This Crockpot Green Bean Casserole is everything that a green bean casserole can and should be: creamy, appropriately al dente, with a from-scratch flavor and addictively crunchy top. But it won’t take up valuable real estate in your oven!
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Why You’ll Love This Easy Crockpot Green Bean Casserole Recipe
- The Homemade Filling is Truly Delish! You have two options for green bean casserole: canned cream of mushroom soup mixture (like the Campbell’s crockpot green bean casserole recipe), or an easy homemade mushroom filling. Making the creamy sauce for green bean casserole from scratch is 100% worth it! This mushroom filling is easy, luscious, and anything but bland.
- It Doesn’t Use any Oven Space. 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! This green bean casserole (and Crockpot Scalloped Potatoes, Crock Pot Stuffing, or Crockpot Wild Rice Stuffing) is the perfect way to keep that oven free for Thanksgiving Turkey.
- It Uses Fresh Green Beans. Like my Healthy Green Bean Casserole, this version uses fresh green beans. Their texture and flavor are superior, and aside from trimming them, they don’t create any extra prep work (no blanching required). Fresh green beans hold up better in the slow cooker than frozen or canned, so you’re not left with a gummy, goopy casserole.
5 Star Review
“OMG the mushroom sauce was AMAZING!!! So much better than canned condensed soup. Thanks for a great spin on on old classic.”
— Stella —
How to Make Crockpot Green Bean Casserole
The Ingredients
- Fresh Green Beans. Fresh green beans are far less likely to overcook even after hours in the crockpot and have a crisp, delicious flavor. If you aren’t able to use fresh green beans, opt for frozen, cut green beans instead. Canned green beans will end up mushy.
- Mushrooms + Onions. No cream of mushroom soup here! Real, fresh mushrooms and onions are sauteed in butter until tender and flavorful. Mushrooms and onions also boost the casserole’s nutrition with their antioxidants and vitamins.
- Milk. 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.
- Flour. Helps thicken the casserole filling so it’s creamy and luscious.
- Sherry Vinegar + Nutmeg. 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!
- Cheddar Cheese. I made this easy crockpot green bean casserole with cheddar cheese. The flavor was elevated, but still all-American. For a gourmet twist, gruyere would be another incredible option.
- Crispy Onions. While you can make your own crispy onions at home, I used French’s fried onions. The crispy onions add delightful texture and are scrumptious paired with the creamy mushroom sauce and green beans.
The Directions
- Trim and Cut the Green Beans. Add them to a slow cooker (a 6-quart is best to ensure even cooking).
- Sauté. Cook the onion and mushrooms in butter.
- Stir. Add the flour, and let it cook for a couple of minutes.
- Pour in the Milk. Add the spices. Cook and stir until bubbly. Add the vinegar.
- Pour the Sauce Over the Beans. It’s almost time to cook!
- Stir and Cook. Cook on LOW for 3 to 5 hours. Just before serving, add the cheese. Top with crispy onions. ENJOY!
Recipe Variations
- To Make Gluten Free. This is not a gluten free crockpot green bean casserole as written. However, I think you could swap the all-purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten free flour to make it gluten free. Be sure to check your fried onions too.
- To Make Vegan. I have not tried to make this a vegan crockpot green bean casserole, but if you want to experiment, you’ll need to use dairy-free milk, cheese, and butter.
Make-Ahead Tips
Prepare the mushroom sauce up to 1 day in advance, and place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Trim and cut the green beans up to 2 days in advance, and store them in a separate container in the refrigerator.
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.
Leftover Ideas
Turn this leftover crock pot green bean casserole recipe into a hearty main dish. Enjoy crockpot green bean casserole with chicken or leftover turkey or ham.
Crockpot Green Bean Casserole
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 5 hours 30 minutes
Total: 5 hours 50 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
How to make Crockpot Green Bean Casserole from scratch. Fresh green beans and an easy homemade creamy filling make this recipe the best!
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Ingredients
FOR THE CASSEROLE:
- 2 pounds fresh green beans
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
- 16 ounces baby bella mushrooms thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk a lower fat milk may curdle, so swap at your own risk; for more decadence, use part half-and-half
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or gruyere cheese*
FOR THE TOPPING:
- 1 ½ cups fried onions store bought or homemade; to make your own, see blog post above; about 3 ounces
Instructions
- Trim the green beans and cut into 1-inch pieces (don’t be tempted to cut them larger than this, or your green beans will turn out too firm). Add them to a 5 or 6-quart slow cooker.
