Don’t want to cook with canned cream of mushroom soup or canned green beans? Here is my favorite easy homemade Green Bean Casserole Without Mushroom Soup from scratch for Thanksgiving and Christmas using frozen green beans, fresh mushrooms, and sour cream.
I’ve been eating some variation of Green Bean Casserole Without Mushroom Soup every Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember.
Growing up, Mom made the famous version with canned cream of mushroom soup, canned green beans, and French fried onions. It was my absolute favorite thing to eat for the holiday.
As I started cooking for myself and my palate matured, I could no longer eat a lot of canned items, especially cream of whatever soup.
Not wanting to give up the casserole, I was on a mission to make homemade Green Bean Casserole Without Mushroom Soup from scratch.
And I succeeded using sour cream and fresh mushrooms plus some Worcestershire sauce to add some depth known as umami (bonus points if you can pronounce it).
Mom always added cheese, and I didn’t know until a few years ago that there is no cheese in the original. You’ll definitely want to make a cheesy green bean casserole.
What are the ingredients for green bean casserole?
I don’t think a year has gone by where we don’t make green bean casserole without cream of mushroom soup for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Dad doesn’t even need me to write a shopping list anymore. It’s like, holiday shopping list? Green beans, fresh mushrooms, French fried onions, sour cream, broth, cheese. Done.
Because green bean casserole from scratch is typically made in the winter, I opt for frozen green beans rather than fresh.
They’re still technically fresh green beans because they’re frozen during peak season. Regardless they’re a million times better than canned green beans.
I use frozen French cut green beans when I can find them, which means the beans are cut lengthwise into thin strips.
However, they aren’t easy to find, so you can definitely use regular cut green beans.
When I originally posted this green bean casserole without mushroom soup recipe, I was on a mission to replace everything, included the French fried onions on top.
Nowadays I cut myself some slack and buy them. There’s too much going on with Thanksgiving dinner, so I have no regrets.
Is green bean casserole vegetarian?
Although at first glance green bean casserole looks vegetarian, it actually isn’t due to the Worcestershire sauce, which contains anchovies.
No worries! You can leave it out or use a vegetarian-friendly brand.
How do you substitute for cream of mushroom soup in green bean casserole?
For a cream of mushroom soup substitute, I used sour cream, sliced white button mushrooms, and broth.
I also added a bit of Worcestershire sauce to bring some earthiness to the dish, which pairs well with the mushrooms.
Can you make green bean casserole without mushrooms?
Although the mushrooms are my favorite part, you can certainly make green bean casserole without mushrooms by leaving them out.
If you’re ok with eating meat, you can even fry up some bacon to add.
Instead of using butter, fry your bacon in the skillet, remove once cooked, then continue frying your onion and mushrooms in the bacon grease left behind.
Crumble your bacon then stir into the mixture before baking.
How To Make Green Bean Casserole Without Mushroom Soup
To make green bean casserole without cream of mushroom soup, first you want to blanch your green beans.
Blanching means cooking in hot water until softened but not fully cooked, about 3 minutes or so. That way the green beans aren’t raw after cooking the casserole.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a deep large skillet. Once melted, cook the onion and mushrooms until softened then add the garlic.
Next, make a roux (paste) by stirring in the flour then the broth. This will help thicken the filling so it’s not too soupy.
Now stir in the sour cream, cheese, milk, Worcestershire sauce, green beans, and some of the French fried onions.
Transfer to your casserole dish, top with the remaining French fried onions, then bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Can you make green bean casserole ahead of time?
Yes, you can make green bean casserole without mushroom soup ahead of time! Make the green bean filling, refrigerate, then add the French fried onions on top right before baking.
You may need to add an extra 10 minutes in the oven since you’re baking cold filling straight from the fridge.
Luckily all you need to do is cook until hot.
What To Serve With Homemade Green Bean Casserole
Since the likelihood of you reading this while planning your Thanksgiving menu is very high, here are links to my favorite accompanying dishes.
For a full list, check out my Thanksgiving Dinner For Two and Christmas Dinner For Two menus.
