Green Bean Casserole
Quick answer
- Total time
- 45 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Green bean casserole depends on two separate texture controls: the beans are blanched for only 3 minutes, and the fried onion topping goes on for the final 5 minutes rather than the full bake.
Read more
Trim 400 g green beans, lower them into boiling water, and transfer them straight to cold water after 3 minutes. Drain them thoroughly so they do not loosen the cream sauce. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan and cook half a chopped onion, then add 150 g sliced mushrooms. Continue until the moisture released by the mushrooms has noticeably reduced. Lower the heat to medium-low, stir in 2 tablespoons flour, and cook the roux for 1 minute. Add 250 ml milk in small portions, stirring each addition smooth before pouring in more. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and stop cooking when the sauce is thick but still easy to spread. Fold in the drained beans until every piece is coated, then distribute the mixture evenly in a baking dish. Bake at 180C for 20 minutes, until the sauce bubbles at the edges. Scatter 1 cup fried onions over the surface and return the dish to the oven for 5 minutes. This timing keeps the interior creamy, the beans distinct, and the topping crisp instead of letting all three soften together.
Ingredients
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Heat
Trim the 400 g green beans, then blanch them in boiling water for exactly 3 minutes.
Transfer them straight to cold water, drain well, and keep them crisp so they do not turn soft during baking.
- 2Control
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan over medium heat, then saute the half onion first.
When it turns translucent, add 150 g mushrooms and cook until their moisture reduces and the mushroom flavor concentrates.
- 3Control
Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons flour and cook over medium-low heat for about 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste.
Stir constantly so the roux coats the vegetables without sticking or browning too fast.
- 4Season
Pour in 250 ml milk gradually while stirring, letting each addition loosen the roux before adding more.
Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, then turn off the heat when the sauce flows thickly and smoothly.
- 5Season
Add the drained green beans to the cream sauce and fold until every piece is lightly coated.
Transfer to a baking dish in an even layer, spreading the sauce to the edges for steady heating.
- 6Heat
Bake at 180C for 20 minutes, until the edges begin to bubble.
Remove the dish, scatter 1 cup fried onions over the top, and bake 5 minutes more so the topping crisps without burning.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Quick blanching keeps green beans snappy under a mushroom cream sauce and onions.
- Finish cue
- Stir constantly so the roux coats the vegetables without sticking or browning too fast.
- Avoid this
- Avoid over-blanching beans so they stay crisp after baking.
- Substitution
- This timing keeps the interior creamy, the beans distinct, and the topping crisp instead of letting all three soften together.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
45min, 8 ingredients
Category median
40min, 8 ingredients
Based on 168 recipes
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