Best Cheesy Green Bean Casserole Recipe with Bacon

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This casserole stuffed with fresh green beans made with just 12 simple ingredients is a great dish to add to your Thanksgiving table as one of the best traditional sides. This green bean casserole with bacon recipe is made with all fresh ingredients but there are some substitutions throughout this recipe you can make if you need to get this side dish recipe made in a small amount of time.

This green bean casserole is the most delicious side dish for any holiday meal and is great to add to your Thanksgiving menu. It takes traditional green bean casserole and elevates it to the next level with a modern twist by adding bacon and homemade onion straws. This ultimate green bean casserole recipe is perfect to serve as a side dish for a cozy Sunday dinner with some steak and is also the perfect side dish for Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving dinner. It really pairs well with any holiday dinner and can also find its way to your menu for Easter dinner.

This was inspired by my Cavatappi Mac and Cheese recipe on this site, and pairs well with this Reverse Seared Steak.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
How to Store Green Bean Casserole with Bacon
Top Tip
FAQ
Related
Pairing
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💬 Comments

Ingredients

To make this fresh green bean casserole use fresh green beans found in the produce section of the grocery store. Add a mixture of mayonnaise and sour cream for a creamy sauce element. Grate fresh garlic and season with salt and pepper for extra flavor. Fresh parmesan should be used to grate on top of the casserole. Either freshly fried onions or store bought crispy onions and crisp bacon is added on top once the bacon green bean casserole is done baking.

green beans
mayonnaise
sour cream
parmesan cheese
garlic cloves
yellow onion
cornstarch
egg
neutral oil
bacon
salt
black pepper

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice and cook the bacon on medium heat. Remove the bacon from the heat and place on a plate covered by paper towels to drain the extra bacon grease. Chop bacon into small pieces.

Step 2: Heat up oil on the stove. Slice half of an onion into very thin straws. Whisk an egg and coat the onions in the egg. Transfer the onions from the egg to the cornstarch and coat. Add the onions to the oil and fry until crisp and golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel. Season with salt.

Step 3: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans in the boiling water and season the water with salt. Let the green beans boil for 7-10 minutes. Strain out the water.

combine mayonnaise, sour cream, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper with the green beans

Step 4: Add the green beans to a bowl. Add in the mayonnaise, sour cream, freshly grated parmesan, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined. Transfer the green bean mixture to a casserole dish. Top with a little extra freshly grated parmesan. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Top with crispy bacon and crispy onions and serve warm.

Hint: once you have mixed the casserole, grate a little extra parmesan on top of the casserole before putting it in the oven. This will give you a little cheesy coating on top while leaving underneath extremely creamy and cheesy.

Substitutions

Green Beans - the green beans can be switched out with a lot of different vegetables. Broccoli would make the best switch though. Canned green beans can also be used instead of fresh
Sour Cream - the sour cream can be switched out with cream cheese. This will change the flavoring and will give you a little bit of a different flavor but it will still be absolutely decadent
Vegetarian - omit the bacon if necessary
Crispy Fried Onions - if you do not want to make the onions yourself, you can buy the French Fried Onions from the grocery store to sprinkle on top

Variations

Spicy - add chili pepper flakes in with the green bean mixture to imbue heat into the dish
Broccoli - change out the green beans for broccoli. The broccoli does a great job of capturing the flavors of this dish
Kid friendly - add crushed potato chips on top for an extra kid friendly crisp

Equipment

To create this recipe, you will need a small casserole dish or baking dish, a large bowl, a medium or large skillet to cook the bacon, and a boiling pot or deep fryer to fry the crispy onions.

How to Store Green Bean Casserole with Bacon

Leftovers of this green bean side dish can be stored directly in the casserole dish covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil or in an airtight container for up to 5 days. This can be great especially if you want to make this recipe ahead of time around the holidays and just heat it up when you are ready to serve.

To reheat the leftover green bean casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake about 10 minutes or until the middle of the casserole is warm.

These ingredients do stand up well to freezing in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months.

Top Tip

Use fresh parmesan and grate it yourself. This helps the cheese melt more evenly when baking and gives you a fresher parmesan flavor.

FAQ

What other vegetables would go well with this casserole?

Broccoli is another great option to add to the casserole. Broccoli can be prepared the same way that the green beans are. You can also add some fresh mushrooms to the dish. I would cook these in a tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat before adding to the casserole mixture.

Can this dish be prepped ahead of time if being made for a holiday?

Absolutely! This is a great idea, especially if you are hosting because then you are not scrambling the day of the holiday. You have a few options here. You can either completely make the dish ahead of time and then reheat it for your dinner or you can make it ahead of time but bake it right before serving. Either option is totally fine.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with green bean casserole:

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