Easy Green Bean Casserole Recipe and Other Great Thanksgiving Ideas

The very best green bean casserole recipe perfect for Thanksgiving feasts with turkey or just your regular weekday dinners. Now updated with Instant Pot green bean casserole instructions!

One of my favorite dishes in the Thanksgiving meal is Green Bean Casserole. I LOVE it. I love a juicy turkey but my heart belongs to the creamy green beans!

In fact I make it as a side every once in a while during the year to have with oven fried chicken or our favorite steak. It’s so quick and a super easy way to squeeze veggies into our diet!

What to Do With Leftover Green Bean Casserole

Not only do I adore these green beans served in the traditional way, as a side dish, but I love using the leftovers. 

There are so many ways to use leftover green bean casserole but some of my favorites are to put it with other Thanksgiving leftovers into what I call a Thanksgiving Turnover. We usually have this a few days after our feast and it’s so good.

You can also throw a big scoop of the extras into soup but my favorite would have to be this creamy turkey tortellini soup (of course you can use chicken instead of turkey).

Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Now I do have strong feelings about using frozen French cut green beans. I think they really make the best casserole. But, if you can’t find some I would go for frozen whole or flat cut green beans first and then next go to whole fresh. You can use canned but I find that to be much more mushy and salty than I like.

• 1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1/2 Can Milk
• 1 pack frozen french cut green beans
• 1 TBS Soy Sauce
• Cheddar Fried Onions to top

Mix all the ingredients except the onions and bake for 30 minutes at 350 F. Top with onions and bake to crisp up the onions about 10 more minutes.

Instant Pot Green Bean Casserole 

If your kitchen is like mine, on Thanksgiving the oven is jammed packed. A few years ago I stated making this homemade green bean casserole in my Instant Pot and it works so well! 

For this green bean casserole instant pot recipe just combine all the ingredients except for he onions in a pressure cooker safe dish or directly in the liner. For special meals like Thanksgiving I use a separate dish just so I can place it on the table but it definitely works to make it right in the pressure cooker liner and scoop and serve from there. 

To make the green bean casserole in a separate container we will use the pot in pot style. I have used a glass baking dish but silicone or metal would also work. Add 1 C water to the liner then add a trivet. Place the dish with the mixed up ingredients (except for the onions) on the trivet. Cook on high for 2 minutes followed by a quick release. Top with onions and crisp with a crisping lid if desired. Alternatively you can put the dish under the broiler.

To make the green bean casserole in the liner start by adding 1/2 C water to the bottom of the pot. You’ll add the rest of the ingredients in order but do not stir it! After the water add the frozen green beans, next add the cream of chicken soup, and soy sauce. Reserve the milk and onions. Cook on high for 2 minutes followed by a quick release. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Add in milk as desired and sauté for a couple minutes to thicken.  Lastly  top with onions and crisp with a crisping lid if desired. 

Crock Pot Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Want to make this in the crock pot? No problem just mix up all the ingredients except for the onions and cook on high for two and a half hours. Toast the onions in a skillet and then top when ready to serve.

So if you’re like me and need some good last minute Thanksgiving recipes and ideas you’re in luck. I’ve teamed up with a bunch of other bloggers to share some of our favorite recipes and tutorials to make Thanksgiving a little easier.

Don’t forget to check out all the other great Thanksgiving recipes and craft ideas!