Crockpot Green Bean Casserole From Scratch Wellplated Com

A legitimately tasty version of a time-honored side made easy in the slow cooker, this is the green bean casserole we all need! I came to green bean casserole late in life. After years of wondering how it became a seemingly obligatory part of Thanksgiving (why waste space on an overcooked casserole when you can pack in the Cornbread Stuffing, Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole, or any of these Thanksgiving recipes instead?), I finally decided to cook it myself and see if I could come up with a green bean casserole that merited its spot on the plate. Guess what? I BELIEVE. This Healthy Green Bean Casserole showed me the possibilities and is now mandatory in my personal Thanksgiving lineup.

Today’s recipe is a slow cooker adaptation.I made a few tasty tweaks based on your feedback (like turning it into a crockpot green bean casserole with cheddar cheese—so good!).I streamlined the prep process so that you don’t have to blanch the green beans in advance.

Outsourcing side dishes to the slow cooker is a pro-holiday move. No matter the size of the gathering, we always run out of oven space and the slow cooker is a brilliant solution! Look to recipes like these Crockpot Scalloped Potatoes, this Crock Pot Stuffing, or this gluten free Crockpot Wild Rice Stuffing to free up your oven. Plus, the inherent make-ahead nature of the crock pot will make the day of less stressful too.

How to Make The Best Crockpot Green Bean Casserole

This slow cooker green bean casserole recipe breaks down into three key parts: the green beans, the creamy gravy, and the topping. Let’s explore.

Part 1: The Green Beans

When it comes to the green beans for green bean casserole, you have three choices: fresh, frozen, or canned.

Fresh Green Beans. THE ONE YOU WANT. Fresh green beans are far less likely to overcook even after hours in the crockpot and have a crisp, delicious flavor. Trimming fresh green beans is quite possibly my least favorite kitchen task, and I am telling you, it is worth doing for fresh green bean casserole.Frozen, Cut Green Beans. The next best option. If you’d like to save some time, you can purchase a bag of cut, frozen green beans. Steam them according to the package instructions and pat them very dry before adding them to the slow cooker. They will be a little mushy, but certainly not inedible.Canned Green Beans. AVOID. Canned green beans will make your casserole mushy and inflict a metallic, stale flavor. If you haven’t liked green bean casserole in the past, the recipe likely used canned green beans. Green bean casserole is better with fresh green beans (or frozen), not canned.

While some crockpot fresh green bean casseroles call for blanching the green beans before adding them to the slow cooker, to me this took away the slow cooker’s ease. After some playing around, I found by cutting the green beans into 1-inch pieces, I could cook them directly in the slow cooker without steaming or blanching. The green beans softened nicely, and we didn’t have any problems with hard pieces.

Part 2: The Creamy Mushroom Filling

Here, you have two options: canned cream of mushroom soup mixture (like the Campbell’s crockpot green bean casserole recipe), or an easy homemade mushroom filling. As with trimming green beans, making the creamy sauce for green bean casserole from scratch is 100% worth it! This mushroom filling is easy, luscious, and anything but bland.

To keep this a healthy green bean casserole crockpot recipe, I skipped the cream/half-and-half and used regular milk. The filling still tasted rich and just the right amount of decadent.A splash of sherry vinegar and a touch of nutmeg make this filling shine. I had a hard time stopping myself from eating it right out of the pan!I took a note from some classic Midwest versions of this recipe and your comments and made this a crockpot green bean casserole with cheese. I stirred cheddar cheese into it at the end. DELISH.

Part 3: The Topping

While I’m proud about making these crock pot green beans from scratch, there was one store-bought ingredient that my taste testers actually preferred: the canned French fried onions. I skipped stirring the onions into the casserole and used sauteed fresh onions in the filling instead, but for the topping, the salty, crispy crunch hit the spot.

The Directions

Storage Tips

To Store. Refrigerate the casserole in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days. To Reheat. Rewarm leftovers in a baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees F. To Freeze. Freeze green bean casserole in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. The crispy onions will become soggy (if using), but the casserole will still taste delicious.

Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe

Slow Cooker. This one switches to “warm” to deter overcooking. Saucepan. You’ll use this kitchen tool on repeat. Measuring Spoons. Since these are double-sided, you’ll have less to wash after you make this cheesy green bean casserole.

Panko Breadcrumbs. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium skillet. Add 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs and stir to coat. Cook and stir for 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle on just before serving (you also can make the breadcrumbs up to 1 day in advance; store at room temperature).Fresh Breadcrumbs. Follow the steps above but swap fresh breadcrumbs for the Panko. To make fresh breadcrumbs, tear 4 slices of sandwich bread (or better yet, leftover artisan bread, such as sourdough or a baguette) into pieces and pulse in the food processor until it resembles coarse crumbs.Homemade Fried Onions. Soak 4 cups of thinly sliced yellow onions in 2 1/2 cups buttermilk for about 10 minutes. Mix all-purpose flour, salt, and pepper together in a shallow dish or pie plate. Heat vegetable oil in a large pot on the stovetop until it reaches 375 degrees F. Working in small amounts, dredge the onions in the flour mixture, then drop them into the oil. Once golden, remove the onions from the oil, and let them dry on a paper towel-lined plate. Fried Shallots. Follow the steps above, swapping a thinly sliced shallot for the yellow onion.Bacon. A sure crowd-pleaser! Make this Baked Bacon in the Oven, then crumble the pieces over the casserole at the end. You also can do a crockpot green bean casserole with bacon in combination with any of the above-suggested toppings. If using the Panko or breadcrumb option, consider frying the bacon instead, then sautéing the breadcrumbs in the drippings (YUM).

You can mix up green bean casserole the night before too. Add the trimmed and cut green beans to a slow cooker, and stir them together with the mushroom sauce. Cover and refrigerate the slow cooker for up to 1 day, then finish the recipe as directed.