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Green Bean Casserole is a classic holiday side dish that transforms baked green beans into mouthwatering salty, crispy, creamy bites. Your holiday table isn't complete until the Green Bean Casserole with Cream of Chicken is served!

Green bean casserole with cream of chicken soup in a round casserole dish, on a dish towel, with a wooden spoon.

Green bean casserole is a classic Thanksgiving side dish. Fresh green beans, condensed chicken soup, fresh onions and crispy fried onions are baked in a casserole dish until bubbly and hot.

There are several variations of this well-loved, comfort food recipe. Some people use cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of chicken. Some add shredded gruyere cheese. I've even seen recipes that include bacon, pecans and wild rice!

I've chosen to keep this recipe classic and simple. Green Bean Casserole with Cream of Chicken will pair perfectly with my other classic and simple Thanksgiving side dishes. My Sweet Potato Casserole, Drop Biscuits, Brown Sugar and Honey Roasted Carrots and Butternut Squash and Beet Salad are all winning recipes!

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Ingredients
Equipment
How to make
Variations and substitutions
Expert tips
What to serve with
Storage and reheating
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Ingredients

Fresh green beans: You'll need fresh, French green beans or string beans. Many green bean casserole recipes use canned green beans, but I find that fresh are just as easy to work with! They also provide more texture and don't get mushy like canned green beans can.

Cream of chicken soup: Cream of chicken is a condensed canned soup that is made out of chicken, chicken broth or chicken stock, chicken fat, cream and a thickening ingredient like cornstarch. I used Pacific Foods Organic Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup. I like this brand because there are no unnecessary or artificial additives.

Fried onions: French's Crispy Fried Onions add a salty, crispy, crunch to every serving of green bean casserole. Fried onions are essential to a green bean casserole recipe, so don't skip them!

Fresh onions: Many green bean casserole recipes have you mix fried onions into your casserole in addition to putting them on top. I find that this really increases the salt and fat in the dish... and not in a good way! I absolutely love the taste and texture of adding fresh, thinly sliced white onions instead.

Milk: You can use whole milk or 2% milk. Both kinds will work!

Seasonings: All you need is a little ground black pepper and some garlic powder to round out the flavor of this green bean recipe.

*See the recipe card below for a detailed ingredients list and recipe instructions.

Equipment

Large stock pot - You'll use a large stock pot or soup pot to blanch the green beans.
2 mixing bowls - You'll need 1 large mixing bowl and 1 medium-sized mixing bowl.
Casserole dish - A small to medium-sized casserole dish is perfect for this recipe. If you're doubling the recipe though, make sure to use a larger baking dish!
Cutting board, chopping knife, measuring cups and measuring spoons

How to make

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil on the stovetop. Prepare the green beans. You'll need to trim the ends of your green beans and then cut them in half so that each green bean piece is about 1-2 inches long.

Step 2: Blanch your green beans for 5 minutes in the boiling water. Blanching is when you submerge fresh vegetables in boiling hot water until crisp tender, but still bright green, and only for a few minutes. Then you drain the vegetables from the boiling water and quickly cool them down with cold water, to stop them from cooking any further. Transfer the blanched green beans to a large mixing bowl.

Step 3: Combine the cream of chicken soup, milk, fresh sliced onions, garlic powder and black pepper in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir until smooth.

Cream of chicken soup mixed with onions and milk in a glass bowl.

Step 4: Pour the cream of chicken mixture over top of the green beans. Stir the green beans and the cream of chicken mix together until the green beans are fully coated in the soup and onions.

Blanched green beans and cream of chicken soup mixture in a bowl.

Step 5: Transfer the green bean casserole mixture to a medium sized casserole dish. Place the dish into your preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes, until the casserole is heated through and bubbling.

Green beans mixed with casserole filling in a round casserole dish.

Step 6: Remove the Green Bean Casserole with Cream of Chicken from the oven, sprinkle the crispy fried onions on top and place the casserole back into the oven to continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven, serve immediately and enjoy!

Green bean casserole with cream of chicken cooked, in a casserole dish.

Variations and substitutions

Make it gluten free: The whole food ingredients in this recipe are naturally gluten free. The specific brand of cream of chicken soup from Pacific Foods that I mention in the ingredients list is also gluten free! You'll need to find gluten free fried onions or make your own from scratch. This brand of gluten free fried onions sold through Thrive Market looks perfect!

Add bacon: Bacon is a really easy addition. You'll need to cook the back until crispy, dice it up into small pieces and then sprinkle the bacon on top of your casserole with the fried onions.

Add cheese: If you'd like to add cheese, you'll need 1-2 cups of shredded cheddar or shredded gruyere cheese. You'll mix the cheese right into the casserole with the green beans and the cream of chicken soup.

Expert tips

Green beans: This recipe calls for 2 pounds of green beans. The 2 pounds of green beans are measured out after the green beans have been trimmed and cut. You should purchase around 2.5-3 pounds of green beans when you're shopping for this recipe. This will ensure that you have enough green beans for the recipe after you've trimmed the ends and discarded any parts of the green beans that have started to turn bad. The best way to get an accurate measurement is to use a kitchen scale.
Salt: I didn't add any additional salt to this recipe because the cream of chicken soup has a significant amount of salt in it, as do the crispy fried onions. If you think this won't be adequate for your tastes, add some salt to the cream of chicken mixture.
Fried onions: I call for 1-2 cups of fried onions. If you're using a casserole dish that is long and shallow, then you'll have more surface area on the top of the dish to cover with fried onions. If you're using a casserole dish that is short with deep sides, similar to what I used in the photos above, then you won't have as much surface area on top and won't need as many fried onions. You want an even, single layer of fried onions on top, with green beans peaking through.

What to serve with

I think most people only making green bean casserole on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Here are my top holiday recipes to serve green bean casserole with!

Roasted vegetable sides: My top holiday roasted vegetable sides are my Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts, Roasted Green Beans and Carrots and my Honey and Brown Sugar Glazed Roasted Carrots.

Classic sides: My Sweet Potato Casserole with Walnuts and my Brioche Stuffing are a must make!

Baked sides: My 3 Ingredient Drop Biscuits and my Dutch Oven Bread are excellent choices for the bread course on Thanksgiving or Christmas.

If you aren't in the mood to make an entire turkey, then my Air Fryer Turkey Tenderloin is the perfect holiday main dish for you!

Storage and reheating

How to store: Store leftover Green Bean Casserole with Cream of Chicken in an air-tight container, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. I always prefer glass storage containers. My favorite glass storage containers are Pyrex Simply Store Container Set from Amazon.

How to reheat: You can reheat single servings of green bean casserole in the microwave for 1 minute at a time, until your casserole is heated through. You can reheat your entire casserole in the oven. Cover the casserole dish with foil and reheat at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, until warmed through. You'll probably want to add fresh crispy onions to the top as well!

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