Green Bean Casserole

 

I grew up with the original Campbell’s Soup recipe and never quite cared for it. I think it lies within the over abundance of creamy mushroom soup– The word “gloopy” comes to mind, an adjective I try to avoid. That said, green beans: huge fan. Mushrooms: love them. Gravy: spill it all over me. French’s Onions from the container? I’d die for them. So what I’m saying is that green bean casserole is inherently good, and it can be whatever you want it to be. This is what I want it to be: a skillet of sauteed green beans, caramelized onions and beautifully browned mushrooms barely coated in a creamy gravy topped with French’s Onions from the container. My sister cried one year when she found out there was soy sauce in the original recipe, and guess what Carleigh, there’s some in this one, too! 

This recipe was developed using an 8” cast iron skillet, but you can do it in whatever you want, and if at any point you feel like your skillet is too small and things get a little too full or you feel like your skillet is too large and the casserole will be lonely, you can always transfer to a baking dish to bake. 

YIELD — 6-8 servings

 

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil 

  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 

  • Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 pound mushrooms, such as cremini, button, oyster or maitake, quartered  

  • 1 pound green beans, stems trimmed, cut in half or coarsely chopped, if you like 

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 2 tablespoons flour

  • 1 ¾ cups whole milk  

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari 

  • 1 clove garlic, finely grated or chopped 

  • An undetermined amount of French’s Onions, from the container

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large (at least 8”) skillet over medium–high heat. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally (I use a wooden spoon this whole time), until they start to soften and brown, 10–12 minutes. 

2. Reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms and season again with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until they shrink, soften, brown and concentrate their flavors, another 10–12 minutes (the onions will be very dark and caramelized at this point, too, which is what we want).

3. Add green beans (the skillet will be a little full now, but just give it time, the green beans will soften and shrink as they cook), season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re bright green and totally tender, 8–10 minutes. 

4. Add butter and let it melt in the skillet. Sprinkle flour over everything and stir for 2 or 3 minutes to toast in the fat and browned bits of the skillet. Slowly add milk, letting it thicken between stirs, until it’s all added. Add soy sauce and garlic, stirring to blend. Let the gravy come to a simmer, thickening in the skillet around the vegetables, making sure everything is evenly dispersed and coated. Season again with salt and more pepper. 

5. Preheat oven to 425°. Top green beans and mushrooms with French’s Onions from a container and bake until golden brown and bubbly around the edges, 20–25 minutes. 

DO AHEAD: Green bean casserole can be made without the onion topping a day ahead or a few hours before (refrigerate if making a head more than a few hours). 

newsletter, vegetables, meatAlison RomanComment