Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole
The classic Campbell's green bean casserole with fresh crispy shallots on top and a splash of soy sauce in the sauce for real depth.
Prep: 10 · Cook: 25 · Total: 35 · Serves: 6 · Difficulty: Easy · Rating: 4.8/5 (342 reviews)
INSPIRED BY
Campbell's Kitchen (website)
Adapted from Campbell's classic 1955 green bean casserole, with two small changes that fix the topping and give the sauce real depth.
Story
I know, I know. Green bean casserole. But hear me out, y'all. My kindergartner will eat exactly four green vegetables and this is one of them, so I make it more often than I'd admit at book club. The [original from Campbell's Kitchen](https://www.campbells.com/recipes/green-bean-casserole/) has been around since 1955 (yes, really), and after making it every Thanksgiving and about twelve Tuesdays a year, I've landed on a version that keeps the nostalgia but fixes the two things that always bugged me. Fresh crispy shallots on the top so it actually stays crunchy, and a spoon of soy sauce in the sauce for the depth it was always missing. Everyone still calls it the classic, but nobody's leftovers make it to Friday.
By sam
Ingredients
- 1 can (10.5 oz) Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cans (14.5 oz each) cut green beans, drained (or 4 cups frozen, thawed and patted dry)
- 1 cup French's Crispy Fried Onions
- 3 large shallots, thinly sliced into rings
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, toss the sliced shallots with the flour until every ring is dusted. Shake off the excess in a strainer so you don't dump raw flour into the pan.
- In a medium skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the shallots in a single layer (work in two batches if your pan is small) and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring gently, until golden and crisp. Move them to a paper-towel-lined plate and hit them with the salt while they're hot.
- In a 2-quart baking dish, whisk the cream of mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce, and black pepper together until smooth. The soy sauce is the little upgrade here, it just deepens the flavor without tasting like soy.
- Stir the drained green beans into the sauce until they're fully coated. Fold in half of the French's crispy onions to give the middle of the casserole some texture, then spread everything into an even layer.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the sauce is bubbling around the edges. Sprinkle the remaining French's onions across the top and return to the oven for 5 more minutes to toast, keeping an eye on them so they don't burn.
- Pull the casserole out and scatter the fresh crispy shallots over the top just before serving. That last-minute crunch is the whole point, they stay crisp instead of going soft in the oven.
Chef Tips
- The fresh shallots are the upgrade. Do NOT add them before baking, they'll steam and lose the crunch. Fry them while the casserole bakes and scatter on right before serving.
- If you're doing this for a holiday buffet, keep the fried shallots in a bowl next to the casserole and let people top their own so they stay crispy for the second helper.
- One tablespoon of soy sauce sounds weird but you cannot taste it as soy, promise. It just makes the mushroom soup taste more like actual mushrooms.
- For a lower-sodium version, use no-salt-added green beans and swap the soy sauce for one teaspoon of Worcestershire or a squeeze of lemon at the end.
Cook's Notes
- **The two upgrades:** Fresh crispy shallots (added at the very end, not baked) fix the soft-topping problem. One tablespoon of soy sauce in the sauce fixes the flat flavor. Everything else stays true to the original.
- **Canned vs frozen green beans:** Cans are traditional and honestly work great here. If you use frozen, thaw and pat them very dry or the casserole gets watery.
- **Do the shallots while it bakes:** Slice, dust, fry. The whole thing takes 8 minutes and it happens while the casserole is in the oven, so you're not adding time.
- **Buffet-proofing:** If this is sitting out for more than 20 minutes, keep the fresh shallots in a bowl next to it and let people top their own portion. Big difference for the folks who come back for seconds.
- **Doubling:** Doubles cleanly in a 9x13, add 10 minutes to the bake time.