Green Bean Casserole Recipe with Bacon

This Green Bean Casserole recipe features savory bacon and crispy fried onions on top of a creamy base. It’s the ultimate side dish for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas, or Easter!

Are you ready to make the ultimate green bean casserole?

The base is made of a scrumptious mushroom and cream cheese mixture (so flavorful!), and it’s all topped off with crispy fried onions and hearty bacon.

It could practically be a meal all by itself! And it’s the best green bean casserole I’ve ever made.

Okay, let’s dive in and make it!

Video Tutorial:

Here’s a video overview of the recipe in case you like to learn by watching! The full written tutorial is below, along with the printable recipe!

Ingredient Notes:

First, let’s go over what you’ll need and some helpful tips for selecting the right ingredients. A traditional green bean casserole relies heavily on canned ingredients, but we’re going for a mostly from scratch approach (it tastes better that way!).

• Green Beans: You can either use canned green beans or fresh. I prefer the flavor of fresh green beans, but then you do have to go through the trouble to cook them (worth it). But canned are also quite good!
• Bacon: Ultimately you can use whatever type of bacon is your favorite, but I recommend using thinly sliced bacon since it’s easier to get it uniformly done and crispy. If you’re in a rush you can also use pre-cooked bacon. I don’t like a super smoky bacon since it can tend to take over the rest of the flavors.
• Butter: This is what you’ll use to cook the vegetables in.
• Onion: You’ll need just half an onion here! I used yellow onions to test this recipe, but I’m sure a white or sweet onion would work just fine.
• Fresh Mushrooms: You can use just about any mushroom you like, but I tested this recipe with baby Portobello mushrooms. I’m sure button mushrooms would be a great option.
• Garlic: You’ll need 2 good sized cloves.
• Salt and Black Pepper: To taste! Make sure to not go overboard on the salt since the bacon and cream cheese are already salty.
• Whole Milk: Of course you can use low-fat if you prefer, but the final result will be less creamy of course. If you use heavy cream in place of the milk, things might get (dare I say it) a little too rich.
• Cream Cheese: This is the base of the creamy sauce. I have not personally tested it, but I would imagine sour cream would do in a pinch.
• Fried Onions: This is one of my favorite parts of the whole casserole, and should not be skipped if at all possible. I have heard that some people use crushed Ritz crackers or potato chips instead, but I haven’t given those a go yet.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Alright, let’s go over the cooking process step by step so you know what everything should look like!

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 Celsius).

Cooking the Green Beans:

If you’re using fresh green beans, of course you’ll need to cook them first.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook for about 8 minutes, or until tender crisp.

Alternatively, you could steam the green beans for the same amount of time.

Once the green beans are done cooking, drain them and set them aside.

Prepping the Bacon:

While the green beans are cooking, crisp up the bacon in a skillet or in the oven. I like really crispy bacon on top of my green bean casserole, but keep in mind that it will cook a bit more in the oven.

Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain, then chop when it’s cool enough to handle. I like chunky bacon pieces, but you can chop into small pieces if you prefer.

Making the Mushroom/Cream Cheese Base:

Once the green beans and bacon are underway, melt the butter in a large skillet (12 inch or larger) set over medium heat.

You could also use some of the bacon grease here if you prefer!

1. Next, add the onions and garlic to the melted butter and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Add the minced garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Add the milk and cream cheese.

Turn the heat down to low and stir the cream cheese until fully melted.

Putting it all together:

Add the green beans to the skillet and stir to coat with the creamy base.

This will be easier the larger your pan is!

If your skillet is oven proof, you can simply leave the green bean base in it and cook the whole casserole in that.

Or you can transfer the green bean mixture to a baking dish. 13×9 inches is ideal, but this pan is a little smaller than that and it still worked. Keep in mind that if you have shorter dimensions you won’t have as much surface area to sprinkle the onions and bacon over!

Whatever cooking vessel you choose, sprinkle the fried onions and chopped bacon over the top of the green beans.

Baking:

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until everything is nice and hot and toasty. The French fried onions should be golden brown and crispy.

Make sure you don’t over bake or the bacon will start to over cook.

Serving:

You’ll want to serve this casserole fairly soon after taking it out of the oven.

This is a really hearty green bean casserole, so you should be able to get about 10-12 servings as a side dish (depending on how many other side dishes grace your holiday table).

Storing:

Store any (cooled) leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

To reheat, bake covered for 20 minutes, then remove the cover and bake until everything is steaming hot and toppings are crispy.

Make Ahead:

To save time on the big day, you can totally prep this green bean casserole in advance!

Prepare the casserole up to the part where you transfer the green bean mixture to a baking dish. but don’t preheat the oven yet. Cool to room temperature, cover well, and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve (up to 3-5 days).

When ready to serve, bake the casserole in a preheated oven for 15 minutes. Then remove it from the oven and sprinkle the bacon and fried onions on top. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the casserole is steaming hot all the way through, and the toppings are crispy.

FAQ

• Is it better to use fresh or canned green beans for green bean casserole? This really depends on personal preference and how much time you have to devote to this recipe! I personally LOVE this casserole made with fresh green beans. If you have the time, I recommend using fresh, but canned is still quite good.
• What’s the secret to a good green bean casserole? Again, a lot of this comes down to personal preferences. But for me, a good green bean casserole needs to have a flavorful base, and a crispy topping. If you follow the directions in this recipe carefully, you’re all set!
• Do you drain the juice from canned green beans for green bean casserole? Yes, otherwise the creamy base will be too watery!
• Should green bean casserole be cooked covered or uncovered? If you want the toppings to be nice and crispy, you need to cook it uncovered. However, if you’re making the casserole ahead of time, you can cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake it for a while, then take the foil off and sprinkle on the toppings. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes to get the toppings toasty.

So that’s my homemade bacon green bean casserole recipe! Make sure to check out my other Thanksgiving recipes below and consider adding one to your Thanksgiving menu!

More Thanksgiving Casserole Recipes

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