French Onion Green Bean Casserole
The iconic green bean casserole is reworked with the flavors of French onion soup -- caramelized onions and Gruyere cheese.
The iconic green bean casserole is reworked with the flavors of French onion soup -- caramelized onions and Gruyere cheese.
Why are there only 5 stars? This recipe deserves 10! So much better than the canned soup version. Everyone declared it a hit, and hubby said it was the star of the meal. Made this exactly per the video instructions, and will do it again next year. I assembled it the day before, brought it up to room temp. while the turkey baked, then added the topping and popped it into the oven while the bird was resting. Gluten free Panko crumbs worked perfectly. Do use good quality Parmigiana-Reggiano cheese, it matters in this recipe. Kudos to Chef John for updating a very tired classic. Thank you!
Read MoreThis recipe is not worth the time or effort. It has some decent flavors, but nothing that really makes it worth it. It looks good, smells good and tastes mediocre. We love green bean casserole and were hoping this would be better then other versions. It's not and with all the amazing ingredients it's almost baffling. Like they wash each other out somehow. Just remember this review when your kicking yourself after laboring for nothing =)
Read MoreWhy are there only 5 stars? This recipe deserves 10! So much better than the canned soup version. Everyone declared it a hit, and hubby said it was the star of the meal. Made this exactly per the video instructions, and will do it again next year. I assembled it the day before, brought it up to room temp. while the turkey baked, then added the topping and popped it into the oven while the bird was resting. Gluten free Panko crumbs worked perfectly. Do use good quality Parmigiana-Reggiano cheese, it matters in this recipe. Kudos to Chef John for updating a very tired classic. Thank you!
Made this for Thanksgiving. Loved Chef John's video tutorial. "2 Large yellow onions" was hard to judge for me. Here in TX we grow 'em BIG. I ended up using 2 pans to caramelize the plethora of onions. Still, I used them all in the dish, when one of those biggies would have sufficed. I used 1% milk and slightly less flour (my hand guesstimate was off). It didn't thicken quite as much as I thought it would. This could be due to my flour mismanagement or the 1% milk. It worked fine in the dish, it just didn't give that soupy-creamy texture that is found when making the recipe using soup from a can. Also, didn't have sherry vinegar so just used sherry on the onions. Mmmm. The Panko and Parm-Reggi was delightfully tasty. The Gruyere added a nice bite and depth. However, that cheese is really pricey. I may make it with a less expensive brand next time. The flavor of this dish was as wonderful as I thought it would be. What with all the chopping of my BIG onions and the green beans, the caramelizing and sauce cooking, and cheese shredding, this recipe is a bit time consuming and labor intensive. But the end result is elegant, tasty and gave me pride that I didn't do the soup version of this classic casserole. Thanks Chef John!
If you are wanting a more decadent green bean casserole other than the regular boring soup kind, this is it! This is one of my favorites now! I pretty much went exactly by the recipe except I flavored the white sauce with a little onion and garlic powders and used canned green beans instead of fresh. I was making a big turkey dinner with this, so I prepared it all the day before. I assembled it all together except the topping and refrigerated it. Once I was ready to cook I pulled it out of the refrigerator and topped it with the topping and put in the oven. It was great! It turned out nice and creamy and full of flavor! With the caramelized onions in this, you won't miss those crunchy ones that are normally on top. But Im sure you could still add those and it would give it another depth of flavor if you love them like I do. The gruyere cheese is expensive and honestly if you go with a cheaper swiss or even a gouda cheese, it would taste just as good. So don't get scared away with an expensive cheese because it will still be great with something cheaper! Thanks Chef John for this delicious casserole! I will be definitely making again!
I was looking for a way to make the traditional 'green bean casserole' without having to resort to using the stuff from a can as I have to cook gluten-free. This version is way better and my taste buds were pleased! Yes--the cheese is pricey (I paid $4.99 for 4 oz) but it marries all the ingredients together perfectly -- savory and sweet. I didn't have access to fresh green beans and used 2 lbs of frozen -- I cooked them 2 minutes less than the package specified to avoid them getting mushy. I also don't keep milk in the house and substituted half-half. Of course, more calories and fat but the sauce was rich and creamy; I used rice flour to make the roux -- 4 tbsp. For the top, I used Kinnikinnick gluten free panko bread crumbs. This recipe is definitely a keeper in my household!
