Make-Ahead Green Bean Casserole

This Make-Ahead Green Bean Casserole recipe 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.

The most egregious BAD cases involved canned, concentrated cream-of-mushroom soup and canned green beans.

That isn't happening here.

I'm going to show you how to make homemade cream of mushroom soup that is so good that you can eat it by itself.

Also, nothing can substitute fresh green beans for this casserole.

The best news is that most of this can be done a day or two in advance, which saves you time on the big day.

Check out how easy it is to impress your family and friends with this holiday favorite!

The perfect recipe for Make-Ahead Green Bean Casserole

Green bean casserole is a dish that I have explored in-depth.

I've tried it all.

I've used canned, frozen, and fresh green beans, as well as 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 what I believe is the perfect green bean casserole recipe.

It's not as simple as dumping together cans of this and that, but boy is it 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 to rest.

I've found that homemade cream-of-mushroom soup is a must.

The soup comes out so delicious that you'll have to restrain yourself from eating it all. It's not even in the same universe as that canned cream-of-nasty stuff that many of us grew up with.

I prefer to leave the 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 the other absolute must.

I like to use the thin French green beans (a.k.a. haricots verts).

I prefer their flavor and find them easier to work with.

Costco always seems to have 2-lb. bags of these in stock.

I've discovered that homemade fried onions are messy to make, a general pain in the...you know, and too fussy for true green bean casserole aficionados.

French’s fried onions, which I mix with buttery breadcrumbs, are now our required topping.

Can you make green bean casserole ahead of time?

Absolutely! (You might have noticed the title)

It's totally OK to make green bean casserole ahead of time.

I've made the casserole as much as a month in advance.

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.

I explain the details of how to do this later in the post.

Work-ahead steps for green bean casserole

Preparing the beans

Blanch the green beans by boiling them 3-5 minutes, until still crisp-tender. Drain and plunge them into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.

When the beans are cooled, drain and pat them dry with paper towels.

You can actually do this step a month in advance and freeze your green beans in a freezer bag, although I recommend starting with fresh beans if you plan to freeze your casserole.

Making the sauce

To start the delectable sauce, rehydrate dried mushrooms in hot water for at least 30 minutes.

Next, strain the mushroom rehydrating liquid into a measuring cup and mix it with some chicken broth (or water) to bring the total amount to 1 ½ cups.

Keep those rehydrated mushrooms!

They're packed with earthy, umami goodness. Simply rinse them and chop finely. Add all the mushrooms (fresh and rehydrated) to a large, heavy bottomed pot with butter, salt and pepper. Cook until the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated.

Add the garlic and thyme and cook for an additional minute.

Now it's time to make the roux. Sprinkle flour over the mixture in the pot and stir to combine.

It's important to cook the raw flour flavor, so stir the flour in and keep stirring for about a minute.

Next, slowly stir in the rehydrating liquid and broth mixture. Always wait until the liquid is completely absorbed before you add more. Yes, it's a bit tedious, but it prevents lumps, so it's worth it!

Stir in the cream and wine, and bring to a boil. Then simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened (~15 minutes).

Last, add the marsala wine (if using); stir and let simmer for 2 additional minutes.

Assembling the casserole

While the sauce simmers, toss the green beans with the cornstarch.

Now taste your sauce and adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Since we haven't added any salt to the green beans, we do want the sauce to be on the salty side.

And the cornstarch-bean mixture to a 9x13 baking dish. Pour the sauce over the beans and push them down so that they’re completely covered with sauce.

Then add chopped fried onions (if you like these in your sauce!) and mix thoroughly into the casserole.

Let the sauce cool, then press plastic wrap over the surface of the casserole. You don't want any air pockets.

Finally, cover the baking dish tightly with foil, then refrigerate for up to two days or freeze for up to a month. If freezing, allow three days in the refrigerator to thaw.

ON SERVING DAY: make the topping and bake

To make the topping, mix melted butter with panko bread crumbs, fried onions, salt, and pepper.

Unwrap the dish and throw away the plastic wrap.

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top of the casserole and re-cover with foil.

Allow the casserole to sit at room temperature for about an hour before it goes in the oven.

If you're serving your green bean casserole as part of a traditional turkey dinner, the perfect time to bake it is while the turkey rests.

Bake the casserole at 350° for 20 minutes with the foil on, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until your topping is golden-brown (the casserole should be 165 ºF).

---

In my many years of making this green bean casserole, it continues to be the family favorite every year.

I hope it becomes a favorite on your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table as well. Happy Holidays!

Want a separate recipe for Cream of Mushroom Soup? Check out my easy Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup: I include instructions for regular-consistency and condensed so you can use it in casseroles and sauces!

---

---

Related Content​

Your work-ahead guide for a "lower-stress" Thanksgiving: a complete guide to delivering a classic turkey dinner, complete with printable shopping list and game plan.

Easy Sausage Stuffing: adapted from a vintage recipe passed down from Phil's late mom. Simple and delicious!

Orange-Ginger-Spice Cranberry Sauce: kick the can to the curb with this delicious sauce. Perfect with turkey, duck, or Cornish game hens as part of a special-occasion meal.

Ultimate Classic Roast Turkey: this turkey turns out perfectly juicy every time thanks to a wine-and-butter-soaked cheesecloth that keeps the turkey from drying out for most of the roasting time.