Fresh green beans tossed in a creamy sauce with parmesan cheese topped with crispy bacon and french fried onions. This side dish embodies every aspect of what a comfort food dish should. It is creamy, cheesy, has bacon, fried onions. It seriously can't get anymore cozy.
This green bean casserole is the most delicious side dish for any holiday meal. It takes traditional green bean casserole and elevates it to the next level with bacon and homemade onion straws. This ultimate green bean casserole 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 Cheesy Butter Bacon Mashed Potatoes on this site, and pairs well with this Reverse Seared Steak.
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Ingredients
This recipe only has a few simple ingredients that pack a ton of flavor into this dish.
- green beans
- mayonnaise
- sour cream
- parmesan cheese
- garlic cloves
- onion
- cornstarch
- egg
- neutral oil
- bacon
- salt
- black pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
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.
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 brown. Remove from the oil and season with salt.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans in the water and season the water with salt. Let the green beans boil for 7-10 minutes. Strain out the water.
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 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.
- 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
There area a few ways you can change up this recipe to add some extra flavor.
- 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, a large bowl, a medium or large skillet to cook the bacon, and a boiling pot or deep fryer to fry the crispy onions.
Storage
Leftovers 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 this dish, 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
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.
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.
If you love this recipe, you might also love:
Creamy Green Bean Casserole Recipe with Bacon
Equipment
- Small Casserole Dish
- Mixing Bowl
- Skillet
- Boiling Pot or Deep Fryer
Ingredients
For the Casserole
- 24 oz. Green Beans
- 6 slices bacon sliced
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 cup parmesan freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the Onion Straws
- ½ yellow onion
- 1 egg whisked
- 1 cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups oil I used canola
Instructions
- 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.
- 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 brown. Remove from the oil and season with salt.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans in the water and season the water with salt. Let the green beans boil for 7-10 minutes. Strain out the water.
- 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 bacon and crispy onions and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
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Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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