Green Bean Casserole Without Mushroom Soup
Easy homemade Green Bean Casserole Without Mushroom Soup from scratch for Thanksgiving and Christmas using frozen green beans, fresh mushrooms, and sour cream.
Ingredients
- 1 bag (12-16 ounce) frozen regular cut or French cut green beans
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Salt, to taste (preferably kosher)
- 1/4 cup diced white or yellow onion
- 4 large white button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock/broth
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (omit if making casserole vegetarian-friendly)
- 1 cup French fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Have a 1 quart casserole dish ready.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add a handful of salt then add green beans. Cook for 3 minutes to soften but not fully cook. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking.
- Meanwhile, in a large deep skillet melt the butter. Once hot, add the onion, mushrooms, and a pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Stir in flour until a roux (paste) forms. Slowly stir in the broth.
- Stir in the sour cream, cheese, milk, Worcestershire sauce, green beans, 1/4 cup French friend onions, and salt to taste (up to 1 teaspoon) until smooth and cheese has melted.
- Transfer to the casserole dish and top with remaining 3/4 cup French fried onion. Bake 30 minutes or until bubbling.
Notes
- To make the casserole ahead of time, make the filling then refrigerate. Right before baking, top with the remaining French fried onions. You may need to add extra bake time since you're baking cold filling straight from the fridge.
- Planning your holiday menu? Check out Thanksgiving Dinner For Two, Easter Dinner For Two, and Christmas Dinner For Two for recipe pairings.
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RawInTheMiddle says
This looks SO much better than the canned variety. I’ve posted a link to this recipe on my blog. Happy Thursday!
Carla says
Thanks for including me!
Ruthy @ Omeletta says
This is so helpful! I always loved green bean casserole, too, but we haven’t had it in ages because, well, on Thanksgiving Day, ridiculous amounts of sodium aren’t needed on top of all that food! I like the addition of Worcestershire sauce, too- although I think i pronounce it a different way each and every time :)
Carla says
Ha most of the time I just say Worcestshhhshhh sauce.
Caroline says
I love that you’ve made this without the canned soup, Carla! I love that dish too and have always avoided it for that very reason…I am looking forward to making this!
Carla says
Down with canned soup! ;)
Kalamity Kelli says
This is the first green bean casserole that has ever looked good to me – when I clicked and saw you made it I pinned quick and then came right over – it looks delish and I have never said that about any GBC I have ever seen or tasted. Now I have found 2 things on Yum Goggle today that I want to make for Thanksgiving.
Carla says
Aw thanks Kelli :) I was a little worried with the onions on top because ideally I’d use shallots for those golden brown onions everybody knows and not the very little onion I had left in the drawer. Either way it still tasted very good!
miranda says
this looks great! can’t wait to try it…do you think i could sub the sour cream with FF greek yogurt?
Carla says
I actually thought about that too! I haven’t tried it yet, but I know it would give it the same creaminess. Of course the flavor will differ slightly, but both should still have a little bit of that tang. Just adjust to taste if you decide to try it.
Rachel says
I’ve made the Great Plains’ favorite Tater Tot Casserole without the traditional Cream of Chicken or Mushroom soup. I’ve never had Green Bean Casserole before…The mushrooms scare me off!
Carla says
The mushrooms are my favorite part! You can always leave the mushrooms out if you do decide to try this.
[email protected] says
This looks delicious, Carla! I’m trying to muster the enthusiasm to make green bean casserole this year, and your lovely photos are helping. Want to come dig through the freezer to see if I put up some beans when I got them in the farm share? Yeah, me neither. :)
Thanks!
Carla says
Haha guess we can make a party out of it ;)
Justin says
This sounds delicicious! I have traditionally been the one to make green bean casserole for Thanksgiving potlucks. For the past 15 yrs or so, I have made another alternative recipe that consisted of somewhat similar ingredients. I, too, am not a fan of canned condensed soup which was my motivation for doing so. I always use fresh green beans as well. I will give this recipe a whirl this year. Thank you!
