Southern Green Bean Casserole

Southern Green Bean Casserole is creamy, comforting, and absolutely irresistible! With just a handful of pantry staples like canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and those iconic crispy French fried onions, this beloved side dish comes together in under 40 minutes and steals the show at every gathering.

Love More Dinner Ideas? Try My Coconut Lime Chicken with Green Beans or this Southern Maple Sweet Potato Casserole next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This isn’t just any green bean casserole—it’s THE green bean casserole that reminds you of home, holidays, and everything cozy about Southern cooking. Here’s why it’ll become your go-to:

It’s easy. We’re talking maybe 10 minutes of hands-on work, and most of that is just opening cans and stirring. No fancy techniques, no complicated steps—just pure, straightforward comfort food.

Everyone loves it. Even the pickiest eaters at your table will come back for seconds. There’s something magical about that creamy sauce and those crunchy onions that makes green beans suddenly exciting!

It’s a make-ahead dream. Holiday cooking stressing you out? Assemble this casserole hours (or even a day!) ahead, then just pop it in the oven when you’re ready. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Nostalgia factor is off the charts. This casserole tastes like memories—family gatherings, grandma’s kitchen, and the warmth of being surrounded by people you love.

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Ingredient List

• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans green beans, drained well
• 1 (10.5-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• ½ cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• Dash of black pepper (about ⅛ teaspoon)
• 1½ cups French fried onions, divided (¾ cup for topping)

Friendly Notes:

• Whatever beans are cheapest. Green Giant, Del Monte, Great Value. Doesn’t change anything.
• French’s onions or store brand. Save your money, get store brand.
• I use whole milk because that’s what’s in my fridge. Used 2% before, tasted fine.

Why These Ingredients Work

Canned beans don’t fall apart. Already soft, just need heating. Fresh beans are nice but these taste like childhood to me.

That condensed soup is your sauce. Thick, creamy, already has mushroom flavor. Been using it since forever because it works.

Milk thins the soup out. Too thick without it. Half cup is perfect—more makes it runny, less makes it gloppy.

Soy sauce is random but trust me. One teaspoon does something magic. Nobody guesses that’s in there. Aunt Carol’s trick from way back.

Pepper just for flavor. Not making it spicy, just less boring.

Fried onions make the whole thing. Half mixed in for flavor, half on top for crunch. No onions means no casserole, just beans in sauce.

Essential Tools and Equipment

Baking dish around 1½ quarts. My 8×8 Pyrex from wedding registry twenty years ago still works.

Bowl.

Colander for draining—important step, don’t skip.

Wooden spoon because metal beats up the beans.

Can opener, measuring cups, oven mitts. That’s everything.

How To Make Southern Green Bean Casserole

Step 1: Preheat Your Oven

Turn to 350°F. Middle temp, safe for everything.

Step 2: Drain Those Green Beans Really Well

Pop cans, pour in colander, drain. Shake it good. Sometimes press with paper towels. Water left in = watery mess. Trust me on this.

Step 3: Mix the Creamy Base

Beans in bowl. Dump soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper. Stir till everything’s mixed. Add ¾ cup onions, stir again. Save the rest.

Step 4: Transfer and First Bake

Pour into dish. Spread around, doesn’t matter if it’s messy. Bake 25 minutes without covering. Bubbles at edges when ready.

Step 5: Add the Onion Topping

Pull out—careful it’s hot. Stir a little, gentle. Dump rest of onions on top. Back in five more minutes till brown and crispy.

Step 6: Rest and Serve

Wait five minutes. Helps hold together. Also saves your mouth from burning like mine always does cause I’m impatient.

You Must Know

Drain those beans good. Saying it again—wet beans wreck everything. Shake that colander hard.

Use the soy sauce. Weird but necessary. My sister forgot it once, tasted flat.

Watch onions last five minutes. Burn quick. I stand at oven and watch now after burning them twice.

Personal Secret: Melt butter—one tablespoon. Toss onions in it before putting on top. Get crispier, taste better. Aunt Carol taught me this thirty years ago. People always ask what I did to make the onions so good. That’s it.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Stir gentle after first bake. Just mixing heat around, not smashing beans.

Sour cream makes it creamier if you want. Couple spoons with the soup.

Make your own soup—mushrooms, butter, flour, milk. Takes longer but some people care about that.

Mistakes—not draining enough, burning onions. Watch both.

Fresh beans work—boil three minutes, drain really good. More work though.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Bacon: Five strips cooked crispy, crumbled in and on top. Always better with bacon.

Garlic: Two cloves chopped, teaspoon thyme. Smells amazing.

More Mushrooms: Whole package fresh mushrooms cooked in butter, fold in.

Cheese: Cup of shredded cheddar mixed in. Melts into everything.

Ritz Crackers: Crush them up, mix with top onions. Extra crunch.

Fresh Beans: Pound and a half, trim, cut, boil five minutes. Use instead of canned.

Worcestershire: Add it with soy sauce. More flavor.

Make-Ahead Options

Make it night before. Cover, fridge. Next day let sit out twenty minutes, add ten minutes baking time cause it’s cold.

Same day works too. Make morning, fridge it, bake when ready.

Freeze it—no top onions yet. Wrap good, three months. Thaw fridge overnight, bake normal, onions at end.

Important—don’t add final onions till last five minutes or they get soggy in the fridge.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Cans are 15 ounces not 14.5? Fine. Just drain good.

Any dish that’s about right size works. Got 9×9? Use it. Little deeper? Add few minutes.

Extra onions good on salads, in potatoes, or just eating from can.

Bubbling after 25 minutes means ready for onion topping.

Too thick add milk. Too thin you didn’t drain enough, add flour maybe.

Serving Suggestions

Goes with everything—turkey, ham, roast, chicken, meatloaf, steak. Made it with all of them.

Black pepper on top sometimes. Extra onions if there’s more. Thyme sprig for looks if company’s coming.

Best hot from oven. Fine room temp for buffet. Also good cold from fridge late night but that’s just me.

This recipe’s been around forever in my family. Grandma, Mom, me, probably my daughter when she’s older. That’s how good recipes work.

How to Store Your Southern Green Bean Casserole

Refrigerator: Lid on container or plastic wrap over dish. Keeps four days.

Freezer: Can freeze. Wrap tight. Two months. Not quite as good reheated though.

Reheating: Oven 350°F, twenty minutes with foil on top. Microwave faster but onions won’t be crispy.

Pro tip: Pour little milk on before reheating if looks dry. Fresh onions on top makes it taste new again.

Allergy Information

Contains:

• Dairy (milk, soup has cream)
• Soy (soy sauce)
• Wheat (fried onions)

Substitution Options:

• Dairy-Free: Coconut milk or almond milk. Pacific Foods makes dairy-free mushroom soup.
• Gluten-Free: Get gluten-free onions, check soup label, use tamari not soy sauce.
• Soy-Free: Worcestershire instead of soy sauce. Or coconut aminos.
• Low-Sodium: No-salt beans, low-sodium soup, skip soy sauce. Use herbs for flavor.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

My casserole turned out watery—what happened?

Beans weren’t drained enough. Bean liquid waters it down. Drain better next time, shake colander, use paper towels. Also check you used only half cup milk.

How do I keep the onions from getting soggy?

Add them last five minutes only. Earlier makes them steam and go soft. Don’t cover pan while baking either.

Is cream of chicken soup okay to use instead of mushroom?

Works fine. Cream of chicken or celery both okay. Tastes different but still good. Some people like chicken more.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! Tell me how it went. Add anything? Fight over the crispy parts? Share it if it helped you out.