I don’t know about you, but I love green bean casserole. What I don’t love is canned soup and ready-made fried onions. I came up with this recipe a couple of years ago, and have been making it every Thanksgiving and Christmas since then. My version doesn’t include mushrooms or fried onions, but you won’t miss them. The soup is flavorful and oniony (if that is even a word), and is comprised of garlic, onions, leeks, and shallots, with added richness from beef stock. It is covered with toasted panko, pine nuts, and gooey extra sharp cheese.
I wish my picture could do it justice. I have the most difficult time photographing dishes like this, and unfortunately this photo is the best of the worst. You will have to take my word for it, it is truly delicious 😉 If you are tired of the same old green bean casserole, I hope you give this a try 😀 Did I mention, all of the components can be made ahead of time? Happy Thanksgiving planning!
Ingredients
Green Beans
- 1 lb. frozen french cut green beans
- salt
Soup
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 leek
- 1 medium shallot
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- 1/2 large sweet onion
- 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil (I use extra virgin)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Casserole Toppings:
- 12 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 cup panko (Japanese style bread crumbs)
- 3/4 cup pine nuts
Instructions
- Chop the onion, leeks, shallots, and garlic (note: leeks hold dirt, so make sure and cut in half and rinse out each layer). Place the butter and olive oil over medium heat (use a pan large enough to hold all the soup ingredients). Once heated, add the onion, leeks, shallots, and garlic. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until the onions become translucent and soft. Stir occasionally during this process. Continue on medium, until the veggies begin to caramelize, stirring as needed (which will take about 10 minutes).
- Carefully add the beef stock and then the salt, and bring to a boil. Let boil covered for 5 minutes, and then turn down and simmer for 20 minutes. Keep covered and stir as needed throughout this process.
- Once the soup is ready, remove it from the heat and puree. Ensure whatever you are using to puree, is made for very hot liquids, or you will have to let it cool first. If you are using cream, stir it in now (note: if you are making this ahead, wait to add the cream when you are reheating).
- As soon as the soup begins to cook, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- While the soup is cooking, cook your beans. Boil them in adequately salted water, and let them cook halfway, and strain. They will finish cooking in the casserole. During this time, you will also want to slightly toast the panko bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for just a few minutes. You want them to be very light golden brown. Set the bread crumbs aside. Grate your cheese if needed and set aside.
- Assembling the casserole
- Once everything is ready, begin to assemble your casserole. Oil a 9x13 inch pan, with deep sides (I use glass). Place the par-cooked beans in a layer in the bottom of the pan. Then pour your soup over the beans, covering them. Add your bread crumbs evenly on top and then your pine nuts. Place in the oven for 7-9 minutes, just until the nuts and bread crumbs begin to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and add the cheese evenly over the top, ensuring your nuts are covered to prevent them from burning. Place back in the oven for 12-14 minutes, until the cheese is melted and begins to slightly brown. Let sit for a few minutes before cutting. Enjoy!
- For Thanksgiving: Prepare the major components a day or 2 ahead. Slightly warm the soup and beans separately and then assemble the casserole. This will make for a quick and tasty side dish on Thanksgiving day!
I am super excited to take my Green Bean Casserole to Fiesta Friday # 145!
A staple at church pot-lucks!
I love tinkering around with Food Photography and some dishes need to be made especially for camera. This might be one where a batch made with gelatin is needed for the photo shoot.
When I started dabbling with Food Photography I discovered there are a whole boat load of tricks to make food look good on a page or screen. A lot of those tricks make the food inedible too.
Your pouring the cream mixture image is really nice!!
I agree, this needed to be less real to look good. I often find myself so rushed with the photography portion of my blog, and I wish I had more time. You can’t rush on a subject that is naturally not photogenic, lol. I read once that many cream sauces you see in magazines are actually glue. It really is fascinating how food is made to look appetizing. Thank you 😀
Antonia, I too, love a green bean casserole, and have yet to make one myself, so this will be a first 🙂
I look forward to it every year. My husband was super excited to have it before Thanksgiving this year. I hope you get a chance to try it Lynne 😀
It is truly delicious!! I wonder if you could use veggie broth instead of beef?? Would it change the flavor much? Thanks for sharing. 😉
Thank you so much!! I use the beef broth, because I don’t include mushrooms in the soup. It would impact the taste some, but I am sure it will still be good 😀
Looks and sounds good, Antonia. I’m also not a fan of “soup cassarole” (lol) so I like the homemade version! Perhaps it will be my Thanksgiving contribution!
Thank you Diana! I hope you and your family enjoy it, if you decide to give it a try. I can’t believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner.
Nice twist on a classic dish Antonia! Since I am NOT a photographer I do the best I can. Some good some not so good but one thing I won’t stress over it-LOL. xx
Thanks Cheryl! You are right, no reason to stress, lol 😀 Hugs to you too!
xx
😀
As my grandfather used to say to my mother when she wasn’t satisfied with the presentation of the meal : Don’t worry. It’s delicious and you know, my stomach has no eyes! 🙂
On a side note, I just realized that our posts appear at the reader as full text, despite of our preference. I believe that this cancels all the work we all have put in our little babies, aka blogs – simply because there will be no incoming traffic(there is a faint visit button no one will use…)
I bet it would make your mother smile 😀 I have to remember this Nick! Ugh, I didn’t realize that. Reader has some issues for sure, especially if you are self-hosted.
From what I’ve read it’s not a glitch but a deliberate change.First forum threads about it were from last month. Anyway, just letting you know, cause only by luck someone can find out about it…
Take care Antonia – wishing you all the best.
Thank you for letting me know. I guess you have to take the good with the bad 😉
Looks delicious, Antonia!! Some dishes are really hard to photograph no matter how delicious they are, I’m with you on that 🙂
Thanks Freda, you made me feel better 😀
Another great recipe for me to try. It looks wonderful to me, despite your worries about photographing it. Such a great combination ingredients can only taste delicious and your photos and instructions are excellent. 😃
Thank you Millie! I really appreciate your kind words! You made my day 😀 Have a wonderful weekend!
I grew up on the traditional “Green Bean Casserole” – Thanksgiving would not be the same without some version of it. I like that you did not use mushrooms as I am not a fan!
Me too 😀 I am not overly fond of mushrooms either. Have a great weekend Judi!
What a delicious recipe. I’ve never had a green bean casserole before, definitely one for me to try.
Thank you Sarah! I hope you enjoy it, if you decide to make it 😀 Have a great weekend!
This looks very delicious !
Thank you Swapna! I wish I could have captured it better. Have a wonderful rest of your week 😀
I love your take on this! Sounds like it would taste so much better than the ‘store-bought-homemade’ one! 🙂
Thanks Linda! I love the freedom of not using cans 😀 Have a wonderful day!