This recipe was the hit of the big dinner party which included a delicious rack of pork and cheesy, fantastic scalloped potatoes. It's rather a lot of work, but I followed the recipe EXCEPT for adding 1/2 lb of cooked, chopped bacon (divided) to both layers of the onions. I used the fresh haricot verts (fresh green beans) from Trader Joe's. Oh boy, this is a guaranteed hit - go for it!!
This recipe is not worth the time or effort. It has some decent flavors, but nothing that really makes it worth it. It looks good, smells good and tastes mediocre. We love green bean casserole and were hoping this would be better then other versions. It's not and with all the amazing ingredients it's almost baffling. Like they wash each other out somehow. Just remember this review when your kicking yourself after laboring for nothing =)
It came out exactly how it looked on the video and the taste was AMAZING!! I was never a fan for green bean casserole but, with this recipe I am a convert I needed a recipe. I got stuck with making this as a side dish for a dinner party. My hubby won't eat veggies to save his life, he had second's and third's, if there were any left he would have requested left over's too. It was a huge hit, this recipe is a keeper no need to look any further.
Nobody except my husband liked this at the Thanksgiving table. I thought it was pretty good, just not worth the effort that I put into it. Hate to say it, but I'll probably go back to the canned soup version.
The wife and I were surprised by the savory flavor. I believe it has a lot to do with the caramelized yellow onions. Am going to try it next time with sweet onion (like Vidalia) and see what happens. Yes, it is a little labor intensive, but really worth the effort!
I made this for Thanksgiving because I didn't want to used french fried onions. It took longer than I expected it to, but it was delicious! My whole family loved it, even the people who don't normally like green beans. I used cheddar cheese instead of Gruyere cheese because that is what we had on hand. I also didn't add any cayenne pepper or thyme(because we didn't have any on hand). The video really helped me to know how long to cook the onions, since I've never done it before. Overall I love it.
I cut the recipe in half as my plants have only given my 1 lb of green beans so far. But otherwise I went by the book and this was delicious! Those caramelized onions are a revelation!
Everyone loved this recipe. I agree with Kathy...the cheese is very pricey...but so worth it. Everything is fresh, nothing from a can. I just wish I took a picture to show how beautiful it turned out.
Excellent as is. Such a welcome difference from the stand GB casserole!
I've made this successfully twice during the holiday season a few years ago and made it for Thanksgiving 2019. Came out perfectly and I watched adults going back for seconds... not the kids tho. Had a tough time finding sherry vinegar, but finally succeeded on the 4th grocery I visited. Keep forgetting to take pics. ??
Loved the taste of this! A little time consuming to make, but it was well worth it - it has now become my holiday side dish, wouldn't want to make it frequently, so I put it on the special menu.
Not as tasty as I thought it would be and certainly not worth the effort. Won't make it again.
Made this for Easter dinner and everybody liked it! Used most of the ingredients that I had. Never made green bean casserole before but thought I would try it and was very happy with it. Thanks! I'll make it again someday....
A big hit. I used quartered onions which tasted fine, but was more difficult to caramelize evenly and spread evenly? The texture of the larger onion pieces was a good balance to the beans, though some bites had more onion than others (which was more interesting to me). I was liberal with cayenne, which we all liked: it showed up as the last layer of taste in my mouth. 4 minutes of blanching the beans resulted in the beans being slightly crunchy, which we liked.
Made for Christmas dinner party and was a hit! I added porcini mushrooms to bring out the mushroom flavor. Had to compete against the original Campbell's recipe with mushroom soup and healthy stir fried beams. This version came out as no 1.
I tried this recipe exactly as written and it was,in a word, AWESOME!! It's my new holiday staple. I made it the night before, stored it in the fridge and just popped it in the oven with my other sides.
this recipe was very good--fixed it for Easter and everyone liked it. there wasn't any left. I wanted something different than the old traditional. thanks
EXCELLENT! Thanks Chef John for a very delicious recipe. I made this as a side dish to celebrate our wedding anniversary and we couldn't get enough of it. I used Swiss cheese as that is what I had on hand. It is well worth the effort and I strongly recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good meal at home.
An over the top green bean casserole! I added three slice of crumbled bacon for variation. Overall, a delicious recipe that I will make again.
I made no changes, followed the recipe and I thought it was not worth the time and effort to make . Blah. Not very flavorful and I used fresh everything.
