I don’t think I’m too off the rails here in confessing that my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner is the sides. Turkey is great, pie is amazing, but how often do you get a meal with such a wide assortment of the most show stopping starch and vegetable options? And the king of all holiday sides for my family has always been green bean casserole.
If you ask my mom, she doesn’t even know the origin of her green bean casserole. She’s not sure if she read a recipe somewhere or made it up, but one thing is for sure, it’s not anything like the recipes you see popping up on the backs of cans around this time of year. I’ll never forget the disappointment of eating someone else’s green bean casserole. Digging into those green beans and realizing that all the things that make my mom’s the absolute best ever weren’t there was devastating.
About now, you’re probably thinking that green bean casserole is all basically the same. What could my mom possibly have done differently? I must have just been nostalgic and homesick. We all think that our family does things better right? Wrong. My mom is a genius and I’ll explain.
Mom starts her green bean casserole just like everybody does, several cans of green beans and a couple cans of cream of mushroom soup. Then, she takes a left turn in to crazy delicious by adding cheddar cheese and sliced water chestnuts. YES. Cheese and water chestnuts! The cheese is obvious, because cheese makes all casseroles more delicious. The water chestnuts though add this crunch factor throughout the whole dish that just makes life better. She obviously tops the whole thing with those classic French fried onions that are a nonnegotiable aspect of green bean casserole.
I wouldn’t judge you for making my mom’s version of things. Actually, I would high five you, because it’s awesome. In my version though, I take all the things I love best about hers, and just use fresh green beans and make my own creamy mushroom sauce. I like the crunch and freshness of the green beans, and making your own mushroom sauce gives you more control over the seasonings. I still go ahead and buy the canned fried onions. I’m not about standing a pot of spattering oil, and the store bought ones are JUST FINE.
I start by blanching the green beans in salted water. Blanching just means boiling for a short amount of time and then dunking in ice water to stop the cooking. This step you could do a couple days ahead of time and stash the beans in the fridge. You could also make the mushroom sauce a couple days ahead. Then just mix everything together the day of your meal and pop it in the oven to heat it all up. I like making this casserole in a 12 inch cast iron pan, but any oven safe dish would work. I just prefer being able to cook the mushroom sauce and mix and bake it all in the one dish.
What are your holiday feast plans? What dishes does your family make that nobody else can do justice to? Let me know in the comments!
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- 1½ pounds green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
- ½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 8 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup low sodium chicken stock
- 1½ cup half and half
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1-2 dashes of hot sauce
- 8 ounce can of sliced water chestnuts, drained
- 4 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 6 ounce container of French fried onions
- salt and pepper to taste
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt generously to taste like sea water. Fill a large bowl with ice and water, leaving space for the green beans later. Add the trimmed green beans to the boiling water for 1 and a half to 2 minutes. Remove the green beans from the boiling water when they become bright green and just slightly more tender, they should still be very, very crunchy. Immediately add the green beans to the ice water to stop the cooking. When the green beans are completely cool, drain and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Melt butter in a 12 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms start to turn slightly golden brown. Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and stir it in. Cook the flour and mushrooms for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. The flour should stay a golden color, but not brown.
- While stirring, add the chicken stock and half and half to the pan. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, nutmeg, garlic powder, onion powder, hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Let the mixture come to a boil, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened into a thick, gravy consistency. Remove from heat and stir in the water chestnuts and green beens. Stir in the grated cheese and smooth flat. Top with the onions.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until hot and bubbly and the onions have become more golden brown.
