Make-Ahead Green Bean Casserole incorporates fresh green beans and a homemade cream-of-mushroom soup that is delicious enough to be eaten on its own.
(Updated post.)
In my mind, green bean casserole is to Thanksgiving Dinner what fruitcake is to Christmas.
Like fruitcake, green bean casserole can be good…but it can also be really, really bad. In the BAD cases, concentrated cream-of-mushroom soup and canned green beans are almost certainly to blame.
I remember one that not only was made with both these atrocities, but was also scorched and—quite literally—inedible.
The perfect recipe for Make-Ahead Green Bean Casserole
Green bean casserole is a dish that I have explored in-depth.
I’ve used canned, frozen, and fresh green beans. I have used canned and homemade cream-of-mushroom soup. I’ve topped with breadcrumbs, French’s fried onions, and homemade fried onions.
After all that, I’ve settled on a solution that’s probably more complicated than you want to hear, but not as complicated as it might be.
And it’s worth it.
More importantly, you can make most of it ahead of time so that all you have to do is pop it in the oven when the turkey comes out.
I’ve found that homemade cream-of-mushroom soup is a must. The soup comes out so delicious that you can eat it by itself. It’s not even in the same universe as that canned cream-of-nasty stuff that I grew up with.
I leave my mushrooms chunky, but you can chop yours up fine—or even pureé the soup—if you have chunk-averse, fussy eaters in your gathering.
Fresh green beans are an absolute must.
I like to use the thin French green beans (a.k.a. haricots verts) because I prefer their flavor and find them easier to work with. Costco always seems to have 2-lb. bags of these in stock.AbIt is
I’ve discovered that homemade fried onions are too froufy for true green bean casserole aficionados: French’s fried onions, which I mix with buttery breadcrumbs, are the required topping.
If you wanted to go completely homemade with my make-ahead green bean casserole, you could batter and fry your own thin-sliced onions or forego the onions altogether in favor of buttery breadcrumbs.
Can I make green bean casserole ahead of time?
Absolutely! As you might have guessed from the name of this post, it is totally ok to make green bean casserole ahead of time. I’ve made the casserole as much as a month in advance.
In this case, I press some plastic wrap down onto the surface of the casserole, wrap aluminum foil over the top of the casserole dish, and pop the whole thing in the freezer.
I pull the casserole out of the freezer 2 days before the big event and store it in the fridge, then bring it up to room temperature before topping with the fried onion/breadcrumb mixture and baking while the turkey rests.
I’ve also prepared the casserole 2 days in advance, in which case I keep it in the refrigerator, wrapped as I’ve explained above.
In my many years of eating and making green bean casserole, this Make-Ahead Green Bean Casserole is by far my favorite. It’s not a looker, but it’s always a hit.
I hope it becomes a favorite on your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table as well. Happy Holidays!
Make-Ahead Green Bean Casserole
Make-Ahead Green Bean Casserole is made with fresh green beans and a homemade cream-of-mushroom soup that is delicious enough to be eaten on its own. It can be made in advance up to (but not including) the topping. It freezes well, so how far in advance you want to make the dish is up to you. If you’re making this for Thanksgiving, simply pop it in the oven when the turkey comes out and let it bake while the bird rests.
Ingredients
FOR THE SAUCE
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 cloves garlic, minced (don’t skimp on these!)
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ cup dried mushrooms, preferably porcini, rehydrated
- 1 ½ cups of mushroom-rehydrating liquid, strained; you can mix with chicken stock (the proportion to make 1 ½ cups is up to you)
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 ½ cups cream
- 1 tablespoon sweet marsala, optional
- Additional kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, if needed
FOR THE GREEN BEANS
- 2 pounds fresh green beans, preferably haricots verts, stems trimmed, snapped into bite-size pieces
- ¼ cup cornstarch
FOR THE TOPPING
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups canned fried onions*, coarsely chopped
Instructions
WORK AHEAD
- Rehydrate dried mushrooms in 1 ½ cups of scalding water for at least 30 minutes. Strain the mushroom rehydrating liquid into a measuring cup and mix (as needed) with broth to make 1 ½ cups. Remove the rehydrated mushrooms and rinse. Chop finely.
- Blanch the green beans by boiling them 3-5 minutes, until still crisp-tender. Drain and plunge into a large bowl of ice water. When cooled, drain and pat dry with paper towels.
