My Slow Cooker Ultimate Green Bean Casserole recipe, made with smoky bacon and gooey Monterey Jack cheese, frees up valuable oven space because it’s made right in the Crockpot! It’s the perfect Thanksgiving side dish!
Ever since I first posted the recipe for my Ultimate Green Bean Casserole, I’ve had tons of requests for a Crockpot version. And honestly… it’s sort of a genius idea. Making it in the slow cooker frees up valuable oven space for that spatchcocked turkey.
I knew we had to make some adjustments to account for the different cooking method, but I wanted to keep the same great flavor. I think I did just that!
Can I use fresh green beans?
I get this question often over on the oven version of this recipe, and the short answer is yes. I actually prefer the texture of canned green beans, but you can use fresh or even frozen green beans in this slow cooker green bean casserole recipe.
I’d suggest blanching and draining them first to soften them up, or you’ll need to increase the cook time. Keep in mind that using fresh or frozen will also yield a firmer texture, depending on the cook time. To make the swap, use about 2 pounds of fresh or frozen green beans to replace the 4 cans.
Ingredient FAQ
Green Beans – Scroll back up and check out my note about canned versus fresh and frozen green beans.
Cream of Mushroom – For me, green bean casserole just isn’t green bean casserole without some good ol’ cream of mushroom soup. If you’re feeling frisky, you can make your own. You could use cream of chicken soup if you have a mushroom allergy, but you’ll lose some of that umami flavor.
Cream of Bacon Soup – Did you just say, “Wait. There’s a cream of bacon soup?” Because I know I did the first time I heard about it. A reader mentioned using it last year, and I knew it would be perfect in this recipe. In the traditional recipe, you cook bacon and then sauté onions, garlic, and mushrooms in the bacon grease. Since we don’t have that step in this crockpot green bean casserole, adding the cream of bacon is the perfect way to not miss out on all that bacon flavor.
Bacon – One of the elements that makes this version ultimate is bacon. I used about ½ cup of real bacon pieces from one of those little pouches of precooked bacon, but you can make it fresh, too. You’ll need about 6 to 8 slices to make ½ cup of crumbled bacon.
Garlic Powder – For ease of prep, I swapped the fresh garlic for garlic powder.
Onion Powder – See note above and swap garlic powder for onion powder. 😁
Monterey Jack Cheese – I use this in my traditional green bean casserole, so I knew I wanted to use it here, too. I can usually find it shredded in the bag, but buying your own and shredding it works just fine as well. Can’t find Monterey Jack? Mozzarella, gouda, or an Italian blend should work. A little Parmesan cheese wouldn’t hurt either.
French Fried Onions – A green bean cass essential! They’re great right out of the container, but for added flavor and texture, you can pop them under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes to toast them up before adding them to the top of the casserole right before serving. Adding them before, like during the cook time, will just make them soggy due to the moist heat method of crock pot cooking.
Ingredients
- 4 (14.5-ounce) cans cut green beans drained
- 1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of bacon soup
- ½ cup crumbled cooked bacon
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 ½ cup French fried onions
Instructions
- Spray the insert of a 4 to 6-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the mushroom soup, bacon soup, bacon, onion powder, garlic powder, and cheese. Add the green beans and fold to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours or low for 4 to 5.
- Optional: toast the fried onions under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Change the temperature to warm and sprinkle with the onions when ready to serve.
Nutrition
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
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I cannot find the can of cream of bacon soup in recipe. What can I substitute for it ?
Another cream of mushroom will work if you can’t find the cream of bacon.
Came out a bit too juicy, almost like a soup. Hoping while it rests it will thicken up.
Something must be off with your measurements, KRS. Did you drain the green beans?
I tried making home made bacon soup but it tastes like flour. Would you recommend using a second can of mushroom soup instead?
If you’re not happy with the taste, yes, I’d just use a second cream of mushroom.
I tried making my own Bacon soup but it tastes like flour. Should I leave it out and use a second can of mushroom soup instead?
Can I make this ahead of time and keep the slow cooker in the refrigerator?
I don’t see why not. Just don’t add the onions until you reheat it.
Still prefer the original version. Also lots of sodium for both soups!
You could certainly opt for the lower-sodium soups if that’s a concern, Suzanne.
No complaints here! I made homemade cream of chicken and and homemade cream of bacon. I also struggled to find cream of bacon anywhere despite typing it in on campbell’s website & going straight to the places it told me it was there. Would heavily recommend making homemade cream of whatever you use because it’s super easy & give’s the dish a lot of flavor! Dish as a whole was great though. Everyone enjoyed. Was reading reviews to determine if I wanted to do it. Saw one of them say it was a watery mess, definently don’t add water if you’re getting cans but again the best thing you can do is make your own homemade cream of whatever you use!