I was disappointed Lots of work, which I didn't mind Bought everything in the recipe But the taste was just so so
This recipe is much better than the traditional green bean casserole!The fresh carmalized onions,made a delicious difference! and the cream mixture , much better than the cream of mushroom soup. It is always a smashing hit! thank you! Follow the recipe you can not go wrong!:)BROVO LUV!!!
This is an attractive and wonderful side dish; as Chef John says, "Delicious!" The portion was too large for just the two of us, but the recipe halves nicely. I didn't have sherry vinegar so used apple vinegar and made my own bread crumbs, but otherwise followed the recipe. Green beans are one of my wife's least favorite veggies but she really likes these. I'll definitely make this again and again.
I hate green bean casserole made the traditional way, but Love this recipe. This is my husband's favorite dish
it was ok. i followed the recipe and found it a little bland and i found that everything under the crispy top was soggy. not the beans. just everything else.
I wanted to try a new and improved green bean casserole for Thanksgiving. No one in my family liked this recipe and I was sorry I spent the extra money on the ingredients. I ended up throwing it in the garbage.
I substituted 1 can of beef consume for an equal amount of milk and used heavy cream instead of milk to give it the beefy taste of a French onion soup - FANTASTIC!!!
This dish was delicious!!! I was quite pleasantly surprised!! We don't drink regular milk in our home, so I used half&half and it tasted slightly rich, it was VERY tasty good! My man is vegetarian and it can be a challenge making new dishes for him. He is a very critical and picky eater; needless to say, he enjoyed the dish! This dish is a keeper....!
This casserole was truly delicious! Well worth the time it takes to prepare. I added finely chopped mushrooms to mine(my husband hates them)and halved the recipe and we still have lots left over for tomorrow.I used lactose free milk because that was all I had on hand. Hubby loved it.
I made this for Christmas dinner. Everyone loved it. I did make some changes; making it gluten free by substituting a G-F thickener for the all-purpose flour in the white sauce, and I used G-F Panko for the topping. I used two 1 lb. bags of frozen French sliced green beans and put them in boiling water for about 30 seconds to take the chill off the beans. Also, instead of Gruyere used Gouda cheese. No one missed the traditional Green Bean Casserole.
Made it for my family today for Thanksgiving (Canadian) and everyone loved it, including my husband who informed me before that he didn't like green bean casseroles, and why was I trying something new when company is coming? He loved it!! Followed the recipe exactly (wow, that gruyere is expensive, but worth it) Love Chef John - Thank you.
Everyone raves about this casserole. I started using this recipe about 3 years ago; now this is my go to recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas. My adult children specifically ask for "Mom's Green Bean Casserole" Thank you, Chef John! Gruyere Cheese and freshly grated Parmesan make this dish special. I use one part heavy cream and one part milk for a thicker sauce. A few more calories, but worth it. Sauteing sliced mushrooms for the sauce, makes it even better. I cook the green beans just a little longer than specified- Not crisp- But not over cooked. YUM!
This is really good. Made according to recipe except for the fresh green beans and sherry vinegar. The fresh green beans available did not look that great so I substituted with 2 cans of low sodium cut green beans and did not have sherry vinegar nor could I find it in the grocery store so I substituted with some wine vinegar and Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry. Will definitely make again.
This was soooo good. The only change I'm planning to make is to double the amount of ingredients to make the sauce. The beans were a little dry because of a lack of sauce, but they were still delicious.
I have only one word.... AMAZING! It received rave reviews from everyone. If there were more than 5 stars available I would have given it a couple more!
My family loved it, I didn’t make the bechamel sauce rather I used cream of mushroom soup. Since I went this route, not only did I caramelize the onions, but I also sweated a pack of cremini mushrooms to tie it together. The last touch was topping the grueyer, fresh French bread crumbs, parmesan, with Frenches Fried Onions.
There were a lot of little steps to this recipe, but overall, it was fairly easy to cook and assemble. I did substitute Butter Cheese when I made it because I have a few picky people in my family, but let me tell you, my family and I were completely blown away with how awesome this casserole was! It was beautiful to present at the Easter table, it smelled wonderful, and it tasted amazing! This is a must-try! It did make a ton of casserole, so I will probably half the recipe next time I have a small group, although the reheated casserole was just as amazing!!
