I wouldn’t mess with it. People are really funny about their Thanksgiving favorites. That’s why there are so many sides on the table. :-)

I add bacon (cooked, but not overly crispy).

Cayenne will give it a little kick.

Scott, there are sooooo many recipes for that on Pinterest, why don’t you scour through them a little bit to see if something catches your eye.

Bacon and a can of green chilies.

I din't grow up with green bean casserole and dh got food poisoning from it one time after finding it in the refrigerator and eating it several weeks out from the holidays. Blech! My kids discovered it a few years back at someones house. We just use the recipes online and use the one with soy sauce instead of salt. Nothing fancy, but not out there either.

We have never had it,but the added bacon sounds incredible. I would be tempted to try it with more of a German potato salad dressing with some tang in it.

I can't stand the gloppy salty mess of that casserole. We didn't grow up with it but cousins now insist it appear at Thanksgiving. I refuse to make it if it's assigned to me.

Way too much salt for some family members. I make one with bacon, onions, mushrooms, garlic, cheese - in a home made cream sauce. Beans are fresh and are slightly steamed before adding to the sauce for baking.

I didn't grow up with this either, actually doubt my mom ever made it. I can enjoy about 1/4 cup once a year....enjoy not love. The old classic recipe with canned green beans and canned soup. No one else here would eat it and I'm not making it just for one serving.

I can't eat it nor can I watch others eat that gloppy mess. I prefer beans blanched and sauteed with onions and garlic. Much easier on my digestive system.

It's kind of like retro junk food as far as I can tell.

We haven't had that crap on our table since my mom died.

I hate that dish & it never gets eaten, just a token spoonful by one or two people. Instead I sautée fresh green beans with onion & bacon in a little olive oil. It all gets eaten!

I like homemade versions. You can make your own fried shallots for the top but I use trader Joe's version.

Why is it such an iconic dish??

I always wondered why people had to make that for holidays. I think It tastes horrible!

History of recipe[edit]

The green bean casserole was first created in 1955 by the Campbell Soup Company. Dorcas Reilly led the team that created the recipe while working as a staff member in the home economics department.[1] The inspiration for the dish was "to create a quick and easy recipe around two things most Americans always had on hand in the 1950s: green beans and Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup."[1]

In the 1972 version of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook the recipe replaced the cream of mushroom soup with sour cream.[2]

In 2002, Reilly presented the original recipe card to the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio.[3]

This was during the time of Jello molds and I believe that it was considered "fancy". I have had it a few times, but we never made it. Dad liked English Peas with our turkey dinner.

Well all I can say is ever since it was introduced to us in the 70's and I made it due to special request, there is major pouting in our family if it's not on the table. I now make it with fresh green beans instead of canned or frozen. I add pimentos to it which was on the old original recipe. I love good food but there's no use in trying to change this to something more classy, it's written in stone and cannot be erased.

Sorry no one in our family likes it. We want green beans, with onion, and bacon and or ham and salt and pepper. The country way to fix it.

Sue

I have to have plain green beans and plain corn, dumped out of a can and heated for the youngest two grandkids. I for sure won't touch that!

Similar to Sue, green beans cooked with smoked turkey, an onion, salt, pepper.

I saw this recipe, if I was going to a friend's for dinner, I might take this dish, Green Beans with Crispy Pancetta, Mushrooms, and Shallots.

Why did people like it so much? For me, it was like this. Way back when (lol), supermarkets didn't have a huge variety of fresh produce year round. In late November if you wanted anything green other than cabbage or broccoli, canned veggies were your best bet. Quite salty but bland. Usually Mom served them room temperature with no adornment at all. So the first time I tasted canned green beans dressed up with mushroom soup and those onion bits on top, in a hot casserole, yeah, it was an wonderful explosion of flavor!

Nowadays, by unanimous agreement, we no longer make green bean casserole of any type.

I actually like the green bean casserole recipe and serve it at Thanksgiving. But my favorite way to have beans is to add some diced red onion and balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar and let the flavors meld. Serve hot or cold.

I agree with ya all. Fresh green beans with onions & bacon diced.

I remember the first time I tried those weird canned/fried onions. My sister wanted us to send her a care package at college. She planned on eating them right out of the can. lol

I don't care for green bean casserole, but I add those fried onions to salad when I make it for myself. I like all kinds of textures in salad and if you add them and eat them before they get soggy, they are crunchy. I also add avocado, bacon, lettuce, tomato, purple onions, walnuts...etc. My mother used to cook fresh green beans and just before they got done, cut fresh corn off the cob and add to them. It was really good. I don't think it would work at all with canned corn. She also cooked green beans and added potatoes and that was good too.

Leave out the soup!