Whether it’s compiling a stash of your favorite Halloween candy or piling your plate high with stuffing, one of the best things about the -ber months is, arguably, the food. And, because food is intertwined with memory and emotion, it’s not surprising that many people have strong opinions about which dishes to serve during the holidays. I’ll go first: No Thanksgiving table spread is complete without green bean casserole. I’d happily pass on stuffing, mashed potatoes, even corn pudding. But hot, cheesy, umami-packed legumes? That’s a non-negotiable for me.
Creamy, crunchy, and impossibly filling, green bean casserole is the unsung hero of the Thanksgiving table. While I believe it has all the hallmarks of a perfect side dish, our test kitchen just unearthed another green bean recipe from Martha Stewart’s very first cookbook that gives the holiday favorite a run for its money. Not only does it come together in minutes, but it also requires minimal dishes, making cleanup a total breeze. It sounds so flavorful and so easy to make, I’m afraid it might even dethrone my beloved green bean casserole.
Martha Stewart’s Green Beans with Gruyère and Mushrooms Recipe
Peyton Beckwith
Stewart’s debut cookbook, “Entertaining,” from 1982, serves as both a guide for hosting and a cookbook, emphasizing that entertaining can be both a fun and delicious endeavor. It features curated menus for all different sorts of gatherings, stylish hors d’oeuvres, and dozens of recipes designed to feed a crowd. While some of the recipes are tedious at best (I don’t know about you, but making a huge batch of blini by hand is no easy task), there are also some quick and easy gems, such as her recipe for “Green Beans with Gruyère and Mushrooms.”
Vibrant, herby, and flavorful, Stewart’s green bean recipe “is the perfect, easy side dish to add to your Thanksgiving table,” according to our senior producer, Nicole McLaughlin, who tested the recipe. If you’re looking to offer “something different” that’s delicious, unexpected, and can be thrown together in a pinch, then look no further than this 10-minute recipe.
How to Make Martha Stewart’s Green Bean Recipe
The recipe begins by blanching the green beans. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. While that comes to a boil, use that time to prepare the vinaigrette. Mix olive oil, sherry wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced parsley, salt, and pepper until combined.
Blanch the green beans for a few minutes, then drain and immediately transfer them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Toss the beans in the parsley dressing, then with shredded Gruyère cheese and sliced mushrooms. And that’s it. That’s the recipe. We told you, it’s embarrassingly easy.
I’ll admit, part of what makes green bean casserole so satisfying is that, well, it’s a casserole. In other words? It’s warming, comforting, and filling—all the things we crave when the weather outside is frightful, and, at least where I live, when the sun hasn’t shown up in weeks.
Stewart’s recipe, on the other hand, feels more like a salad. I’m not sure it can comfort the same way a melty casserole can, but I’ll say it’ll certainly provide some much-needed freshness and brightness to a table spread that’s generally starch- and carb-heavy. Plus, when you have to map out preparing several dishes in the kitchen—and there’s limited oven space—it’s always helpful to have a few easy, no-fuss recipes that don’t require much thought.
So, will I be swapping out the green bean casserole this year? As someone who loves to try new foods (kind of a requirement of my job as a food editor), you bet I’ll be serving Stewart’s green beans over the holidays this year.
