Award-winning holiday recipe: Mom’s Homemade Green Bean Casserole

About the recipe

This recipe is courtesy of Southern Kitchen reader Michele Barrett, who won our holiday sides recipe contest in 2017. The only change we made was to add a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese over the top of the casserole before baking. We liked the nice browned crust it formed over the green beans. You could also top the casserole with fried onions or bread crumbs if you’d like.

Serves: 4 to 6

Hands on time: 30 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

2 pounds of fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

8 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 large shallot, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth or stock

1 cup half and half

1 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9- by 13-inch baking dish.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl.

Place the green beans in the boiling water and cook until just crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer to the ice bath. Let cool completely and drain well.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is foamy, add the mushrooms and shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir in the flour to coat the vegetables. While stirring constantly, pour in the chicken broth, followed by the half and half and the celery salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the green beans and stir to coat thoroughly in the sauce.

Transfer the entire contents of the skillet to the prepared baking dish. Top with Parmesan cheese, if using. Bake until hot and bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.