This cheesy green bean casserole takes a Thanksgiving favorite in an extra-cheesy direction, with fresh green beans and mushrooms in a homemade cream cheese sauce, plus melted cheddar and crispy fried onions on top. This isn’t a traditional green bean casserole: the cheese is a big part of every scoop, and there’s no canned cream of mushroom soup.
What Makes This Casserole So Cheesy?
An entire block of cream cheese goes into the mushroom sauce, and shredded cheddar goes over the beans before baking. So if you love the fried-onion topping but wish your green bean casserole had a lot more cheese, this one’s for you.
The sauce starts on the stovetop with butter, onion, mushrooms, and garlic. A little flour and vegetable broth bring it together before the cream cheese melts in. You’ll make the sauce from scratch, but you can keep the store-bought fried onions for that familiar crunchy topping.
Featured Ingredients
- Fresh green beans: Trim the ends and cut the beans in half before blanching. Smaller pieces are easier to scoop from the baking dish.
- Bella mushrooms and yellow onion: Slice both for the homemade sauce.
- Cream cheese: Use cubed cream cheese, not whipped. It melts into the sauce before the beans go in.
- Shredded cheddar: This is the second layer of cheese, sprinkled over the casserole before baking.
- Fried onions: Add them on top with the cheddar. Keep foil nearby in case they brown before the casserole finishes baking.
Tips For The Beans, Sauce, And Topping
Give the beans a quick blanch. Those 1 to 2 minutes in boiling water help soften the fresh beans before baking. Transfer them straight to an ice bath, then drain again before adding them to the sauce. Skipping the blanch can leave the beans firmer than you’d like.
Check the sauce before adding the cheese. After whisking in the broth, let the sauce thicken until it coats a spoon and has a gravy-like consistency. Then reduce the heat and stir in the Worcestershire sauce and cream cheese.
Watch the fried onions. Rotate the dish halfway through the 40-minute bake. If the topping is getting too brown, cover it with foil for the remaining baking time. Let the finished casserole rest for 5 minutes before scooping.
Cheese And Green Bean Swaps
Colby Jack or Colby would also be great in place of the cheddar. Keep the cream cheese in the sauce, and skip whipped cream cheese for this recipe.
You can substitute frozen green beans, but the finished sauce may be looser. Fresh beans are the starting point for the blanching directions in the recipe card below.
Add It To Your Thanksgiving Menu
Bring this casserole to the table when you want a cheesy vegetable side alongside the rest of your Thanksgiving meal. For more ideas, browse our cheesy Thanksgiving side dishes.
If you’re planning a few casseroles for the holiday, our Cheesy Corn Casserole is another cream cheese-filled option.
Cheesy Green Bean Casserole
Equipment
- Large pot
- Large skillet
- 9×13-inch baking dish
Ingredients
- Kosher salt, for the blanching water, as needed
- 20 oz. fresh green beans, trimmed, chopped in half, and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ½ medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 8 oz. bella mushrooms, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
- Cooking spray
- 4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
- Blanch the green beans for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and immediately transfer to an ice-water bath to stop the cooking. Drain again and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the yellow onion and mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened.
- Stir in the garlic, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ground black pepper. Cook for an additional minute.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly add the vegetable broth, whisking constantly. Once the sauce has thickened to a gravy-like consistency and coats a spoon, reduce the heat.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and cream cheese. Stir until melted, then fold the green beans into the sauce.
- Coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer the green bean mixture to the dish and top with the shredded cheddar cheese and fried onions.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Rotate the dish, then bake for another 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling around the edges. If the fried onions are getting too brown when you rotate the dish, cover the top with foil.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Tips & Notes
- Colby Jack or Colby cheese would also be great in place of the cheddar.
- Whipped cream cheese is not recommended for this recipe.
- Blanching helps soften the fresh green beans. Skipping this step may leave them firmer than desired.
- Frozen green beans can be substituted; the finished sauce may be looser.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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