- Melt the butter in a wide saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and golden and the mushrooms brown and have given up their liquid, about 12 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour over the top. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes more, until all of the flour turns golden and no white bits remain. The vegetables will seem dry.
- Slowly add the milk a few splashes at a time, stirring between each addition to prevent lumps from forming. Increase the heat to medium high. Stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook and stir, allowing the sauce to bubble gently, running a wooden spoon or rubber spatula along the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking and stirring for 6 minutes, then stir in the sherry vinegar. Cook 2 to 4 more minutes, until the sauce has thickened to resemble a creamy gravy. It should be clearly thicker than it was when you started, but still be loose enough to easily coat the green beans.
- Pour the sauce over the green beans.
- Stir to combine. Cook on LOW for 3 to 5 hours, until the green beans are pleasantly tender but still have a bit of crispness (i.e. are done but not mushy). The amount of cook time you need will vary based on your slow cooker and your preference for how al dente you like the green beans. I recommend checking at the 3-hour mark to gauge their progress. We like our green beans pretty crisp, so I only let ours cook a little beyond 3 hours. If at 3 hours you'd like your green beans more done, give the casserole a stir, recover, and keep cooking until they reach your desired texture.
- Five minutes prior to serving, stir in the cheese. Recover, turn to WARM, and let cook 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
- Immediately before serving, if desired, transfer the green beans and sauce to a serving dish. Sprinkle the fried onions over the top (if you will be serving right out of the slow cooker, remove the lid, then sprinkle the onions on top of the green beans in the slow cooker). Enjoy hot!
Notes
- *I love either gruyere or cheddar here; gruyere is more intense and nutty and tastes classic with the nutmeg; cheddar is more “all-American”, so choose whichever one you and your family prefer.
- TO MAKE AHEAD: Prepare the mushroom sauce up to 1 day in advance, and place it in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator. Trim and cut the green beans up to 2 days in advance, and store them in a separate container in the refrigerator.
- You can also 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.
- 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°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, but the casserole will still taste delicious.
Nutrition
Serving: 1(of 10)Calories: 199kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 8gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 23mgPotassium: 486mgFiber: 3gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 888IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 181mgIron: 1mg
Happy Thanksgiving Eve, Erin! The past several months have taught me to embrace the ingredients I have, but I do not want to make a cooking mistake with a new recipe tomorrow. May I omit the cheese? May I use balsamic or white balsamic vinegar? Thank you for your guidance.
Julie, I’m sorry but there isn’t a way to be exact because slow cooker models vary so much. I use a regular Crockpot 6 quart (It’s maybe 5 years old?); it tends to finish on the early end of recipes with a range, so for me this was done around the 3 to 3 1/2 hour mark. I’d judge based on how your slow cooker usually finishes up relative to the recipes you follow. Sorry I can’t be more specific but I hope this helps a little bit. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Janet! 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, but the casserole will still taste delicious. Rewarm leftovers in a baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees F. Hope this helps!
Follow up… The pearl onions worked quite well, although next time I would save some work and use frozen (the extra step of boiling the raw pearl onions isn’t really worth it). I added crumbled bacon because, well… bacon. Subbed corn starch for the flour because my daughter is gluten intolerant.
The gruyere cheese is what really makes this recipe, I think. I was lucky in that I had a half pound of it in my refrigerator looking for a use. I love cheddar but think gruyere makes this unique among green bean casseroles that I’ve tried.
We had planned on a socially distanced Thanksgiving meal on the front porch but my daughter was afraid she had been exposed to the virus so we postponed a week. (Testing later showed she wasn’t but file it under better safe than…) As the following Thursday was much colder, we met for a walk in the woods, returned to our house for pie on the porch and sent the two kids and their spouses home with prepackaged Thanksgiving dinners. Not optimal but that’s life in the age of C.
omg the mushroom sauce was AMAZING!!! So much better than canned condensed soup. Thanks for a great spin on on old classic. It was delicious. Still used French’s french fried onions though ;)
Also I used red wine vinegar and it was great.
Jenny, I think you could experiment with almondmilk, but just a heads up that your sauce will not be as thick and creamy. I’ve only tested it (and thus can only 100% recommend the recipe) with regular milk. If you do decide to play around though, I’d love to hear how it goes!