This scratch made casserole puts traditional green bean casserole to shame! The cream of mushroom soup is made with crimini & shiitake mushrooms. You still use store bought fried onions, because why not. The effort of preparing fresh green beans and the soup is worth it. The addition of nutty gruyere cheese makes this a showstopper.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs French green beans, trimmed
- For the Cream of Mushroom Soup:
- 3-4 TBS butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 8 oz Baby Bella or Crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 8 oz Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced (I use roasted garlic that I keep frozen)
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 TBS soy sauce
- 1 1/2 cup filtered water
- 1 TBS chicken bouillon (I use Better than Bouillon – use the vegetable version to make a vegetarian version)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 TBS cornstarch
- For the Casserole:
- 1 1/2 cups shredded gruyere
- Store bought fried onions
Instructions
- Prepare Green Beans: Blanche green beans until they are tender, but still a bit firm. Remember they will be baking once they are placed in the casserole. Dry the blanched green beans on paper trowels to dry.
- For the Cream of Mushroom Soup: Heat butter in a large sauce pan. Sauté onions until softened. Add mushrooms and sauté for 5-8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant.
- Add in 1 cup of water and the chicken bouillon. Mix in well.
- Mix heavy cream & cornstarch. Whisk until smooth and add to the mushroom mixture. Add in the rosemary sprig and soy sauce. Stir until thickened. Add in other half cup of water if soup is too thick. Remember, the soup should be on the thicker side, because it is for a casserole. Set aside.
- Assembly: Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9×13 glass or ceramic baking dish.
- Add green beans to soup mix. Fold in green beans until they are completed mixed in. Pour green beans into the prepared baking dish.
- Top with gruyere cheese and then top with fried onions.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
- Note: I usually make this dish for Thanksgiving, so I prepare it the day before. If preparing the day before, do not top with fried onions until you are ready to bake. Additionally, if you refrigerate the day before, take it out 30-45 minutes to allow to return to room temperature. Bake as directed. You may have to bake a bit longer if casserole is still cold from refrigeration.
