Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

Why This Recipe is a Keeper!

If I served traditional green bean casserole with mushrooms and mushroom soup at a holiday gathering, I’d be the only one eating it! I married into a family of mushroom haters, and my husband is actually allergic.

That’s why this green bean casserole with fresh green beans is such a hit with my family! After all, what’s not to love about tender green beans in a rich, creamy, cheesy sauce, baked until hot and bubbly with a crispy, nutty topping?

This Cheesy Green Bean Casserole is:

• Family-friendly! Even picky eaters may find green beans hard to resist when they’re covered in this delicious cheese sauce.
• Easy to make! Simple ingredients with straightforward preparation.
• Make-ahead friendly! One less thing to worry about when preparing a holiday meal. Assemble ahead of time and bake when you’re ready to make holiday meal prep easier.
• Perfect for any holiday! A crowd-pleasing side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or Sunday dinner. For another make-ahead holiday favorite, my Corn Casserole with Cream Cheese is always a hit with family and friends.

It’s a delicious alternative to traditional green bean casserole, and I hope it becomes a new family favorite! And if you’re a mushroom lover, you can always add them!

How to Make Cheesy Green Bean Casserole:

Recipe Ingredients:

Here’s everything you’ll need for this easy, cheesy green bean casserole. See the recipe card below for the exact quantities.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:

• Green Beans: Fresh green beans have the best flavor and texture, but frozen ones work well too. If using frozen, thaw, drain, and pat dry to keep the casserole from getting watery.
• Shallot: Shallots are a member of the onion family and are used extensively in French cooking. They grow in clusters (heads) like garlic, but with fewer bulbs. They have a mild oniony flavor with a hint of garlic. You can use regular onion instead if you prefer.
• White Wine: Use a good dry white wine that you enjoy drinking. You can also use beer in place of wine. NON-ALCOHOLIC SUBSTITUTION: Use alcohol-free wine or beer, or add a tablespoon of white wine vinegar to extra chicken broth.
• Chicken Broth: To keep the green bean casserole vegetarian, use vegetable broth.
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese: Definitely use sharp Cheddar cheese for the flavor. Mild or medium Cheddar cheese doesn’t have the same “oomph.” Also, it’s extra work, but I highly recommend shredding the cheese yourself; it tastes much better than pre-shredded bagged cheese.
• Half-and-Half: Can also use whole or 2% milk.
• Pecans: If you have a guest who can’t have nuts, use extra fried onions and omit the pecans.

Step-By-Step Instructions:

• Gather and prep all the ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray a 2-quart (approximately) baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

1. Prepare an ice bath. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the beans to the boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until tender. (The green beans heat through when baked, so crisp-tender beans will stay fairly crispy. If you like softer beans, cook them longer.) Remove and place in the ice bath to stop cooking. Drain, discard the water, and pat dry.

2. Transfer the beans to the prepared baking dish.

3. Heat the butter over medium heat in the saucepan you used to cook the beans. Add the shallot and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until softened, being careful not to burn it. Add the garlic and cook briefly (10 seconds) until fragrant.

4. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, being careful not to brown the flour.

5. Add the wine (or beer), whisking constantly, then slowly pour in the chicken broth and half-and-half. Bring the sauce to a boil, whisking until smooth and thickened.

6. Remove the sauce from the heat. Let the sauce rest for 1 minute, then add the shredded Cheddar by the handful, whisking after each addition until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth. Season the sauce with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper if desired.

7. Pour the sauce over the green beans.

8. Sprinkle with the pecans and the fried onions. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve immediately.

Chef Tips and Tricks:

• Over my 20+ years as a personal chef, I’ve tried numerous ways to speed up trimming the stem ends off beans. Unfortunately, there is no quick and easy way.  However, remember you only need to remove the stem end; the bottom tip is tender and perfectly fine to eat. Here are all the ways you can do it:
  • Do them one by one and simply enjoy the zen of it.
  • Line several up on a cutting board and cut the ends with a knife. I find lining up the beans time-consuming, then grabbing the knife to cut, but it works.
  • Grab two or three at a time in one hand and break off the stem end with the other.
• Cook fresh green beans just until crisp-tender because they’ll continue cooking in the oven. However, you don’t want crunchy beans either.
• Excess moisture will water down the cheese sauce and its flavor and make the casserole runny, so pat them dry before placing them in the casserole dish.
• Shred your own cheese. Freshly shredded cheese usually melts more smoothly than packaged shredded cheese, which often contains anti-caking ingredients.
• Add the cheese over low heat or off the heat and stir until melted. Boiling a cheese sauce can make it grainy or cause it to separate.
• If your sauce does turn out a little grainy, an immersion blender will smooth it out.

Favorites From My Kitchen:

• For a completely different way to prepare fresh green beans, try my Greek Green Beans braised in tomato sauce with garlic, olive oil, and dill.
• For another crowd-pleasing side dish that’s perfect for holidays, potlucks, and cookouts, try my baked beans recipe, which tastes like it was made from scratch!
• This casserole is also perfect for sharing at potlucks and family gatherings. Find more simple potluck dishes that will impress and feed a crowd for your next get-together.

More from the green bean scene!

Green Bean Salad Recipe with Mustard Vinaigrette

Thai Sweet Chili Green Beans

Skillet Charred Green Beans with Goat Cheese Chipotle Butter

Roasted Green Beans with Tomato-Caper Relish

If you tried my Cheesy Green Bean Casserole recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it turned out in the comments!