How to Make Green Bean Casserole 10x Better

Thanksgiving is almost here, and that means it’s time to make the menu for the big day. I personally love side dishes the most, and one of the more popular seasonal sides is green bean casserole. This classic side dish is made with green beans, cream of mushroom soup and crispy fried onions, which are mixed together and baked until warm and bubbly. The recipe was invented in the 1950s by the Campbell Soup Company as a way to market their cream of mushroom soup, and its popularity grew quickly. 

Recently, I ran across a green bean casserole recipe that is going to make the dish even better and I can not wait to try it! The recipe was shared by content creator @dianemorrisey and it looks incredible. 

Related: The Surprising Green Bean Casserole Recipe Fans Are Calling ‘the Ultimate Hack’

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Why You Should Top Your Green Bean Casserole with Onion Rings

Morrisey makes her green bean casserole from scratch, which looks delicious, but it’s the genius topping that made us stop in our tracks. Before the casserole goes into the oven she tops it with frozen onion rings. The traditional green bean casserole topping is crispy onions, so the onion rings start with that idea and take it up a notch—or seven. 

We love how the onion rings look on top of the casserole and the combo of crunchy breading and tender onion combined with the creamy veggie casserole has got to be incredible. 

How to Make Green Bean Casserole with Onion Rings

The full recipe is in the caption of Morrisey’s video, but here are the broad strokes. To make this recipe, you need butter, chopped mushrooms, garlic, flour, milk, salt, pepper, cayenne, shredded cheddar, frozen green beans and frozen onion rings. 

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in mushrooms and garlic and saute for five minutes. Add more butter and melt. Stir in the flour until absorbed, then stir in the milk. Add salt, cayenne and pepper and bring the mixture to a simmer. Stir it until the sauce has thickened, and then add the cheese. Once the cheese melts, remove the skillet from the heat and check to make sure the sauce is seasoned to your liking. Add more seasoning if needed. 

Now that the mushroom sauce is made, you can add the frozen green beans and stir until they are coated. Pour into a baking dish and arrange the frozen onion rings on the top. Bake at 375° for 30-40 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Morrisey also noted that this dish is a good thing to make in advance. “This can be completely set up the day before and covered, without the onion rings,” she said. “Park in the fridge overnight and when ready to bake off the next day, top with the onion rings and bake off!” 

What Are People Saying About the Green Bean Casserole with Onion Rings? 

“This is pure comfort!” someone commented on the Instagram post. It looks like pure nostalgia!

“I always make it the lazy way with cream of mushroom soup. Need to try the homemade version—but the onion rings idea—genius!!!” someone else said. We agree that the homemade version looks great but the onion ring tip would be a fun upgrade for the classic recipe too. 

“Love that you can make ahead!” another person added. We love that, too! That will definitely make things easier.

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