Make Ahead Thanksgiving Feast : Green Bean Casserole:

by Melody Kettle


The original Green Bean Casserole recipe was created by an employee of the Campbell Soup Company called Dorcas Reilly in 1955. The recipe consisted of Canned Green Beans, Canned Cream of Mushroom Soup, and Canned Fried Onions.

What foodies like me often forget is that the era of the New Frontier celebrated convenience and new technology; it was a period where doing without (as was the case with the Depression and the War) was in the past. World War II, and in particular the need to feed troops in two theatres of war, resulted in some technological breakthroughs in the culinary world. One of them was the mass production, and subsequent consumption, of anything canned.

The post war 1950's was a period of doing things the new modern American way! And the results were poodle skirts, the Edsel, and green bean casserole. The original recipe for Green Bean Casserole now has a place of honor in the National Inventors Hall Of Fame in Akron Ohio. (Anyone for a roadtrip?) Inspired by that original recipe, this twist of the original features fresh ingredients and is made from scratch!

Visit the Recipe Book for the complete recipe!