- Meanwhile, in a heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have given up their liquid. Continue cooking until liquid is evaporated. Add the garlic and thyme; cook for ~1 minute more. Sprinkle flour over the mixture; stir to combine. Slowly stir in the rehydrating liquid (a tablespoon at a time), allowing each addition to absorb completely before adding more. (This will prevent lumps, so be patient!) Stir in the cream and wine; bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened (~15 minutes). Add the marsala (if using); stir. Simmer for 2 additional minutes.
- While the sauce simmers, toss the green beans with the cornstarch. Add to a 9x13 baking dish.
- Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning as needed with S&P. (NOTE: you want the sauce to be on the salty side, since the green beans are not salted.) Pour the sauce over the beans and push the beans down so that they’re completely covered with sauce. Press plastic wrap over the surface of the casserole, making sure there are no air pockets. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Refrigerate or freeze (see below).
- You can do all of the above and freeze the dish; thaw three days before serving. Otherwise, make the dish up to two days before serving and keep in the refrigerator.
ON SERVING DAY
- Make the topping by mixing the melted butter with the panko, fried onions, and S&P. Unwrap the dish, discard plastic wrap. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the casserole; re-cover with foil. Allow the casserole to sit at room temperature for about an hour before it goes in the oven. Bake the casserole at 350° for 20 minutes, covered. Remove foil; bake an additional 10 minutes or until topping is golden-brown.
Notes
*If you'd like, you can chop up an additional cup of the fried onions and mix them in with the beans and sauce to kick the flavor up even more. However, I don't recommend this strategy if you're planning to freeze the casserole.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 406Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 647mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 6gSugar: 7gProtein: 8g
Nutrition data provided here is only an estimate: if you are tracking this information for medical purposes, please consult a trusted external source. Thanks!
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Will heavy whipping cream work?
Hi, Madeline! Yes, plain heavy whipping cream will work perfectly. Thanks for the question!
Can you sub fresh mushrooms for the “½ cup dried mushrooms, preferably porcini, rehydrated”. I wanted to get these but they are way out of my price range. I was having trouble looking for substitutions on the web. Please let me know, thank you. This looks great, I want to make it for Thanksgiving.
Would fresh shiitake mushrooms work?
Hi, Kris! Thank you for the question. I find that dried shiitake mushrooms are a more economical solution and absolutely great for making the mushroom stock. You can find them at Asian markets and on Amazon. Or, if that is still not an option, then sure—use fresh shiitake mushrooms. I would suggest simmering them in some vegetable or chicken stock (about 1.5 cups), then removing and chopping them up to add later (when you’d add the rehydrated mushrooms in the recipe). Strain the vegetable stock and add water as necessary so you have 1.5 cups of final stock to add in Step 3. I hope this helps!
I make this dish every year but thanks for the recipe to make it without the canned cream of mushroom. This green bean casserole recipe sounds even better!
You’re welcome, Scarlet! I hope it’s a hit with your holiday crowd!
I love that this is all fresh and homemade! Not my mother’s Green Bean Casserole!
Ha ha, exactly, Denise! I used to hate green bean casserole until I figured out how to make it without the canned green beans and cream-of-nasty. 😛
This looks amazing for Thanksgiving, and I love that you can make it ahead! Saving for November.
Thank you, Biana! I hope your dinner is a hit!
I’m a sucker for green bean casserole, but despite being a proponent of made from scratch food, I’ve never made it. I am definitely adding this to my holiday meal plan. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks, Jessica! I hope your dinner crowd enjoys it. 🙂
I know this is far from November, but I needed a recipe for a side dish to bring for dinner, and the green beans are going rampant in the garden right now. Our friends are cooking lamb chops and fresh slaw salad. I think this will be perfect. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Ooohh, I think this would be delicious with lamb chops. I hope it’s a hit! Thanks so much for stopping by!
I’ve been hunting up and down for a standout green bean casserole recipe. I read this and i love it.I’m excited to cook this up this weekend.
Thank you, Balvinder! I hope you enjoy it. 😛
I love anything that can be made ahead of time! We all love green beans so this is a must try. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Thanks so much, Kirsty! I don’t think I could pull off big family dinners without the work-ahead strategy.
I love green beans and this is such a unique sounding recipe, I’ve never heard of it here in the UK. I don’t like mushrooms…do you think I could use cream of chicken soup as an alternative or not?x
Hi, Cat! My husband also is not fond of mushrooms, but he doesn’t seem to notice as long as I purée the soup. But you could certainly do a homemade cream of chicken soup instead! Great idea, in fact!