Oh, and I say it like this…Worsh-teh-shur. :)
Carla says
Yes I’ve seen different variations and ended up combining several ideas into this recipe. Let me know what you think of this one if you do try it!
Susan says
Yum! This sounds wonderful. I’ve never had green bean casserole for Thanksgiving – my mother always did succotash, and I guess there have been a lot of years when I’ve done nothing for Thanksgiving. This recipe makes me want green bean casserole.
I have one recipe I’ve always loved, which dates back to college, which my husband affectionately calls ‘road kill’ (real name Skid Road Stroganoff), which calls for cream of chicken soup. I’ve been making my own soup for it, and also subbing plain, nonfat Greek yogurt mixed with a dab of sugar for the sour cream.
Carla says
Green bean casserole has always been on our Thanksgiving table (although it started out as the canned soup version and has evolved over the years). I’ll have to look up that stroganoff recipe. I don’t make it often but think a casserole would be the perfect way to serve it up. Thanks for sharing!
Susan says
Carla, if you can’t find the stroganoff, let me know & I’ll give it to you. I’ve never seen it in print anywhere, and I got it from a college roommate back in 1966.
Carla says
Is it this? http://old.post-gazette.com/food/20020926mailbox1.asp
Susan says
No, that’s not it. Mine uses 1 pound ground beef, enough flour to soak up the grease from the meat, 1T Hungarian sweet paprika, 1 chopped medium onion, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1 can cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom) and 1 cup sour cream. Brown beef with onions and garlic, mix in paprika (& flour), cook for 5 minutes, add soup (undiluted) and cook for 10 minutes. Add sour cream, warm through, and serve over rice. Serves 4.
Enjoy!
KalynsKitchen says
Pinned! And thanks for the shout-out for my recipe!
Jennifer says
recipe looks great! Any chance this can be made ahead of time??
Carla says
Yes, I did just that a few weeks ago. Make everything but the onion topping ahead of time, put in your casserole dish/pan, cover, and refrigerate. Cook the onions the day you’re serving. However if you can’t, you can substitute store bought French-fried onions (I was traveling with my casserole and wasn’t sure how homemade fried onions would hold up).
Ana-Hayley Jacobs says
The ingredient list did not include green beans so I had no way of knowing how much green beans to use. I just used the whole bag and it was way too much. Other than that it was delicious! The soup base turned out great and I will use that for other recipes that call for mushroom soup
Carla says
I’m so sorry about that! I recently switched recipe card plugins, which messed up formatting on a lot of my recipes, including erasing instructions and other important information. I’m in the process of fixing all 11 years worth. Thank you for bringing this to my attention! It’s fixed now.
Emily watson says
Almost exact recipe is out of the oven! (I used almond milk). Beautiful and tasty! Thank you so much for this recipe I never thought to use cheese before! I will post a pic where you said. Thanks again!
Carla says
Wonderful! Love the adaptation with almond milk.
Suzy says
So happy about how this recipe came out! I have some kiddos who won’t eat mushrooms and this was a great alternative to our favorite casserole!
Carla says
Awesome! Happy to hear everyone loved it.
kim says
This was a hit with the family! I’ll be making again and again!
Carla says
Awesome! Happy to hear everyone enjoyed it.
Aileena Thamer says
Does this dish freeze well ahead of baking?
Carla says
I haven’t tried it, but I believe you can! Don’t add the crispy onions on top until ready to bake or they’ll get soggy.
Whitney says
If I choose to omit mushrooms, does the recipe stay the same?
Carla says
Yes
Cynthia Madore says
I absolutely love this. I can never eat anyone’s Green Bean Casserole because of the cream of mushroom soup. All cream soups have MSG – monosodium glutamate in them. I am highly allergic to it. I’m so happy to see an easy recipe that I can eat. BTW – I make my own clam chowder, cream of mushroom soup and ranch dressing. All with no MSG. Also, I just turned 69 and live by myself with 3 dogs. Cooking for 1 can be such a bother.
Carla says
Happy birthday! I’m glad you’re able to eat this casserole without worrying about MSG.