When I was younger, to say I hated green beans would be an understatement. I couldn’t stand them. I ate most of my vegetables, but green beans were something that I never touched. Even during Thanksgiving, while I’d put a small scoop of green bean casserole on my plate, it largely went untouched. But, to my delight (now), I finally started loving green beans and lived for the green bean casserole during Thanksgiving. It was my favorite part of the meal next to the stuffing and gravy. As long as I have those dishes, I’m a happy camper.
While I love the regular version – canned soup and all – there’s something so delicious about green bean casserole made from scratch. The fresh green beans – nothing with undesirable textures that you can sometimes get from canned beans, fresh mushrooms, and a rich cream sauce made from a roux…it can’t be beat. This is everything you know and love about green bean casserole, but fresh and full of flavor. And if you can, don’t skip the bacon. While bacon can sometimes very easily overpower a dish, it doesn’t do that here. It just adds another layer of delicious flavor that will make you question why you didn’t add bacon to your green bean casserole years ago.
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
- 4 slices of bacon, diced
- 1/2 yellow onion, minced
- 12 oz cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 Tbsp butter, unsalted
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/4 cup chicken stock
- Salt and pepper
- 1 can fried onions
Instructions
- Begin by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the green beans in and let cook, for 1-2 minutes. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.
- In a large skillet, fry the bacon over medium high heat until crisp. Remove the bacon, let drain, and set aside. Add the onions to the bacon grease and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until brown and softened, another 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the vegetables and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the butter and let it begin to foam. Add the flour and whisk, to get rid of any lumps, and cook for 1-2 minutes, just so that the flour taste has a chance to cook out. Slowly pour in the heavy cream, continuously whisking as to not create any lumps. Next, whisk in the chicken stock, then let the mixture come up to a simmer, and stir and/or whisk until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the mushroom mixture and bacon back into the cream sauce and stir until combined. Fold in the green beans and cook until warmed through. Pour the mixture into a baking dish. Sprinkle with the fried onions and cover with foil. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly, uncovering for the last 5-10 minutes to crisp and brown the onions on top.
- Let cool for about 10 minutes and serve.
In this post: side plates // casserole dish
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