Crispy Top Green Bean Casserole

Juliesmom's Note:

This year, my daughter Julie and I made a team effort out of making the green bean casserole for Christmas dinner. I had a recipe I'd wanted to use portions of, and together in the kitchen we made created a new twist on the old standard that was really tasty!

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

Sauce

• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon concentrated chicken soup base
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 2 pinches nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Filling

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (3 ounce) can chopped mild green chilies
• 1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 1/4 lbs fresh green beans, steamed until crisp-tender

Topping

• 1 1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon ground sage or 1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. (If you haven’t steamed your green beans, begin with those – they’ll be done, about 20 minutes, by the time you need to mix them into the casserole.).
3. Begin the sauce: in a saucepan melt the butter over low heat, then whisk in the flour, stirring continually, and cook for 2 minutes (the mixture will be quite thick).
4. Gradually add the milk while whisking, and bring to a simmer; cook, whisking continually, for 3 or so minutes and it thickens.
5. Add the concentrated chicken base, celery salt, nutmeg, and white pepper; whisk well to make sure chicken base is dissolved, remove from heat and set aside.
6. Begin the filling: in a large nonstick skillet, melt together the olive oil and butter over medium heat; add the onion and garlic, and sauté until onion begins to soften, about 5 to 7 minutes.
7. Add the chopped mild green chiles, stir well to combine, and let the mixture brown for about 3 minutes without stirring.
8. Add the sliced mushroom, cover, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes; remove about half of the mushroom mixture from the pan and set it aside.
9. In a 1 1/2 quart lightly-sprayed casserole dish, combine the half of the mushroom mixture from the pan, the cooked green beans, and the white sauce; taste test and adjust salt and pepper, if necessary.
10. Combine the remaining mushroom mixture with the bread crumbs; combine the melted butter and the sage, then stir it into the crumb mixture.
11. Spread the crumb mixture over the beans.
12. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Reviews

[Patrick Bannasch]

This was a hit a Thanksgiving dinner tonight. Just one suggestion- use equal parts butter and flour (increase the butter to 3 tbsp) for the roux ;otherwise, prepare to smash up a lot of lumps of flour. Thanks for posting- I'll be forwarding it on.

[Andrea in NH]

This is a very tasty casserole. The sauce is creamy, the mild green chiles add a nice touch and the topping is crisp. I served it for Thanksgivings and everyone gave it 5 stars. Thanks for sharing.

[Julesong]

I admit it, I enjoyed this green bean casserole even more than my own recipe - the white sauce is better and the crumb topping is lighter and tastier than the crust in my version. This one is a winner!