It’s totally possible to have a real food Thanksgiving dinner, and this recipe is here to help. I took the standard Green Bean Casserole recipe, "real foodinized" it for you, and the outcome is just delicious! I've even included French Fried Onions on the top.
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It’s totally possible to have a real food Thanksgiving dinner, and this recipe is here to help. I took the standard Green Bean Casserole recipe and “real foodinized” it for you, and the outcome is just delicious! I am not going to promise it will taste exactly like the original recipe you’ve made in years past, because I think this one will actually be even better than before.
It’s really hard to beat wholesome, pure ingredients that are lovingly put together in a homemade dish like this one. And just for the record, this is now one of my 6-year-old’s favorite vegetable recipes. She gave it a huge thumbs up and has already asked me to make it again! So holidays aside, this may very well be our new standard way to eat green beans. :)
More Real Food Holiday Recipes
- Whole-Wheat Garlic Cheddar Drop Biscuits
- Whole-Wheat Biscuits
- Chestnut and Prosciutto Stuffing
- Pesto Cream Cheese Bake Appetizer
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Whole-Grain Corn Bread
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Brown Rice Risotto
- Salad Inspiration
- Shortcut Chocolate Pecan Pie
- Chicken Casserole
Green Bean Casserole with French Fried Onions
It’s totally possible to have a real food Thanksgiving dinner, and this recipe is here to help. I took the standard Green Bean Casserole recipe, "real foodinized" it for you, and the outcome is just delicious! I've even included French Fried Onions on the top.
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Servings: 8 people
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Ingredients
Casserole Ingredients
- 2 pounds green beans (trimmed, cut in half, and steamed (8 to 10 minutes or until tender and easily pierced with a fork))
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 8 ounces mushrooms (diced (Shiitake is a great choice, but button mushrooms are good as well))
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 4 tablespoons whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- pepper (to taste)
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Onion Topping Ingredients
- 1/2 onion (peeled, cut in half, and sliced very thin)
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Salt (to taste)
Instructions
Casserole Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook while stirring for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes, being careful not to let the flour burn. Stir in the salt and pepper.
- Carefully whisk in the milk and soy sauce while scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a light boil. Whisk and cook until the sauce thickens to the consistency of a really thick soup, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Mix the sauce with the (previously steamed) green beans in a casserole dish and toss to combine. Bake in the oven until bubbly, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with French Fried Onions (instructions below).
French Fried Onion Topping Instructions
- While the casserole is baking, spread the flour out on a large plate, carefully separate the onion pieces, and dredge them in the flour until they are evenly coated.
- Melt the butter for the topping in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Shake the excess flour off the onions and add them to the pan, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Depending on the size of the pan you may need to cook them in batches. If cooking more than one batch, be sure to wipe out the pan in-between to prevent the residue from burning.
- Once the onions are golden brown on the bottom (after about 1 to 2 minutes), carefully flip them over to brown the other side. Add extra butter to the pan if they begin to look dry. The onions do cook quickly, so keep a close watch!
- Transfer the onions to a paper-towel lined plate and generously season with salt.
Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts
Green Bean Casserole with French Fried Onions
Amount Per Serving
Calories 256
Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 10g63%
Cholesterol 45mg15%
Sodium 437mg19%
Potassium 453mg13%
Carbohydrates 21g7%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 7g14%
Vitamin A 1345IU27%
Vitamin C 15.2mg18%
Calcium 143mg14%
Iron 1.7mg9%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Will this recipe work with the mushrooms omitted? It sounds like a delicious alternative to the highly processed version, but a few family members (myself included!) can’t tolerate the taste of mushrooms. Thank you!
Becky – why not try it and report back here as to the outcome……
Hi Becky. We’ve not tried the recipe without the mushrooms but I think you could omit them. ~Amy
this was awesome!!! I am gonna make it for my whole family this year!!!
Thought I’d stop back to print this out because it’s already been requested for Thanksgiving dinner this year ;-)
Made this today as part of a Thanksgiving/Christmas in July (err, August) meal since we had to finish up a turkey purchased earlier this year. We decided to skip the onions this time but sprinkled some bread crumbs sprayed with olive oil on top for the crunchy texture and it came out great!
This is so good! Haven’t had green bean casserole for so long because I didn’t want to eat the typical ingredients in it. It was a little more effort but not too bad and well worth it.
I want to rate it 5 stars but my phone isn’t letting me.
I am having a hard time getting my flour to stick to my onions…any suggestions? Maybe wetting it with water first??? Thank you!! I already tried the green bean casserole without the onions on top and it is delish!
