Description
Green Bean Casserole with Cream Cheese is the classic Thanksgiving side dish we all know and love, but with a few extra flavor bursts! We're making our own creamy roux, without the canned soup, and topping the dish with homemade fried onions.
Ingredients
Scale
Green Bean Casserole:
- 1 and 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, washed, dried, stems removed and each bean broken in half
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 4 white mushrooms, washed and dried, remove stems and dice the tops into smaller pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup chicken stock (depends on thickness of roux, heat levels, etc)
- 4 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (4 ounces), grated from the block
Fried Onions:
- 1 small to medium yellow onion (or use half a large onion)
- 1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce
- 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus about 2 teaspoons for topping after frying
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups frying oil (Canola or Vegetable)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the green beans. Peel the skin from the onion and slice into skinny onion rings. Note: It's fine if some of them break apart a bit. You want them about 1/3 to 1/2 the width of a typical onion ring. Set aside.
- Add the green beans to the boiling water and allow them to cook for 4-5 minutes. While they are boiling, prepare a large bowl for the ice bath with 3 cups ice and 3 cups of cold water. After boiling, remove the green beans from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and add into the ice bath. After 5 minutes in the ice bath, remove the green beans without the water, and place into a casserole dish. Note: The casserole dish I use is about 8x10. I prefer a smaller than 9x13 for this recipe, unless you're doubling it.
- Into a large deep skillet, over medium low heat, melt the butter. Add in mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Stir and cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add in garlic and stir to combine.
- Sprinkle in flour and stir into the mixture for about a minute, until it all looks wet.
- Slowly pour in milk and continuously stir until no chunks of flour and butter remain. Turn heat to low. When it starts to thicken too much, use the chicken stock to thin it out a bit. It should be creamy in texture and easy to stir without any large lumps. (It might not require all the chicken stock).
- Add the cream cheese to the milk mixture in small spoonfuls so they melt easier. Once almost melted, add in 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese and stir. It should melt really quickly into the sauce.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture over the green beans in the casserole dish and toss to combine. Cover with remaining half cup of cheese and bake for 20 minutes.
- Fry the Fried Onions: Get 2 medium sized bowls ready. In bowl 1: Combine buttermilk and hot sauce and whisk. Then add the onions right into the bowl and soak for a few minutes. In bowl 2: Combine flour with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
- Work in about 4 batches and take the onions from the buttermilk and dunk into the flour mixture, coating every portion of each onion. Transfer to a cookie sheet and spread the onions out.
- Pour 2 cups of oil into a Dutch Oven and heat to 350 degrees. The best way to know the accurate temperature is with a candy thermometer. Work in 3 to 4 batches and fry the onions until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes each batch.
- Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and immediately sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of salt over each batch. Repeat the batches until finished.
- Optional: Once the casserole is baked, broil on high for 3-4 minutes to get the cheese crispy on top. Then allow to cool out of the oven for about 5 minutes.
- Top the dish with the homemade fried onions. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Shred the cheese from a block for the best melt. Don't use bagged pre-shredded cheese because they using anti-caking agents that don't melt well.
- Don't cook the green beans for longer than 6 minutes or they might get on the mushy side.
- The oil will drop in temperature once the onions are added, so it's really important to let it reach 350 degrees before adding them. Use a candy thermometer for the most proper reading.
- If you decide to double the recipe for a larger crowd, you only need to double the ingredients for the casserole itself and serve in a 9x13 dish. You will have enough fried onions for topping the whole dish.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: bake & fry
- Cuisine: American