I’m not allowed to make a Thanksgiving dinner without the old standby, the green bean casserole. I’ve tried to improve on it, using fresh green beans, making my own sauce. All I got were thumbs down. So I’ve learned you just have to give them what they want, so here’s the recipe with a couple of tips to make this old chestnut as good as it can be. (1) Use French cut green beans. They blend with the sauce better (2) Use a large, shallow dish to bake it in. Having more surface area lets it dry out more, brown, and it will taste better. For the recipe below, I use a baking dish that’s about 9″ square. (3) Cook it longer. The recipe calls for baking it for 30 minutes before topping with the onions. I cook it more like 45 minutes, until it’s bubbling around the edges and the top is starting to brown. Then sprinkle on the onions for the last 5 minutes or more, until they’re nice and toasty. I usually end up putting a little more on top than called for, but that’s up to you.
2 cans of French cut green beans, drained well
1 can Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup (original, not low fat or low salt)
1/2 cup whole milk
1-1/3 c French’s French fried onions
Stir the green beans, mushroom soup, milk, and 2/3 c of onions together. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until it’s starting to brown a little on top. Sprinkle on the remaining 2/3 c of onions and bake another 5 minutes or more until the onions are toasty.