Hi Christy. A little brush of liquid will not hurt. Also, I sometimes grind my flour more finely which can help. ~Amy
spray them with olive oil
Just made this for the first time and it was a huuuuuge success! Thank you 100 days of real food!
Hi Kristina. We’ve frozen the casserole as a whole and the onions freeze fine. ~Amy
When freezing, did you have to thaw the casserole before baking? And how long did you bake it?
Hi again. I do thaw first and bake for about 20-25 minutes. ~Amy
Can the French fried onions be frozen in the freezer for later use? Not sure if anyone asked this already or if some one has tried it. Thanks.
WONDERFUL! Did not disappoint!
Would you consider the soupy mixture to be a substitute of sorts for cream of mushroom soup? Just wondering if I could make batches of that and use it in place of the canned stuff when a recipe calls for that. Thanks! Making this casserole right now and we’ll be having it in a few hours for dinner. The soup mixture smelled delicious, and now I can’t wait to try the whole casserole!
Hi Marlana. Lisa has a cream of mushroom recipe: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/12/23/recipe-homemade-cream-of-mushroom-soup/. :) ~Amy
Wonderful! Thanks so much.
Really an amazing dish. It looks absolutely different. I want to eat it right now.
I made this with gluten free flour since 3/5 of our family are celiac. So good. Thank you so much for all the amazing recipes.
Made this for Christmas dinner, it was a hit even though my fresh beans were not the greatest (really what can one expect of fresh beans in December?). Thanks for the recipe, this will be our recipe going forward, just have to find better beans next time.
This was just ok for us. I am pretty sure I did everything according to the directions, but it turned out kind of bland and very runny. Maybe because I made it the night before…? The onions were awesome though.
I can’t even tell you how amazing this was! My 18 month old ate it up and my BF (who barely eats veggies) couldn’t stop commenting on how great it was! Thank you – this is becoming a family classic!
One thing my husband has been missing in our less processed eating is canned cream of mushroom. He loves to put it on egg noodles & pork. After making the green bean casserol for thanksgiving dinner and realized how easy & fresh it was i decided to make the cream of mushroom part of this receipe the other night to add to our dinner. My husband liked it and was thrilled. Im wondering if this can be done ahead of time or in bigger batches & frozen so we have it on hand (the cream of mushroom part).
This was incredibly shocking how close to the classic version with condensed cream of mushroom soup, canned green beans, and dried onion rings. I made this for Thanksgiving and it was fantastic! Thank you!
Do you have a real food version of the typical broccoli rice cheese casserole??
Hi Kristi. Nope, sorry. :)
Hi all! We use coconut aminos in place of soy sauce in recipes because of soy allergies. Didn’t see it mentioned here (sorry if it was and I didn’t see it). It comes in a bottle and I found mine at the vitamin shoppe but I think I’ve seen it at whole foods or sprouts. Hope that helps!
Lisa, I’ve been meaning to thank you!! I made this for Thanksgiving and my mother in law, who loves the traditional green bean casserole with canned everything, loved this more. She even asked for the recipe.
Thanks for sharing.
Sarah
this home made version is delicious and doesn’t take long at all to prepare. I made the cream soup without mushrooms because my family doesn’t like them and it was still really good. And my niece age 15 that doesn’t like onions loved them! She helped me flour and cook them then we put them in the oven to crips them a little more. I used a sweet onion and added season salt to the flour even the baby liked them, this is a new Thanksgiving staple and will also be used in my tater tot casserole. No more buying cream soups.
I made this for Thanksgiving today. I’m not a huge fan of green bean casserole, but I make it because my husband loves it. THIS WAS SO AMAZING. I wanted to spoon-eat tbe cream of mushroom mixture. So so so good! The onions are time-consuming to make, but so so worth it and way tastier than the store bought ones. My husband LOVED IT too and said it’s the best he’s ever had. YUM YUM YUM. H
Holy cow this was good!!! Made this today for my family and turned out awesome. Tons better than the processed one. I made the onions right before serving and admit I just did a traditional flour, egg, panko (with s&p and garlic) breading and fried them in coconut oil. Will definitely be making this next year for our big family Thanksgiving. DEEEEEE-LICIOUS!!!!
Made this tonight for our thanksgiving dinner and it turned out delicious! I couldn’t have been happier with it! All guests loved it. Thank you! Will definitely make again!
Thank you for this! I didn’t think it possible but this was better than ever! A ‘real food’ T-day HIT! My family and I loved it!
Made this for Thanksgiving dinner and it was a hit!
I am sensitive to soy and since it was such a small amount–I found a little recipe on google and mixed a little maple syrup, ginger, and salt…I hope it turns out good. :)
What was the recipe you found dawnda? Did it turn out ok?
