mac and Cheese
– Squash Casserole
– Pineapple Casserole
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheat leftovers, covered with foil in the oven or in the microwave (without foil) until warmed through. The sauce may separate some after being refrigerated.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- fresh green beans – trim off the rough ends. If you would like to cut your green beans into smaller pieces, that is fine too.
- salted butter – you’ll want to use real butter, not margarine.
- shallots – look for smaller shallots (see my ingredient image below.) If you can’t find a couple of smaller ones, just grab one larger shallot.
- dried thyme, salt and pepper – I don’t overdue it on the seasoning since you want to taste the green beans and we’ve also got the crispy onions on top. Feel free to add your own favorite seasonings (see my suggestions above in the FAQ’s)
- all-purpose flour – we’re using this as a thickener.
- chicken stock – this is really going to add a nice background flavor to the whole dish.
- heavy cream – half and half or whole milk can be used instead of heavy cream.
- crispy fried onions – see my picture below if you need to see what the container looks like. You will often find these in the same grocery aisle as the green beans.
HOW TO MAKE GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE (WITH NO CREAM SOUPS)
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray an 11×7-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the green beans and immediately place them into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process (this also helps them keep that bright green color.)
Drain the green beans again. Place them on a paper towel-lined sheet tray while you prepare the sauce.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots to the skillet and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add the thyme, salt, and pepper, stir it into the shallots. Add the flour and whisk to combine, cook for 1 minute.
Slowly stream in the chicken stock while whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Do the same with the heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a simmer and simmer for 8-10 minutes until thickened to a gravy consistency, whisking occasionally.
Add the drained green beans and toss to coat in the sauce. Add the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with the crispy fried onions and bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes until bubbly along the edges and the onions are browned on top.
Serve immediately.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Green Bean Casserole (no cream soups)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds fresh green beans, trimmed (you can cut them into smaller pieces if you prefer)
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 6 ounce container crispy fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray an 11×7-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook for 5 minutes.
- Drain the green beans and immediately place them into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
- Drain the green beans again. Place them on a paper towel-lined sheet tray while you prepare the sauce.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots to the skillet and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add the thyme, salt, and pepper, stir it into the shallots.
- Add the flour and whisk to combine, cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly stream in the chicken stock while whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Do the same with the heavy cream.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and simmer for 8-10 minutes until thickened to a gravy consistency, whisking occasionally.
- Add the drained green beans and toss to coat in the sauce.
- Add the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Top with the crispy fried onions and bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes until bubbly along the edges and the onions are browned on top. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
