Green Bean Casserole with Mushrooms

My goodness, can you really believe that Thanksgiving is in ten days? Thanksgiving is (not surprisingly) my favorite holiday of the year: it’s about coming together with the people you love for one absolutely fantastic meal. I do love turkey, but I always find the sides to be the best part of any Thanksgiving meal. In case you’re like me and you’ve begun testing recipes for the big day, I wanted to share this lightened up version of Green Bean Casserole with Mushrooms from Cooking Light. Although usually made with cream of mushroom soup, this version packs enough flavor that you won’t miss the lack of cream. And don’t worry, the fried onions are still there.

Ingredients
For the fried onions:

  • 1 medium sized yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • Canola Oil

 

For Green Beans:

  • 1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped sweet onion
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
  • 1 (8-ounce) package presliced baby bella mushrooms
  • 1/3 cup dry sherry
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Begin by making your fried onions. Feel free to just buy the canned fried onions. I just thought freshly made ones might have more taste.

Add the canola oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Add enough so that there is about 1 inch of oil. Thinly slice your onion so that you have thin onion rings.

Combine the flour, paprika, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Add the milk to another medium bowl. Separate the onion rings from each other and one by one, dip into the milk and then into the flour mixture. Shake off excess flour and place on a plate. Repeat with remaining onions.

When the oil reaches 375 degrees, add a few onion rings at a time. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until they begin to crisp and brown.

Remove from the oil and dry on a paper towel. Repeat with remaining onions.

 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Add the trimmed green beans to the pot of water and cook for 4 minutes.
Drain and rinse with cold water to keep from cooking further. Set aside.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a saute pan over medium high heat. Add the chopped onions (not the fried onions) and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes, or until the liquid released from the mushrooms has almost fully evaporated.
Stir in sherry, salt and pepper and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring. Add the flour, stirring constantly. It will thicken up quite a bit. (This will give a bit of creaminess to the dish, without cream). Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, and cook for one more minute.
Add the green beans and mushrooms to a 2-quart class or ceramic baking dish, mixing to combine.
Combine the fried onions and grated Parmesan in a small bowl.
Top the green bean mixture with the fried onion mixture.
Cook at 425 degrees for 17 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.
Yum! I’m so glad I actually fried up my own onions. I think the flavor was well worth the extra 15 minutes.

The green beans maintained their crunch, which was a nice contrast to the creamy mushrooms.

The flavor of the mushrooms was wonderful by the way. I loved the sherry with the mushrooms and can’t imagine masking that with cream!
This is really quite an easy dish. I know Thanksgiving day is very hectic, so definitely sub in the already prepared fried onions. If really pressed for time, you could cook up the mushroom mixture and green bean mixture ahead of time and then assemble right before it goes in the oven.

12 thoughts on “Green Bean Casserole with Mushrooms”

  1. Now this is the way to make green bean casserole. I can’t wait to make your fresh ingredient version and I love those homemade fried onion rings. This is a real keeper. Thanks!

  2. Absolutely amazing! I wanted to make this, but honey bunny doesn’t care for mushrooms and I think it’s integral to the dish….however I LOVE them! Thanks for making this…buzzed!

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