Green Bean Casserole Without Mushroom Soup

Nov 11, 2024 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · Last modified: Nov 11, 2024 · 17 Comments

Cooking time: 35

This Green Bean Casserole Without Mushroom Soup features tender green beans, a creamy sauce, lots of cheese, and your favorite toppings—a perfect Thanksgiving side dish. Once you make this easy recipe, you will never use that can of soup again!

🥣Ingredients

Green beans—fresh (preferred), canned, or frozen green beans
Onion
Butter
Sour cream
Flour, salt, black pepper, sugar
Shredded cheese
Ritz crackers

Jump To (scroll for more)

🥣Ingredients
👨‍🍳How to Green Bean Casserole Without Mushroom Soup—Step-by-Step Photo Instruction
🔪Green bean options
🥣Sauce options and variations
🧀Cheese options
🥣Topping options
📏Pan size choice
⬇️How to make this a "for two" friendly recipe
📆How to make green bean casserole ahead of time
🍽️Serving
❄️Storage of leftovers
❓FAQs
⚕️Food Safety
📖 Recipe

Featured Comment by KrissyG :
"Great recipe! Thank you:)"

With the holidays approaching, green bean casserole is one of the most beloved side dishes. But I find making it from scratch is fresher with more taste.

This recipe offers many options. Instead of canned green beans, use fresh or frozen ones, cut or French-style. To customize the dish, add cheese and toppings of your choice. Most importantly, it does not use a can of mushroom soup with its ten-plus mysterious ingredients and can tastes.

👨‍🍳How to Green Bean Casserole Without Mushroom Soup—Step-by-Step Photo Instruction

Fresh green beans with casserole ingredients—labeled. — Fresh green beans are recommended. Canned and frozen green beans are discussed in the bean section below.

1. If you are using fresh green beans, clean and trim them. Precook them by boiling or steaming them until they are almost done.

2. Cool the beans in an ice bath to stop further cooking.

3. Chop an onion.

4. Cook in butter until clearing some, about 2-3 minutes.

Mixing flour into the butter and onions to make a roux.

5. Stir in flour until smooth, and cook for two minutes. Remove from heat.

Mixing green beans and sour cream into the roux.

6. Add seasoning, sour cream, shredded cheese, and green beans

Pouring the green bean mixture into the baking dish.

7. Transfer the bean mixture to a casserole dish. At this point, you can cover it and refrigerate it to cook for 1 to 3 days.

Mixing crushed Ritz crackers into butter.

8. Make your topping of choice. I suggest crushed Ritz crackers with butter. Alternate toppings are discussed below.

Top the casserole with cheese and crackers.

9. Cover with a layer of shredded cheese and sprinkle the topping over the casserole.

10. Bake in a 350° convection or 375° conventional oven for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden and the casserole is bubbly.

For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.

🔪Green bean options

This recipe works fine with fresh, frozen, or canned green beans. You may use French-cut or straight-cut beans.

Canned beans should be drained before use.
Frozen beans are usually thawed and drained before use.
Fresh green beans are recommended, but they must be cooked before use. Use either steam or boiling water. Do not overcook them; they should be slightly undercooked. Stop the cooking by using an ice bath.

Precooking fresh green beans

Look for green beans that are vibrant green, have smooth skin, show no swelling of seeds, have good firmness, and are without wrinkles or bad spots.

You are cooking them to just a bit tender, not mushy. They will cook a little more in the casserole.

Microwave: in a covered bowl with the bottom covered with water for 4-6 minutes.

Stovetop: In boiling salt water for 4-5 minutes.

Always stop your precooking with an ice water bath.

🥣Sauce options and variations

Why no can of soup? Cans of soup are commonly used in casseroles and crockpot cooking to thicken and sometimes add flavor. But for that, you are adding a lot of chemicals and flavors that I don't enjoy.

In this recipe, we are thickening with a traditional roux made with butter and flour. Then add seasoning, cheese, and sour cream. For more discussion on creating a roux, see How To Make Gravy at Home.

If you want gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour substitute for the roux. And carefully check all the ingredients on any ingredients.

Optional additions to the sauce include chopped cooked bacon, sliced mushrooms, and garlic powder. Fresh garlic may be used, but it should be added to the roux and cooked for one minute before adding the flour.

🧀Cheese options

Sharp Cheddar cheese is commonly used and provides a great classic taste. But any cheese will be fine, such as Colby Jack, Gruyère, or Swiss cheese (my choice).

🥣Topping options

Now, we are into the passionate part of green bean casserole. Everybody has their favorite topping.

I suggest topping with crushed butter crackers (Ritz) with butter. Again, this is a break from tradition for many, but it is a great and easy topping.

If you want the traditional canned French-fried onions, remove the cracker topping and cook as directed, adding 1 to 1 ½ cups of French-fried onions for the last five minutes of cooking.

The third option is Panko breadcrumbs. Mix 1 cup of Panko breadcrumbs with 2 to 3 tablespoons of melted butter. You can add ¼ cup of grated Parmesan to the bread crumbs. Add the breadcrumb mixture at the beginning of cooking the casserole.

📏Pan size choice

A full-size recipe is perfect for a 2 ½-quart casserole dish, and the topping is set for that size. You can use a 9 by 13 casserole, but it is larger, so it will be thinner. You will want to increase the topping by about 50% to cover the larger area.

A half-size recipe fits a 1-quart casserole dish, or you can use an 8 by 8, 6 by 9, or 8 or 9-inch round dish. You may need to adjust the amount of toppings.

⬇️How to make this a "for two" friendly recipe

Since this is generally a family holiday recipe, I have set the amounts and instructions to 8 servings. However, you can easily cut it in half if you want.

Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to four.
Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
Cooking time will be about 10-15 minutes shorter—watch the top color.

📆How to make green bean casserole ahead of time

Make the casserole without the topping, and do not cook it. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 2-3 days. Add the topping and cook when needed.

🍽️Serving

This casserole is an All-American Thanksgiving side dish. Serve it with Roasted Turkey Breast, Sausage Stuffing, and Sweet Potato Casserole. See Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup for all the recommendations.

❄️Storage of leftovers

The cooked casserole can be refrigerated airtight for 3-4 days. It can also be frozen for 3-4 months.

❓FAQs

How to store leftover green bean casserole?

Which is better, frozen or canned green beans for green bean casserole?

When first opened, canned green beans tend to be overcooked and mushy, so cooking them in a casserole for more time will exacerbate the texture problems.

Frozen green beans are an excellent choice. They are picked fresh, blanched, and flash-frozen. However, they must be thawed and drained before being added to the casserole to finish cooking.

I'm always a fan of fresh vegetables. They provide the best results as long as you have a good source and prepare them correctly for the casserole.

Fresh green beans should be precooked until slightly tender. Use boiling water with a teaspoon or two of salt on the stovetop. Alternatively, use a covered dish with water covering the bottom in the microwave. Cook for 4-5 minutes, then, to prevent overcooking, stop the cooking process in an ice bath.

⚕️Food Safety

This casserole is frequently used for parties or large gatherings. However, it should be discarded if the temperature falls below 140° for over 2 hours. For more safety tips, see the USDA Food Safety Page.