Individual Green Bean Casserole Cups: Fresh Mushroom Sauce and a Crisp Onion Top

Green bean casserole is the side nobody has to explain. Green bean casserole came first among the top five sides in Campbell's 2026 State of the Sides Report, which surveyed more than 5,000 Americans who celebrate Thanksgiving, as Sporked reported on 7 November. The same report found that 65 percent of Gen Z respondents would happily eat a Thanksgiving dinner of only sides.

Younger hosts are also changing its shape. USA Today's 4 November piece on how Gen Z is rewriting Thanksgiving says the casserole might turn up spicy or in a single serving this year. Individual portions solve real problems: they brown evenly, every guest gets the crisp topping, and the table does not fight over the corner of a dish.

The dish itself is not old. Dorcas Reilly, a home economist at Campbell's in Camden, New Jersey, created it in 1955 as a quick recipe for an Associated Press feature, built from green beans, cream of mushroom soup and crisp fried onions. This version keeps that three-part structure but makes the sauce from fresh mushrooms.

The sauce is the part that rewards a little care. Fresh mushrooms cooked until their water has gone, a short roux, and stock rather than all cream give a sauce that tastes of mushroom instead of dairy, and a teaspoon of soy sauce adds the savoury depth that the canned soup once supplied.

Ingredients

Serves 6 as individual portions. Total time about 55 minutes, including 20 minutes of prep.

• 500 g green beans, trimmed and cut into 4 cm lengths
• 400 g chestnut mushrooms, finely sliced
• 40 g unsalted butter
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 25 g plain flour
• 150 ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 150 ml double cream
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp fine salt, plus more for the water
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 80 g crispy fried onions, lightly crushed
• 20 g grated Parmesan

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200 C (180 C fan) and set six 200 ml ramekins on a baking tray.
2. Boil a large pan of well-salted water. Cook the green beans for 3 minutes, drain, and cool them under cold running water to keep the colour. Pat dry.
3. Melt the butter in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until the water has cooked off and they are golden.
4. Add the shallot, garlic and thyme and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
5. Pour in the stock a little at a time, stirring to avoid lumps, then add the cream, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon.
6. Fold the green beans into the sauce and divide among the ramekins, pressing down lightly.
7. Mix the crispy onions with the Parmesan and scatter over the top of each ramekin.
8. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the sauce bubbles at the edges and the topping is deep gold. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Tips, swaps and make-ahead

Do not skip the blanching. Raw beans stay squeaky in a short bake, and over-boiled ones turn grey. Cooking the mushrooms until dry is what gives the sauce depth, since wet mushrooms water down the cream.