Elegant Green Bean Casserole

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Elegant Green Bean Casserole has all the flavors we love with traditional green bean casserole, but here the green beans are first sautéd in olive oil infused with garlic, with a splash of white wine and soy sauce. The final result provides a new "elegant" perspective on a family favorite.

Baked green bean casserole with a serving spoon. — After baking, the green beans should be softened enough to serve using a large spoon.

Ingredients to have on hand

fresh green beans
canned water chestnuts
white wine, or a substitute
soy sauce
cream of mushroom soup
crispy fried onions

The sauce surrounding each and every green bean is rich and creamy! Truly "elegant."

Avoid Chopping the Green Beans

There's something that's impressive and elegant about having full-sized green beans on the plate. I get it, sometimes the longer beans are a little tricky to work with. So here's what I do, when sautéing the beans in the first step of this recipe, it helps to use tongs to turn and coat the green beans in the olive oil.

Green beans and a knife on a cutting board. — Trim the fresh green beans if needed, but there's no need to cut them into small pieces.

Diced water chestnuts on a cutting board. — Trim the fresh green beans if needed, but there's no need to cut them into small pieces.

First Sauté

It sounds like a super special way to cook, but to sauté something simply means to cook it quickly in hot oil or fat and that's exactly how this recipe starts. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. I love my Le Creuset pan for this recipe. It was a gift from my sister-in-law and it cooks ALL things beautifully! I highly recommend it. Heat the oil until it starts to shimmer, then add a teaspoon of fresh garlic.

Green beans sautéing on the stove. — The fresh green beans cook for about 10 minutes on the stovetop.

Cook and stir the garlic for about a minute, then add the green beans and use tongs to turn them while they cook.

Can I use canned or frozen green beans instead of fresh?

I don't recommend making the switch to canned green beans. The distinctive tenderness we find with canned green beans will give this recipe a much different presentation and the cooking time on the stove would be lessened. Frozen green beans are likely a better substitute, but I haven't made this recipe using frozen green beans so can't vouch for that option. I prefer the freshness of the green beans we buy from the produce section of the grocery store or from our favorite farmers market.

Green beans, water chestnuts and fried onions in a pan on the stove. — Add just one cup of fried onions while the green beans are on the stove, the remaining one cup will be added later.

Add a splash of wine

I usually have plenty of white wine in the house so the two tablespoons needed for this recipe, basically a splash of wine, are easy to come by. But I totally understand that you may not want to buy an entire bottle of wine, just to use two tablespoons. If that's the case, I like the substitutions mapped about by Kraft Heinz - as a general rule, chicken or vegetable broth makes a nice substitute for white wine in cooking.

Use One Can of Soup

All you need is a 10.5 ounce can of condensed cream of mushroom soup. Open it up and pour the contents over the sautéd green beans. No water or milk is needed. The white wine and soy sauce both provide plenty of liquid and amazing flavor to this recipe.

A serving of casserole on a plate. — The sauce surrounding each and every green bean is rich and creamy. Truly "elegant."

More Sides

Elegant Green Bean Casserole is made from scratch and a family favorite. It's perfect for holidays, or any time you want an impressive side dish. Here are some of my other favorite sides. Each one is made from scratch and a family favorite in my house:

Have you made one of these yummy sides? Remember to come back and leave a star rating when you make a recipe from the Crinkled Cookbook. I love seeing what you think!

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