Instant Pot Green Bean Casserole is an easy Thanksgiving side dish, made completely from scratch, that is made almost entirely in your Instant Pot!
Green bean casserole is one of those Thanksgiving dishes that I could take or leave when I was growing up. I didn't hate green beans or loathe the cream of mushroom soup that was in it. It's just that I would rather have had my grandma Patsy's buttery mashed potatoes, or my grandma Esther's potato dumplings. I guess you can say I just gravitated more towards the potato dishes.
Then I started this blog and developed my recipe for From-Scratch Green Bean Casserole, and I was hooked. The creamy sauce! The homemade fried onions! So stinking good!
Since the Instant Pot is such a hot kitchen tool right now, and for a good reason, I really wanted to create a couple of Thanksgiving side dishes that could be made in the Instant Pot. Not only is it great for creating great dishes in minimal time, it will also help us free up some oven space.
The one problem I ran into with this Instant Pot Green Bean Casserole? How do I get those crispy fried onions on top?! Putting them in the pressure cooker while it is cooking would only result in soggy fried onions. Nobody wants soggy fried onions on Thanksgiving! Or any day, really.
However, I really didn't want you to have to put the green bean casserole in a separate baking dish just to crisp up the onions. So, I came up with (what I think) is a reasonable solution. You put the fried onions on a baking dish and bake them at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. This means minimal oven time, and you can keep the green beans in the Instant Pot.
To serve, you can keep the beans in the Instant Pot and sprinkle on the fried onions, or you can put them in a serving bowl and sprinkle with the fried onions. It depends on whether your family keeps things casual on turkey day or prefers a fancy table scape with all of the dishes in special bowls. Your choice!
From-Scratch Green Bean Casserole
Lightened Up Sweet Potato Casserole
Brown Sugar Glazed Green Beans with Caramelized Onions, Cranberries, and Goat Cheese
Hassleback Sweet Potato Casserole