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I first created this Healthy Homemade Green Bean Casserole for Thanksgiving last year, but I never got around to photographing it / posting it. Well, I made it again this week and perfected it even more and so here it is! If there’s any Thanksgiving side dish worth taking the time to fully homemake, it’s this one! It is so delicious, and I bet many people who don’t typically like this dish would love it homemade! We’re not using any canned ingredients, so everything is fresh and delicious. The flavors come together perfectly to create a delicious dish that everyone will love.

Ingredients for Homemade Green Bean Casserole

Fresh green beans

Mushrooms

Breadcrumbs – I actually homemade breadcrumbs for this – which I listed in the recipe card if you would like to do the same! I personally couldn’t find any healthy breadcrumbs in my local store and it’s easy to homemake. If homemaking breadcrumbs, you’ll need 5 slices of bread (I used sprouted), 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and italian seasoning.

Flour

Grated parmesan cheese

Eggs

Milk

Heavy cream

Broth

Garlic cloves

Spices – salt, black pepper (and if homemaking breadcrumbs, you’ll also use garlic and italian seasoning)

Kitchen tools needed

9×13 baking dish (or you can use a 17-inch cast iron skillet for cooking the mushroom/sauce mixture then incorporate the rest of the ingredients to cook the casserole!)

Skillet

Large pot

Whisk

Spatula

3 small bowls/shallow bowls

Baking sheets (1-2 depending on size)

Parchment paper

Method for Homemade Green Bean Casserole

For homemade breadcrumbs (8 min prep, 15 min cook): Preheat the oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pulse the slices of bread in a food processor until crumbly. Drizzle the olive oil over the crumbs and sprinkle the italian seasoning, garlic, and salt. Pulse again a few times to incorporate. Spread the crumbs onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes, tossing halfway, until golden brown and dry.
For the green beans: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Dump the green beans into a strainer and rinse with cold water. Leave in the strainer to let the excess water drain.
For crispy onions (15 min prep, 18 min cook): Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Set out 3 small-medium bowls. Add the flour and salt to one bowl. Add the breadcrumbs to a second bowl. Add the egg and milk to the third bowl, whisking them together. Slice the onions into thin slices. Then dip each side of the onion slices into the flour, then the egg mixture, then the breadcrumb mixture. The breadcrumbs won’t coat it completely, but that’s okay! Place onto a baking sheet. Repeat with each onion slice. Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes. Flip them halfway through to brown the opposite side. Once completely, remove from the oven and set aside. Roughly chop up once cooled.
Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F.
For the casserole (30 mins): Melt the butter in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the mushrooms, salt, and the pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic cloves and cook for another minute or two until fragrant and golden. Add the chicken broth and and heavy cream, turn the heat to med-low and let it simmer for about 15 minutes until thickened. Take a whisk and start whisking the mixture while slowly adding in the flour to thicken it more. Stir in the grated parmesan.
Bake it all together (15 mins): Put the green beans into a 9×13 casserole dish and toss together with about 1/4 of the chopped crispy onions. Dump the sauce mixture over it then top with the remaining chopped crispy onions. Bake at 400ºF for 15 minutes until bubbly. Enjoy!

Modifications

Make the recipe gluten-free by using gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Prep entire casserole ahead of time: If you want to save yourself the time needed to make this on Thanksgiving, you can prep it up to a couple days before! Keep it tightly covered in the fridge then bake for 20-25 minutes when ready. You can put broil on for just a minute or two to crisp up the onion even more if desired – Just watch it the whole time because it happens fast and you don’t want it to burn.
If you don’t want to prep the entire casserole, you can prep just a few parts, such as the breadcrumbs (store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks), blanched green beans (store in fridge), and getting the onions sliced and ready to prep (store in fridge).

Other Thanksgiving recipes

Healthier Pumpkin Pie

Honey Glazed Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Carrots

Pumpkin Bread with Pecan Streusel

I hope you love this Healthy Homemade Green Bean Casserole recipe! Please be sure to leave a comment and rating if you try it out. I would love to know what you think!

Healthy Homemade Green Bean Casserole

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Author: Christine Manes
Total Time: 2 hours
Yield: 12 servings 1x
Category: Thanksgiving, side dish
Method: Stovetop, oven
Cuisine: American

Instructions

For homemade breadcrumbs (8 min prep, 15 min cook): Preheat the oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pulse the slices of bread in a food processor until crumbly. Drizzle the olive oil over the crumbs and sprinkle the italian seasoning, garlic, and salt. Pulse again a few times to incorporate. Spread the crumbs onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes, tossing halfway, until golden brown and dry.
For the green beans: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Dump the green beans into a strainer and rinse with cold water. Leave in the strainer to let the excess water drain.
For crispy onions (15 min prep, 18 min cook): Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Set out 3 small-medium bowls. Add the flour and salt to one bowl. Add the breadcrumbs to a second bowl. Add the egg and milk to the third bowl, whisking them together. Slice the onions into thin slices. Then dip each side of the onion slices into the flour, then the egg mixture, then the breadcrumb mixture. The breadcrumbs won’t coat it completely, but that’s okay! Place onto a baking sheet. Repeat with each onion slice. Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes. Flip them halfway through to brown the opposite side. Once completely, remove from the oven and set aside. Roughly chop up once cooled.
Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F.
For the casserole (30 mins): Melt the butter in a medium skillet over med-high heat. Add the mushrooms, salt, and the pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic cloves and cook for another minute or two until fragrant and golden. Add the chicken broth and and heavy cream, turn the heat to med-low and let it simmer for about 15 minutes until thickened. Take a whisk and start whisking the mixture while slowly adding in the flour to thicken it more. Stir in the grated parmesan.
Bake it all together (15 mins): Put the green beans into a 9×13 casserole dish and toss together with about 1/4 of the chopped crispy onions. Dump the sauce mixture over it then top with the remaining chopped crispy onions. Bake at 400ºF for 15 minutes until bubbly. Enjoy!