Recipe and photos by Launie Kettler

My husband is the type of man who loves things “Au natural.” Now, now, now. Don’t let your mind go immediately go to steamy things.

Unless you’re talking about steaming green beans!

Yes, my husband really, really, really, loves vegetables in their purest form. Now, I’m not going to say that he’s a stickler for authenticity, but I have to admit that I saw his loving eyes glaze over in confusion when I mentioned putting a parmesan cream sauce on Brussels sprouts last week.

And don’t get me started about his thoughts on sweet potatoes and marshmallows.

The guy loves vegetables so much that he shudders a little bit when they’re adorned. Give him a handful of raw green beans and peas as a snack and he’s in heaven.

Give him roasted potatoes and tomatoes lightly dusted with Mexican oregano and a good hit of salt and pepper, and he’ll call that the side dish of his dreams.

But, there’s one caveat to his “natural veggie love,” and that’s a green bean casserole. Which of course makes no sense to the ethos of his tastebuds, but that’s neither here nor there.

What’s not to love?

It’s creamy.

It’s loaded with flavor.

It’s rich.

It’s topped with crunchy bits that makes the saliva glands go nuts.

And so, on Thanksgiving I tend to knock myself out making him the biggest most decadent dish of the stuff that I can fit in the oven.

Because, if you really love one well garnished and creamy vegetable casserole, it only makes sense to pull out all the stops.

Note: This is a “no can zone” kind of recipe. As in, there aren’t any cans of “cream-o’” soup.

However, the onions do come from that familiar looking store-bought container. Because who has two thumbs and loves those bad boys? This woman!

Now round up your ingredients, grab your F.N. Sharp Utility Knife, get a small cutting board ready and let’s make some green bean casserole!

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Homemade Fresh Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients:

Instructions

About the Recipe Creator

Launie Kettler is a food writer and photographer who cooks big food in a small kitchen in northern Vermont. Her husband and cats are tolerant of the fact that she plays the same Wilco and Son Volt albums over and over while pontificating about the beauty of cumin. 

Launie is also the co-author of The Everything Mediterranean Slow Cooker Cookbook and her recipes have been featured in Where Women Cook, Fresh Magazine, and on Salon.

You can find and follow Launie's adventures on her social handle @teenytinykitchenvt on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and her blog at TeenyTinyKitchen.com.

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