Thursday, January 1, 2009

Trader Joe's Green Bean Casserole

I have made this a few years now and everyone comments on it. It is not too far off from the original, but with a better taste as you use mostly fresh ingredients instead of the canned soup. I double the recipe on the back of the can of onions - you need leftovers for Thanksgiving for sure!

12 T (¾ c) butter
2 medium onions
2 lbs mushrooms, quartered
4 t coarse salt
1 t pepper
2 24 oz bag TJ’s frozen French green beans
¾ c flour
4 c milk
2 cans 8 oz TJ’s Gourmet Fried Onion pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In your largest skillet over medium heat, melt 4 T butter. Add onion and sauté until begins to soften, about four minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until softened. Season with 2 t salt and ½ t pepper and set aside to cool.

Cook green beans according to directions on bag. If you buy Trader Joe's green beans there are no directions. Just boil water and cook beans until cooked through. Pour beans into strainer and set aside.

Melt remaining butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add flour, whisking constantly until mixture begins to turn golden, about two minutes. Pour in milk and continue whisking until mixture has thickened, about three minutes. Stir in remaining salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Pour over beans and toss to combine with onion/mushroom mixture.

Butter a 9x13 pan and add spread out casserole mixture.

Bake casserole, covered, until mixture is bubbly and heated through – about ten minutes. Uncover and cook until top is golden brown about 30 seconds. Sprinkle Trader Joe’s onion pieces over top and serve.

29 comments:

The Sophisticated Dog said...

I have what may be a stupid question. At what point do you use the onion/mushroom mixture? Step one says to set it aside, and steps 2 and 3 involve the rest of the butter, flour, green beans, etc., but the onion mixture never gets mentioned again. Help!

Courtney said...

Irith, nice catch on the recipe. I re-checked the recipe on the back of the can and you're right - it doesn't say. I amended the recipe and added that you combine flour and milk (roux) with the green beans and onions/mushrooms at the end of the process. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Sophisticated Dog said...

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Sophisticated Dog said...

I actually have a can of the TJ onion rings right now, and I was thrilled to see someone else had made the recipe, as I was puzzled. Thank you, Courtney!

Anonymous said...

You say to cook the casserole for 10 minutes. I am guessing you mean in the oven, and is 350 degrees the right temperature?

Courtney said...

Yes, bake at 350. Thanks for catching that. I fixed the recipe! Happy Easter!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this recipe!! TJ's changed the recipe on the back of their fried onion rings can, I was SO bummed! I exhausted my go-to online recipe sources for a recipe as simple and delicious but to no avail! -I finally found your post. It is, in my opinion, the best recipe for this beloved holiday side.
Cheers!

Unknown said...

Thank you! In Paris this year for Thanksgiving, and wanted to surprise some friends with the best way to cook the casserole! :)

Unknown said...

Thank you for putting this online

Anonymous said...

Thanks!!! I was scared this recipe was gone forever!

Anonymous said...

Yes, thanks a million for putting up this recipe! My heart sank when I looked at the back of this year's can of onions, thanks for the rescue!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love this recipe and have made it for Thanksgiving for the last 3 years. I grew up eating the original version (Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup one) and always looked forward to having it. I married a jewish man 27 years ago, and because of kosher laws regarding mixing meat and dairy together I have not been able to have it at Thanksgiving for many years. I lost the recipe and was horrified to not be able to find it on the Trader Joe's website, but then....I found you!! Thank you again, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting. I, too, was surprised that the recipe was not listed on the can nor on the TJ website.

vanpeltium said...

Thanks for posting this!!! Trader Joes changed the recipe on their onion can this year to include their new condensed mushroom soup. I really liked this recipe. You are my casserole hero!

Anonymous said...

Thanks!!! I picked up a can of the fried onion and was not happy to see that TJ's had changed this recipe. Also, many thanks for cleaning up the recipe -- the original had oh so many flaws.

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU!! I also was unhappy to see the new recipe on TJ's can. I understand they have to push their new soup mix, but that's the reason I loved their old recipe..we made our own roux. I love the old one and silly me forgot to save it.

Anonymous said...

Thank you sooooo much. I panicked tonight when I looked at the can and saw that the recipe had changed. I even called Trader Joes to ask if they had the original recipe, nope they didn't, or didn't want to bother looking. Found your post and printed several copies as well as saved a copy on my computer, don't ever want to lose it. Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much! TJ's has a new recipe on the can of fried onions, and it uses their new condensed cream of mushroom soup, and CANNED beans! Yuck, TJ's. I, too, forgot to save the original.

Tracy said...

Hey, what do you do with the other 1/4 c of flour? Throw it around the kitchen, so it looks like you worked really hard? >:) Thanks for posting this favorite!

Courtney said...

Tracy - I adjusted the recipe. Good catch! I always added that 1/2 c (slowly), but all at once. I never noticed it separated it out. Thanks again!

Abigail Vizcarra Perez said...

I'll join the chorus and give thanks for you this year! I grew up in cali, eating the campbell's recipe but always feeling guilty that I wasn't "starting from scratch." My casserole connoisseur friends from the northeast and midwest are usually wary when I tell them I am making my own ruox, using fresh mushrooms and beans... but they are won over when they taste this recipe.
Can jahjong be used as an exclamation of gratitude?! if so: JahJong!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting!!! I too was not happy to find a different recipe on the back of the TJ's fried onion can...especially with condensed soup. Happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the recipe!! They changed this year you saved the day:) or at least prevented me from wasting any more time trying to find this recipe!

Something Happened said...

Have you ever tried this in the crockpot? What are your thoughts???

Courtney said...

Wow, I don't know. I guess you could try it and just brown the fried onions later in the oven (crock only). I don't know though. I'm too wimpy to experiment on something like that without doing a trial in advance! Good luck - maybe it will be awesome!

Ashley said...

Do yo know what kind of mushrooms? Jst the regular button mushrooms or is their a certain kind the recipe calls for??? Thanks!

Courtney said...

Ashley, you can use whatever type of mushrooms you like. I normally use button, but have also used crimini. They are all great and totally about personal preference. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this! Happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous said...

Thank you! I truly give thanks for you posting this recipe. I was so sad when I realized Trader Joe's now uses a recipe with their mushroom soup, and wondered if I could find their original fried onion-canister recipe with roux. Here it is! I'm so glad I'll have it this year as I'm bringing it to a pre-Thanksgiving potluck with friends, and I'm told a family member will be making a different (probably Campbell's mushroom soup) recipe to Thanksgiving dinner. Bless you!

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