Heritage Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Shallots

Name: Heritage Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Shallots
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 16 ounces French green beans (trimmed and washed); 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 Tablespoon olive oil (plus more to drizzle if needed); 3 shallots (peeled and sliced (about 1/2 cup)); 1/2 cup onion (minced); 2 teaspoons garlic (minced); 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1/2 Cup crimini mushrooms (minced); 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 Cup fat free milk; 1/2 Cup organic vegetable broth; 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste if needed); nonstick cooking spray; 2 Tablespoons fresh shredded parmesan cheese

We all grew up on green bean casserole with cream of mushroom soup, but it’s time to kick things up with Heritage Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Shallots.

This post is written in partnership with Milk Life, however all opinions are our own.

Are Green Beans Good for You?

The fiber content is very high, and it also provides some of your daily protein requirements.

They also act as an easy source for acquiring vitamins like vitamin A, C, K, B6, and folic acid.

In terms of minerals, green beans are a good source of calcium, silicon, iron, manganese, potassium, and copper.

It’s one of those dishes that everyone has a memory of and we are no different. Both Cade and I grew up on the traditional green bean casserole as a classic side dish for the holidays, made with cream of mushroom soup, a layer of gooey cheese and those crunchy onions. We have plenty of family stories that surround the dish from burned pies that we had to scrape the crust off of the tops of to shooting potatoes out in the back field with a potato gun and all the mischief kids would get into.

Making those recipes that we grew up on brings back not only the good memories but the feelings too. Isn’t it incredible that smells and tastes can set you back in time? This Heritage Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Shallots will do just that.

Are Onions and Shallots the Same Thing?

Onions and shallots are both members of the allium family.

Shallots have a sweet and mild (although pronounced) flavor, with a hint of garlic, and lack the bite you get with yellow or white onions.

Both of my parents grew up on or around farm so Milk was a big part of their lives. They knew that not only was milk good for them, but it also was something that came because of the hard work and long hours of their family members. It’s also one of the most fresh ingredients you can buy, from the farm to the dairy plant to the grocery store to your table. I can still remember my grandpa sitting at a long table in his dining room, the room filled with his 6 kids, their spouses and all of the cousins a kid could ever want. Everyone gathered around him was the same as he was, a plate full of food, more stories from “the good ol’ days” than us kids could handle and as always, his 8 ounce glass of milk to wash it all down.

It’s hard to believe that now we are the ones gathering around our own table, talking about how we can find things to be thankful in the good times and the hard times and talking to our children about what they are thankful for all while enjoying the same casserole we grew up on. It’s odd how slow time feels as a child and then suddenly time seems to have slipped away and you can’t hold on to it anymore.

I talked to my mom about this and she mentioned that times have changed, but it used to be that milk was the center of every meal, and conversation/stories were the center of every family. I wonder if that’s why milk and the holidays kind of go together. Think about it, milk and cookies, milk and fancy meals, milk and a hot breakfast with the family, it’s all connected. I’m such a tender heart so the nostalgia alone puts me in a happy place.

Milk is such a simple and wholesome ingredient. It’s always in the fridge, and easy to use in dishes like this casserole or for a cool drink to balance out a meal. Have you ever known a friend that drinks milk like it’s going out of style? That’s because it’s one of the few drinks or ingredients that actually helps fill you up and provides nutrients your body craves to stay balanced.

We found this cute little story about a girl named Molly who finds out that she can do more with milk. So sweet and the kids responded to it when we showed them, so winning! Hopefully they will connect health and happiness with milk like I did growing up.

This casserole may be entirely from scratch but it takes only about 10 minutes to make and then pop it in the oven to finish off. It’s the perfect side dish to any holiday meal.

Start with the shallots so they are out of the way. We are just going to crisp them up versus doing a full fry method or buying the packaged item which tends to be higher in fat and calories. Not to mention they pale in comparison to the fresh version. Once those are crispified in a little oil, remove from your pan and make a homemade cream of mushroom soup.

Just add a little butter to a pot and melt it down. Stir in the mushroom and continue to give it a stir every now and again so nothing burns. Grab your whisk and as you slowly add the flour, start whisking so that nothing clumps or burns. Slowly drizzle in your liquids, but don’t stop whisking! Everything should come together nice and thick so just remove it from the heat.

Pile everything up in a baking dish and sprinkle with the shallots. Bake until hot and bubbly and serve with an 8 ounce glass of ice, cold milk with 8 grams of high-quality protein and let’s honor the hard work of those farmer family members who got up in the wee hours to provide such an essential part of our diet from an ingredient in this heritage green bean casserole with crispy shallots to a perfect drink to wash it all down.

Check out these other recipe ideas with milk and let me know, what’s your green bean casserole and milk memory?

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