I made this. I have also made the "traditional Green bean Cassarole". Through the years, GB cassarole has been a "custom" in our Thanksgiving, AND Christmas menu. I have NEVER liked the taste of theis traditional family "MUSH/nasty flavor. EVER". We all work hard to cook , and prepare food, at family gatherings, and work hard for money to pay for for food, to prepare. Thanks Chef John:-)). This "TWIST" has made "greenbean Cassarole" not only edible, but actually yummy :)
I randomly found this recipe about 5 years ago and made it, no changes to the recipe, for a big family Christmas Eve dinner. Everyone loved it and continues to request I make it for every holiday. They all say it's the best green bean casserole they've ever had.
It was very tasty. I added a few canned onion rings to the top. Very, very good.
This was good but time consuming. I cut this in half so put all the onions on the bottom, then mixed the green beans and sauce together, and poured over the onions. I also mixed some fried onions in with the panko topping.
the extra work to make this is worth the effort. The taste is amazing. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
We made this for Thanksgiving and really enjoyed it. Definitely a little fancier than traditional recipes made with canned soup, etc. Will be making again, especially for holidays.
Delicious recipe. It does require a certain organization before starting to cook. I made sure I had all my ingredients measured and ready to go before I started. I didn't have Sherry Vinegar so I substituted Sherry. I, also, used well rinsed canned green beans. It did take a bit of time. I was glad I prepared this the day before Thanksgiving. It would have overwhelmed me to make this dish while trying to get everything else done. I was nervous about making the sauce but it went perfectly. It did take a few minutes longer than the recipe indicated...but well worth the effort. I will definitely make this again. Next year I will make and take to our large family gathering. Puts the old durkee casserole to shame!
Very delicious!! I had some white mushrooms in fridge, so I added them. Tastes great!!
I tried out this recipe for a large family gathering and didn't want to use canned soup recipes - wanted something different but not a big production. Followed recipe except i didn't have nutmeg and cayenne pepper. For me, it was a little flat in flavor but well received. it could've been even better with nutmeg and cayenne pepper. Will try again.
This was excellent! I followed the instructions as written and received amazing praise from everyone! The video was extremely helpful. I will only make this version going forward.
I liked it, but if I use this recipe again, I will omit the cheese and the cayan/red pepper, as I felt they took away from the integrity of a true green bean casserole. Instead, I plan to add a little red wine and a dash of Worcestershire to my sauce. And maybe some mushrooms, I missed them! Oh and those crispy onions instead of breadcrumbs! Way more fun. :-)
Love this recipe. I Don't use the vinegar though and I am going to try to add Italian bread crumbs along with the other next time. I do use the cayenne and add a pinch of curry.
The best green bean casserole ever! This is a new holiday tradition!!
I followed the recipe perfectly. I thought it was not very good. Next year I will go back to the traditional green bean casserole. I dumped the leftovers. Guest raved about every dish but no one said a word about this!
Great flavor and textures. Perfect holiday green bean casserole.
12-25-21 This is a lot of work but oh boy, best green bean casserole I have made to date.
Made no changes (unusual for me!) yummy! A little bit of work, but worth it. The gruyere really made it . Well worth the price!. Also, did not have sherry vinegar, so used red wine vinegar. Did not have thyme, , used Italian seasoning. It may have changed the taste, but was great!
Made this recipe for last Thanksgiving....Was great and everyone loved it. I will definetly be making it again this year.......
I have been making this dish for Thanksgiving for the past 6-7 years and it is amazing!!!! I get requests every year to make this and it never disappoints. It has easily become my favorite Thanksgiving dish.
This was amazing. Made it just as it said but I do like mushrooms in my green bean casserole so I added some sautéed mushrooms. What a difference from using the old mushroom soup and fried canned onions recipe!
I'm not even a big fan of green beans, but this is awesome!
Delicious! I will make this again. The only thing I would add next time is more caramelized onion.
Great. Crispy onions amazing. Didn't have enough green beans so cut down on some of the other ingredients and it still came out great. Will definitely make it again. Thank you Chef John for this veggie dish.
Absolutely the best green bean casserole I have ever made! The star of Christmas dinner! I will never go back to the canned version of this casserole, and I don't think my husband would let me! Delicious in every way!
Delicious. This version of a green bean casserole is a part of our Thanksgiving meal for the last three years and is always enjoyed a lot.
