Above Average Greenbean Casserole
If you have ever eaten a Greenbean Casserole at Thanksgiving, chances are you are eating the recipe found on the back of French’s Crispy Fried Onions. It’s not a bad recipe, but its pretty average, like all other Thanksgiving food. It was the dish that originally inspired me to embark on a mission to create and curate “above average” Thanksgiving recipes across the board.
This Greenbean Casserole recipe operates on a similar philosophy to the Apple Pie recipe. It puts the spotlight on the Greenbeans and does everything it can to let their flavor sing. The main way this is done is by removing the mushroom flavor. While the two flavors don’t necessarily clash, they don’t exactly make a fantastic team.
The below recipe is simpler than the original, yet better. It uses a simple cream sauce and calls for half (or all, if you want) of the greenbeans to be boiled in a broth so they are nice and tender. However, it still uses French’s Crispy Fried Onions, as there is no comparable substitute. Sometimes you shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken.
Above Average Greenbean Casserole
Ingredients
Instructions
- Chop fresh greenbeans into 1-2 inch pieces.
- In a pot, boil 2 cups of water with a chicken bullion cube. Add 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, and 1/2 tsp. of celery salt.
- Add half of the greenbeans. Simmer covered for 20 minutes
- Save 1 cup of the broth from the boiled beans. Strain the rest.
- In a sauce pan, create a roux with 2 Tbsp. butter and 2 Tbsp flour. Slowly add 2 cups of heavy cream. Add the cup of bean broth from step 4, then 1/2 tsp. celery salt and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg.
- Add all of the greenbeans to cream mixture. Simmer covered for 30 minutes.
- Pour the creamy greenbean mixture into a casserole baking dish. Top with a container of French's Crispy Dried Onions. There is no substitute.
- Bake at 350° F for 10 minutes.