I am committing the original sin right now – sharing historic family recipe. Ironically, I didn’t know it was historic and hadn’t even tried it until a few years ago. We have a family of die-hard foodies, so recipes that involve mixing in canned soup do not fly with us (aka every green bean casserole recipe in existence). Scratch only! Well, we were together as a family for Thanksgiving and I mentioned I wanted to make green beans but needed a good recipe, and my grandma busted out this family secret recipe that I had never tried before. Her maiden name is “Klepper” and it had been passed down through the family.
Since then, I have been making this every year around the holidays, and I have to say it is one of my most friend-requested recipes. I can’t tell you how many times I have had someone ask me for it since they are headed to a family Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and want to impress everyone with deliciousness and this was the dish they thought of.
So here you go, a great, more natural version of the classic Green Bean Casserole.
Ingredients:
- 2 twelve ounce packages of fresh French-cut green beans. Please, for the sake of tradition and this recipe, NO canned or frozen 🙂
- 1/2 onion, chopped small
- 3 T butter, melted
- 2 T flour
- 1 t salt
- 1/4t pepper
- 1/2t garlic powder (I love garlic so I usually add a little more 🙂
- 1 t sugar
- 1 C sour cream
- 1/2 lb grated cheddar cheese
- 2 C fried onions (I prefer Trader Joe’s brand)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Boil a pot of water, and cook your green beans until al-dente. Drain water and set green beans aside.
Melt butter over heat. Turn stovetop to low and add flour, stirring to combine.
Remove from heat and add salt, pepper, garlic, and sugar, then stir in the sour cream.
Fold the beans into the sour cream mixture, then spoon them into a shallow baking dish.
Top with fried onions and cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes. Serve same-day while still warm.