I used two boxes of gluten free cream of chicken soup and some dried mushrooms that I reconstituted. Used the mushroom water and cream for the liquid. I had smoked guoda cheese so that is what I used in place of the gruyere but I did go buy some parmigiano reggiano. I couldn’t find the sherry vinegar so used a little sherry and a little white balsamic vinegar. It only calls for a tablespoon so it probably wouldn’t have made a large difference if I’d left it out. Everybody raved about this dish and I will for sure make it again.
Made This for thanksgiving for a change instead of my usual boring green bean casserole. My guests and I thought it was amazing. The combination of the caramelized onions and the zip of the gruyere and parm cheese was heaven. Then the topping gave it the perfect crunchiness. This will be my go to green bean casserole from this time forward.
I used the exact recipe except that I changed the servings. I had to make more béchamel sauce and it needed plenty of salt. I probably cooked the green beans longer than the recipe says but I didn’t want them crunchy. It was really very good but I believe I would save it for a special occasion.
Loved it!! I made the recipe exactly as written with two small additions. I added a minced garlic clove and 3 large cremini mushrooms, finely chopped, to the onions while cooking. I also put the casserole under the broiler for 2 minutes at the end to get the topping crispy and that worked great. I've been looking for a scratch recipe of the traditional green bean casserole and this worked beautifully!! Note; I added the mushrooms and garlic because they're listed in the ingredients on the Campbells Cream of Mushroom soup can. I often make the traditional green bean casserole with fresh broccoli and will try that next time. I love how most of the steps can be done ahead of time and that this recipe is delicious as leftovers! I have filed this recipe in my permanent recipe collection!
Love Chef John's recipes and they're usually favorites of mine but this dish didn't hit a home run with us. I felt like the amount of time it took to make the dish didn't deliver on the flavor. You win some, you lose some!
I made this for Thanksgiving. I had never made a green bean casserole before and never really cared for it either. I was very surprised at the flavor and the family and guests loved it. I made it exactly as stated but I think if I make it again I will use one more onion, but then again I like onions prepared this way. I am guessing that the fresh green beans are a big improvement over using canned.
I made this recipe exactly as written. I got rave reviews at Thanksgiving dinner. But, it took me 2 hours to make it before it went into the oven. I had not have any helpers to help cut up the onions, etc.
Way too much work. I'll stick to the campbells recipe which is actually pretty good. This might be a little better but sorry I dont have the extra time to spend dealing with it.
I halved the recipe, and followed it to a T...I usually love Chef John’s recipes, but this one...not so much...it was bland. My guests like it, but they did not rave about it...next time, if there is a next time, I would reduce the amount of green beans, (and perhaps cook them a bit longer), triple the amount of onions, and cook it for less time in the oven. I forgot to say, I did not use the cayenne, as I don’t like hot food...perhaps that is why it was bland?
made for a dinner party and everyone liked it some asked for the recipe so I consider that a hit.
Made this for Thanksgiving & everyone loved it. Well forth all the steps to make. Did not use the cayenne pepper but everything else done as written. Will definitely make again.
Rich, cheesy with the Panco topping a nice counterpoint. We used Walla Walla sweet onions that I had caramelized and froze in June. We will definitely make this again.
I made this today to switch it up from my usual green bean casserole. It took me about 1 1/2 hours to make rather than the 15 minutes it typically takes to open various cans and mix together befor baking. This recipe was savory and delicious and the cheese was amazing. The taste was great but allow yourself plenty of time to make it.
I love this recipe for the holidays. No changes, perfect as it is. Definitely an effort to make but has become a Christmas-dish-staple. So much better than the old canned bean slop! You will impress guests with this one!
Absolutely amazing dish! Don’t hesitate to make this. The only substitution I made was to caramelize the onions in bacon grease plus the butter.
We went to 3 different towns but couldn't find Gruyere. Used Colby-Jack instead and it still came out great. My step-daughter who is a good cook loved it as well as the rest of us.
Good, solid recipe, nice depth of flavor but it was missing "something" so next time will tinker with the seasonings. Maybe add some Worcestershire? It is a rich dish with the white sauce and cheese; richer than the canned mushroom soup version.
The green bean part was AMAZING and so much better than the canned crud, but the topping did not work and was simply soggy.
Are you sure? Removing from Saved Items will permanently delete it from all collections. View My Collections