Thanksgiving Side Dish: Fresh Green Bean Casserole Recipe

by Jen Tilley on November 15th, 2018 | 7 Comments »

When it comes to Thanksgiving, sometimes it's all about the side dishes. Even though I love turkey on Thanksgiving (and every other day of the year), I always find myself piling my plate high with cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. Once everything is on my plate, I cover everything in gravy to finish off the dish.

This year, in my virtual Thanksgiving meal that I’m making for you, I’m serving an Arugula, Brie, and Cranberry Crostini as an appetizer. The cheese and berry flavors, combined with the crunchy bread, and topped with the spice from the arugula will get your tastebuds excited for the main course.

For the side dish, I'm taking the traditional green bean casserole and freshening it up a bit. Don't worry, this recipe is super easy and you'll fall in love with the fresh spin on a classic dish.

I hope you enjoy this side dish. Be sure to check out easy and mouth-watering recipes for the man of the hour — the turkey.

Fresh Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:

3 cups vegetable oil
6 large shallots, cut into very thin rounds (separate the rings)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Salt and ground pepper
2 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 pound button mushrooms, trimmed and coarsely chopped
14.5 ounces chicken broth
1 cup whole milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray or extra virgin olive oil.
Pour the vegetable oil into a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Line a baking sheet with paper towel. Toss together the shallots and 1 1/4 cups flour until the shallots are coated. Shake off excess flour. Fry the the shallots in the oil until they are gold and crispy (approximately 5 minutes). Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shallots to the paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. NOTE: If you don't want to make your own fried onions, please feel free to use store-bought and skip this step.
Cook the green beans in a large pot of boiling water (approximately 6 minutes). Remove the green beans from the water and rinse with cold water (or put in an ice bath) to stop the cooking process.
Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Add mushrooms and cook until the liquid evaporates (approximately 7 minutes). Add 1/4 cup flour and stir until incorporated (approximately 1 minute).
Whisk the butter mixture and gradually add the broth then the milk. Bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally and cook until the sauce thickens (approximately 5 minutes). Season with salt and pepper (to taste).
Add green beans to the mushroom sauce mixture and toss to combine. Transfer mixture to a baking dish and bake until bubbly (approximately 15 minutes).
Remove the green beans from the oven. Top the green beans with the fried shallots and serve warm.

*Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

What is your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?

Jen Tilley has an insatiable appetite for all things related to baking and cooking. She is the author, photographer and recipe developer on How To: Simplify, a blog that shares tips, tricks and recipes to simplify life in the kitchen. She enjoys sharing recipes that require very few ingredients and only a small amount of prep and cook time, all of which make time spent in the kitchen simple and enjoyable. Find her online at How To: Simplify, @HowToSimplify, and Jen Tilley Photography.