What type of soy sauce do you use for this recipe? Is there any type that is more healthy than the normal kind? Thanks!!
Hi there. Always buy a certified organic (non-gmo) soy sauce. ~Amy
SO excited to make this! Do you think the whole wheat flour could be subbed with white rice flour to make it celiac friendly? Or maybe organic cornstarch?
I will be using this for Thanksgiving. Thanks for the recipe! :)
Hi Amanda. Other readers have suggested buckwheat flour. ~Amy
Wondering if the flour actually sticks to the onions or if you need to wet them or use an egg wash?
Hi Patti. Lisa did not use an egg wash and the flour stuck well. ~Amy
My husband made this for us tonight, a trial run of one of our thanksgiving sides and it was DELICIOUS! So much better than the “traditional” kind we thought we loved. Another 100 days recipe to add to our rotation :)
If you make both the grean bean mixture and the onions ahead of time, do you just keep them separate in the frig, then put the onions on before throwing in the oven to reheat? Can I just leave out the mushrooms?
Hi Cassie. Keeping them separate and reheating them should work just fine. You will lose some flavor if you leave the mushrooms out. ~Amy
Can you make this recipe without soy sauce. I am allergic to soy so I was wondering if you thought it would taste the same? Thank you!
Tamari is a good alternative to soy sauce.
Terri, I would like to know this also. Tamari is also may with soy so would be safe for a soy allergic individual.
Sorry, it would NOT be safe for a soy allergic individual.
Hi all. This might help: http://www.thekitchn.com/soy-alternatives-180103. ~Amy
I am going to make this recipe for Thanksgiving to serve at a dinner that is usually highly processed. This family is very picky so I want to do canned green beans(GMO/MSG Free). I’m easing them into this clean eating. How many cans should I get?
You could do frozen and it would be a bit healthier, and crunchier. They *may* not notice. I would think if you still want to do cans, 3-4 cans for the amount of soup that is produced.
Hi Rachel. Alissabeth is right on with her amounts if you are using 14 oz cans. :) ~Amy
So, I made this last night and refrigerated. It was fairly easy to put together, and at 1045 at night I was thankful! From start to fridge it took about 20 minutes with cleanup. This am I heated it at 375, for about 20-30 minutes. It wasn’t piping in the middle but very warm. I really enjoyed the tastes that I sampled! I fried the onions in 3 batches, using 2 forks to flip. I think the best way might be to use a large electric skillet so you can do them in one go because the 2nd-3rd batches just didn’t get as crispy. They were delicious though! Can’t wait to hear the reviews, but I’d say this is 5 stars!
Alissabeth, 20 minutes from start to finish including clean up? Including making the 3 batches of onion crisps? What is your secret to such speed?
Yes, I’d love to know your secret. It took me 20 minutes just to trim and cut all my beans. I’m not the quickest with a knife but I think 20 minutes is very optimistic for most people. However, this was delicious and a hit at my Thanksgiving potluck. People liked the crispness of non-canned beans. I do think my onions could’ve been crispier on top, maybe next time I’ll try more butter for frying.
Ok, I misled you all (not intentionally, just didn’t clarify things)! Ha, sorry!
I bought precut and washed organic green beans from the produce dept., threw them in the steamer for 12 minutes. My mushrooms were already sliced, so I just had to chop them up a little more and throw them in. It was 20 minutes prep to pan, but not including the heating and onions the next morning. ;-) It took me 30 minutes to heat and do the onions while it was heating. Definitely worth it though! I think they key to the crispiness is the butter, but I really hate to use 2 sticks of butter for the 3 batches I did!
I did get some leftovers and I have to say this is the closest thing to the ‘traditional’ recipe that has all the junk. It was mostly gone except for a few spoonfuls.
I also actually didn’t cut them in half until they were cooked (missed the step), which actually worked well, because the ‘soup’ was ready and I just cut them in 1/3’s and mixed them right in the soup.
Wow, great recipe! I actually detest the regular cream soup type casserole, but your’s looks good enough to try. Though I’ll be using frozen green beans, since fresh local ones are no longer available. Plus, since the beans are lightly coated and not gloppy, my girls might eat it. It is hard to get my oldest to eat bland grocery store produce now that the “good” stuff is no longer in season at the farmer’s market.
Can you freeze this dish and bake it another time?
Hi Heidi. I’m sure you can but you would need to adjust your bake times for a frozen dish. ~Amy
Do you think it would work if you cook off the onions the day before and reheat that they would recrisp? Looking to see if this can be become a full or partial make ahead dish.
thanks
Hi Sharon. I think they would crisp up somewhat if you heat them in the oven as well. ~Amy