Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onion Topping
The holiday classic made from scratch: tender green beans in a creamy mushroom sauce under a crunchy onion, parmesan and pork rind topping — no canned soup, no canned fried onions.
Nutrition per serving
¾ cup- Net carbs
- 6.5g
- Calories
- 230kcal
- Protein
- 7g
- Fat
- 20g
- Total carbs
- 9.3 g
- Fiber
- 2.7 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Dairy-free: Olive oil and coconut milk make the sauce, thickened with a pinch of xanthan gum, and nutritional yeast replaces the parmesan in the topping.
- Cook the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. After adding the broth and coconut milk, sprinkle the xanthan gum over the surface while whisking and simmer 3–4 minutes, until thickened.
- Toss the onion with the remaining oil, then with the pork rinds, nutritional yeast and onion powder for the topping.
With bacon: Crispy bacon in the sauce and in the topping, with the mushrooms cooked in its smoky fat.
- Cook the bacon in the skillet until crisp and lift it out, leaving about 1 tablespoon of fat in the pan. Cook the mushrooms in the bacon fat with the butter.
- Stir half the bacon into the sauce with the beans and mix the rest into the topping.
Vegetarian (almond topping): Vegetable broth in the sauce and toasted sliced almonds in place of the pork rinds give a meat-free version with the same crunch.
- Use vegetable broth in the sauce, and toss the buttered onion with the almonds, parmesan and onion powder for the topping. Almonds brown quickly, so tent with foil if they darken before the sauce bubbles.
- Green beans
- Mushroom cream sauce
- Crispy onion topping
- Green beans
- Mushroom cream sauce
-
2 oz cream cheeseleave out - Crispy onion topping
- Also add
- Green beans
- Mushroom cream sauce
- Crispy onion topping
- Also add
- Green beans
- Mushroom cream sauce
- Crispy onion topping
Estimated cost $12.75 for 8 servings ($1.59 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and butter a 2-quart (2 L) baking dish. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and set a bowl of ice water nearby.
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Blanch the green beans for 4–5 minutes, until bright green and just tender. Move them to the ice water, then drain well and pat dry.
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Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the mushrooms 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and their liquid has evaporated. Add the garlic for 30 seconds.
-
Pour in the broth and scrape up the browned bits, then add the cream, cream cheese, salt and pepper. Simmer 6–8 minutes, whisking now and then, until the cream cheese has melted and the sauce has reduced by about a third and coats a spoon.
-
Fold the green beans into the sauce and spread them in the baking dish.
-
Melt the remaining butter, toss the onion slices in it, then toss them with the crushed pork rinds, parmesan and onion powder. Scatter evenly over the beans.
-
Bake 25–30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling at the edges and the topping is golden and crisp. Rest 5 minutes before serving.
Tips for success
-
Slice the onion as thinly as you can (a mandoline helps) so it crisps in the oven instead of steaming. If the topping browns before the sauce bubbles, tent it loosely with foil. - Frozen cut green beans work too: thaw them, skip the blanching and pat them very dry.
- The original gets its thickness from the flour in canned soup and its topping from flour-coated fried onions. Here reduced cream and a little cream cheese do the thickening. Prefer a mushroom-forward sauce? Use 1¼ cups of reduced homemade cream of mushroom soup instead.
Nice to have, not needed
- A mandoline slices the onion thin enough to crisp well — a sharp knife works if you take your time.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 4 days in the fridge
- Doesn’t freeze well
Reheat: Reheat covered at 350°F (175°C) for 15–20 minutes, uncovering for the last 5 so the topping crisps.
Prep tip: Assemble it without the topping up to 2 days ahead and add the topping just before baking.
Assemble without the topping up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate; add the topping and 10 extra minutes in the oven. Leftovers keep 4 days; reheat at 350°F (175°C).
Variations
3 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosDairy-free
DietOlive oil and coconut milk make the sauce, thickened with a pinch of xanthan gum, and nutritional yeast replaces the parmesan in the topping.
- butter → olive oil
- heavy cream → canned coconut milk
- Parmesan → nutritional yeast
- + ¼ tsp xanthan gum
- no cream cheese
6.2 g net · 166 kcal · 6.1 g protein · 13 g fat · ≈$1.45 per serving (−0.3 g net carbs vs the original)
With bacon
FlavorCrispy bacon in the sauce and in the topping, with the mushrooms cooked in its smoky fat.
- + 6 slices bacon
6.7 g net · 265 kcal · 9.6 g protein · 22 g fat · ≈$1.70 per serving (+0.2 g net carbs vs the original)
Vegetarian (almond topping)
DietVegetable broth in the sauce and toasted sliced almonds in place of the pork rinds give a meat-free version with the same crunch.
- chicken broth → vegetable broth
- pork rinds → sliced almonds
6.9 g net · 231 kcal · 5.6 g protein · 20 g fat · ≈$1.53 per serving (+0.4 g net carbs vs the original)
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