Can the canned cream soups. Make a homemade green bean casserole from scratch! This classic holiday side dish tastes amazing with homemade cream of celery soup, asiago cheese, and panko bread crumbs.
Want to save this post?
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, I’ll send you budget recipes and money-saving tips every week!
Want to make frozen green beans a little bit extra? I’ve got just the thing!
This homemade Green Bean Casserole is a traditional Thanksgiving side dish that elevates the humble green bean to something remarkable. Bathed in a homemade cream of celery soup and topped with asiago cheese and panko bread crumbs, this veggie side dish tastes amazing and is very make-ahead.
Why Make Green Bean Casserole Homemade
As you may know, the original recipe calls for cream of mushroom soup, green beans, milk, spices, and a can of fried onions. I’ve played with the classics to deliver a super tasty holiday side dish that’s worth making a family tradition.
There’s a homemade sauce. I’ve substituted Homemade Cream of Celery Soup for the canned. You can add 1 cup sautéed mushrooms if the mushroom element is important to you. I don’t, simply for ease of assembly.
It’s extra rich. I use sour cream and Asiago cheese to add more flavor and richness to the basic white sauce.
It’s not mushy. I use frozen green beans in order to achieve a fresher taste than canned. If you prefer, use canned.
It’s got a crunchy, cheesy lid. And while I know that french fried onions are traditional, I opted out of frying my own and just topped the dish with asiago cheese, buttered panko bread crumbs, and a scattering of chopped scallions and parsley. The panko lid adds the crunch of the canned fried onions while the scallions add the oniony flavor.
You can make it ahead of time and freeze it. Best thing of all, this Really Homemade Green Bean Casserole is freezer-friendly. If making it for the freezer, cool the creamy soup before assembling and don’t thaw the beans. Mix it all together, wrap, label, and freeze. Voila!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make homemade green bean casserole:
cream of celery soup – You can use canned of course, but since we are going scratch cooking here, why not go ahead and make your own homemade cream of celery soup and take this dish over the top? Making a homemade white sauce goes a long way to upgrade the flavor of green bean casserole.
sour cream – sour cream adds great richness and flavor.
Asiago cheese – Asiago cheese is similar to parmesan or romano cheese. You can use those as substitutes if you like.
frozen green beans – I prefer using frozen green beans in my green bean casserole, but you can use steamed fresh beans or canned green beans if you prefer.
panko bread crumbs– This adds a great crunch to your green bean casserole recipe. Usually those fried onions are used, but this does the trick. You can also use homemade bread crumbs in your food processor in a pinch if you need to.
melted butter– I stir my panko bread crumbs in it, to help them brown and get crunchy in the oven.
green onions – Since we skipped the fried onions, this gives that classic onion flavor.
fresh parsley– A little bit of freshness and color goes a long way!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make homemade green bean casserole:
Preheat your oven and prepare your dish. Preheat the oven to 350 °. Grease a 2-quart baking dish.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the celery soup, sour cream, and ⅓ cup asiago cheese. Stir in the green beans.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the remaining ⅓ cup asiago cheese.
In a small dish combine the panko and the melted butter. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the cheese.
Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly and the top is light golden. Top with the green onions and parsley and serve immediately.
FAQs
Green Bean Casserole is a mixture of a white sauce with green beans and a crunchy, bready, onion-y top. It was originally made with canned cream of mushroom soup, green beans, milk, spices, and canned fried onions. Home economist Dorcas Reilly developed this recipe in 1955 for the Campbell Soup Company. You can read more of the story here.
Typically served as a vegetable side dish, green bean casserole goes well with roast or grilled meats as well as traditionally holiday side dishes.
You can do any of the above. Every family I’ve met has a preference of their own. I’ve even heard of some coming to blows about whether or not the green beans should be plain cut or french cut. Use what you personally prefer, knowing that the finer the cut of the bean the softer the casserole will be.
More Veggie Side Dishes
Tell us what you think!
We love to hear your experiences with Good Cheap Eats. Click the STARS on the recipe card or leave a STARRED comment to let us know what you think of the recipe.
