I Tried Chrissy Teigen’s Green Bean Casserole—Her 2 Secret Additions Make It Main-Dish Worthy

Published on October 27, 2025

In the decades since its introduction, green bean casserole has been remixed countless ways. Some renditions, like our Classic Green Bean Casserole, stick very close to the original. Others (I’m looking at you, Million Dollar Green Bean Casserole) take some liberties—often, with fantastic results. 

Chrissy Teigen’s green bean casserole falls in the latter category. In fact, the model and cookbook author’s riff strayed so far from the Campbell’s soup label classic that it even made the news in 2021. (This is around the time the recipe went viral on social media.) With Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving mere weeks away, I hopped into my test kitchen (aka the modest cooking space in my Midwestern townhome) to find out what all the buzz was about.

How to Make Chrissy Teigen's Green Bean Casserole

To make Teigen’s green bean recipe:

1. Boil the beans. Bring a pot of chicken broth or water to a boil. Add bite-sized pieces of fresh green beans, then boil for about 6 minutes, or until the veggies are crisp-tender. Drain, and if you used broth, reserve it for another use (such as this cozy Copycat Chicken Gnocchi Soup).
2. Make the cream sauce. In a large bowl, whisk together a couple small cans of low-sodium cream of mushroom soup, half-and-half, garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir in the boiled green beans, cubed ham, diced onions, shredded cheddar cheese, and French fried onions.
3. Assemble and bake. Pour the green bean mixture into a baking dish, sprinkle with more shredded cheddar, and bake at 350°F until bubbly, about 40 minutes. Sprinkle on another handful of French fried onions, then bake for 10 minutes more.

Tips for Making Green Bean Casserole

If comments on social media and that news segment are any indication, the fact that this green bean casserole contains ham and cheese is quite controversial. Coming to an agreement about whether those are welcome additions (or not) might be difficult, but making it certainly isn’t. Here are a few tips I learned during my trial—and after, when I compared notes with our Test Kitchen:

• Prep for success. Teigen calls for fresh green beans cut into 2-inch pieces. There are a couple other important steps that should take place after you bring your beans home from the store and before you make this recipe, though. First, wash the green beans with cool water. Then gather a handful and line up the stem ends. Use a knife to slice off the stems. If the beans have a long string-like fiber that runs end to end. If your batch of beans has these, it’s wise to remove them so they don’t get stuck in folks’ teeth. And finally, trim them into 2-inch bites.
• Shred your own cheese. Sharp cheddar stars in the filling and acts as the ooey-gooey crown atop this comfort food casserole. For maximum meltability, shred the cheese from a block using a grater. While convenient, pre-shredded cheese is coated in anti-caking agents that affect its ability to melt. (Another reason to buy blocks? Due to the larger surface area of shreds, I find that the pre-shredded varieties tend to go bad more quickly than larger wedges.)
• Go ham—or not. For her 8- to 10-serving casserole, Teigan suggests mixing in 8 ounces of cubed cooked ham. Bake your own Holiday Ham for dinner earlier in the week and reserve a few slices of the leftovers, or simply ask your butcher for thick slices. Or fold in cubed or shredded leftover turkey (from Thanksgiving or otherwise) or rotisserie chicken instead.
• Try crispy jalapeños instead of French fried onions for more kick. Just like the original Cambell’s recipe, this green bean casserole is quite mild. Next time, to introduce a tame amount of spice, I plan to use crispy jalapeños as the crunchy topping instead of the fried onions. We’re already going off-script a bit, so why not make one other small adjustment?

The Verdict on Chrissy Teigen's Green Bean Casserole Recipe

If you’re a devotee of Dorcus and her OG GBC, this isn’t the dish for you. But I happen to think this is the Goldilocks of green bean casseroles; similar in many ways to the classic (French fried onions, cream of mushroom soup) yet still modern and unique (fresh green beans, cheese, ham). 

The seasoning was well-balanced and the still-ever-so-crisp texture of the beans was a welcome surprise. And I will never shy away from a recipe that’s finished with a handful of crispy fried onions. 

I also adored how the cheddar and ham made this eat more like a meal than a side. In fact, I plan to double the protein next time, pair it with a fruit salad, and call dinner done. Green bean casserole has been acting similar to a back-up singer to turkey or ham for all these decades—it’s about time she stepped into the spotlight!