Homemade Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Homemade Cream of Celery Soup for Cooking
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4 oz Asiago cheese shredded, divided (for ⅔ cup)
- 1 16-ounce bag frozen green beans no need to thaw
- ⅔ cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoon butter melted
- 2 green onion (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °. Grease a 10-inch round baking dish.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the celery soup, sour cream, and ⅓ cup asiago cheese. Stir in the green beans.1 ½ cup Homemade Cream of Celery Soup for Cooking, ½ cup sour cream, 4 oz Asiago cheese, 1 16-ounce bag frozen green beans
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the remaining ⅓ cup asiago cheese.
- In a small dish combine the panko and the melted butter. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the cheese.⅔ cup panko bread crumbs, 2 tablespoon butter
- Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly and the top is light golden.
- Top with the green onions and parsley and serve immediately.2 green onion (chopped), 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on November 7, 2012. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Jim Boris
The cream of celery soup and panko bread crumbs a great addition. The Asiago cheese is very strong however and takes over the rest of the flavors. Going to try mozzarella next time. Great side with baked ham and twice baked sweet potatoes!
Rebekah
Delicious!!
Admittedly, I’ve never actually had any green bean casserole. (There are just so many other great options!) But this was really wonderful. I used homemade vegetable stock to keep it vegetarian.
Also, I didn’t have panko so I whizzed a bunch of hard breadsticks in the food processor with some seasonings and sprinkled those on top.
Thanks for another great recipe, Jessica!
Jessica Fisher
Great to hear it. Thanks for the feedback, Rebekah! The breadsticks sound like a great substitute!
Megan
I really want to try this recipe for Thanksgiving! Not sure I should admit this, but I kinda like the fried onions – just once a year, on green bean casserole 😉 do you think I could just use those on top instead of the panko? Otherwise, I totally appreciate all the homemade ingredients rather than canned soup and such. Can’t wait to have this ready ahead of time!
Jessica Fisher
Yes, absolutely! They should swap just fine. Let me know how it goes!
Miranda
How long do I have to bake if I am cooking from frozen?
Jessica Fisher
I have not had a chance to test it baking from frozen. I’d recommend thawing it prior to baking for best results.
Kathy
can I sub reduced fat sour cream for regular? Want to make this for Thanksgiving but Dont want to do a trial run….
Jessica Fisher
Sorry I didn’t get around to answering this sooner. I’m not really sure since I only buy full fat sour cream. Sorry!
Teri Duffield
I love green bean casserol, but the not-so-healthy version I am “intolerant” to. I have to get your recipe. Sometimes I use a white sauce instead of the soup.
Bethany@OurSoCalledLife
Thanks for this! I always have to bring green bean casserole to our Christmas gathering, and I would love to make it less processed.
Jessika
It’s not my own recipe , but I made this wild rice stuffing last year and I adored it. Nothing from a box and it has wonderful flavor and texture. It’s from foodnetwork.com.
1 cup wild rice
3 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cooking apple, such as a Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, or Rome, peeled, cored, and chopped
2 ribs celery with leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Pinch ground mace or nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound fresh Italian-style turkey sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup pecan pieces, toasted (see note)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
For the stuffing: Combine the wild rice, water, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and just bursting, about 30 minutes. (Times may very depending on the brand of rice used.) Drain and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, apple, celery, garlic, thyme, mace, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and cook until it loses most of its rosy color, but not so much that it’s dry, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the cooked wild rice, pecans, and parsley into the vegetable mixture.
Penny
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’ve always wanted to make it, but didn’t know what to substitute in place of the cream of mushroom soup.
Steph (The Cheapskate Cook)
Way to go, Jessica! I’m so impressed. Thanksgiving is often touted as America’s big homemade dinner, but so much of it is so processed, haha. Thanks for the recipe!
Debra
That looks really good. I cringe every year when I open that can of onions! Thanks for sharing.
Heather B
Last year I made the switch to homemade cream of mushroom for this recipe. I think I’ll add the asiago cheese this year! yum! But I’m keeping the nasty container french fried onions because I don’t want to try to make them from scratch.
Teri Duffield
oooooooooh! how do you do THE onion rings? I think I’d like to try it?