Thanks, Nicholas! Glad you enjoyed it!
Should I double this for 20 people? There will be a lot of food there.
Yes, I think I’d probably double it. But I always think it’s better to have too much than not enough.
This was so good! I couldn’t find the Cream of Bacon soup anywhere locally so made my own the day before from an online recipe, and it was great. Will make this again for Christmas dinner with friends. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.
Look at you being industrious! So glad to hear it turned out great for you!
This was a total fail. Considering the cost of making it, the effort put into it and the time it took (not even counting the time it took to search for cream of bacon soup), he fact that it was a watery mess that NOBODY liked and it got thrown in the garbage after dinner, I cannot recommend it. Perhaps the version baked in the oven would be better.
Oh no! Did you happen to mix the soup with water or use it undiluted?
For those that can’t find cream of bacon, I went to the Campbell’s website and looked for stores that say it’s available currently in what stores. Stores say they have it online, but then they don’t. Tom Thumb had some!! I called ahead of time because I already had driven to several locations. They were a $1.99 each, and with my rewards card, they were on sale for .99. Whoop-whoop. I bought extra..lol.
Stacey, I cannot wait!!!! Do happen to have other recipes you use cream of bacon in because this might be my new favorite thing ever!!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Great tip! Thanks for sharing!
I have blended everything except the fried onions in a large container and put in the fridge until tomorrow morning (Thanksgiving). It wasn’t specified if milk should be added to the soups, I couldn’t find bacon soup so I did add a can of milk to my mixture. I did a taste test, it tasted good cold. Will that work?!?! I should’ve asked prior but was already into mixing, sorry.
Sounds like you did it perfectly! Hope y’all enjoy it!
What if I can’t find cream of bacon anywhere?! What’s a good substitute?
I have the same question!
You can just use two cans of cream of mushroom. Enjoy!
It’s a lot more work but make your own. You will not be disappointed!!
Hey there!! Stumbled onto your site and look forward to making this in my crockpot. I’ll be using fresh green beans (blanched of course, as you suggest) The question is how much? 1lb? 2lb? Thank you!!!
You’ll need about 2 pounds of fresh beans. Enjoy!
Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!!
First, thank you for sharing all of your wonderful recipes. I really appreciate it. Second, as to this recipe I can wait to try it as I have a can of cream of bacon just waiting to be used. But, I am not a fan of canned green beans. Any recommendations for using frozen or fresh?
Hi Steven! Thank you so much for your kind words—I truly appreciate it! I can’t wait to hear how it turns out. As for the green beans, fresh or frozen will work great! For fresh, just trim and blanch them for a few minutes until they’re crisp-tender, and for frozen, thaw and drain them well before using. Either way, it’ll be delicious!
Daughter absolutely love green bean casserole. But, she allergic to pork. So no bacon or bacon soup. Cream of mushroom or cream of celery as a sub? Or maybe a cheese soup?
Cream of mushroom will work just fine. Enjoy!
What can you use in place of cream of bacon soup, which I can’t find?
Cream of mushroom will work.
Thank you for sharing the receipt with us. I made it for our family Thanksgiving meal last year (2023). There wasn’t a bean left in the pot! lol. Delicious and making it again this year for Easter (2024)
Hope y’all enjoyed it just as much!
I finally took this out of the freezer after freezing it back in November !! We all were sick for Christmas so we had to postpone until this past weekend. I think the texture was ok. The problem was I made it with petite cut green beans because i was going to fill crescent cups with it. So there was a whole lot of extra sauce !! When it came out of the freezer I added more canned green beans to it !! I think it is best to use the cut green beans like you call for in this. I used Pepper jack cheese in it when I made it. When I reheated it I topped it with some grated cheddar cheese and then crisped the fried onions under the broiler to serve. Everyone loved it !! Thanks so much !!
So glad to hear y’all enjoyed it, Laurie!
Why can’t you make it exactly like the Ultimate GBC? Steps all the way up to adding french fried onions. Still making the sauce the same with bacon grease, onions, mushrooms, and cheese. Put in slow cooker stir in green beans. Cook on low for 2 hours. Then put on crisped fried onions before serving. It keeps your oven free for the turkey.
You can! The goal here was just to make it a little bit easier and not have to dirty up a bunch of other pans.
I’m planning to dbl this. Suggestions for cooking time. Thanks
Adding 30 minutes to an hour should be just fine. Hope y’all enjoy it!
Do you think this would do ok in a small crockpot? Also, if any of you have Meijer (mostly Midwest) they do have cream of bacon soup!
I suppose it depend on the actual size of the crockpot, but if it all fits in there, it should work just fine.
How about doubling the recipe in the crockpot, has anyone does this? I need to feed a large crowd.
*done this
It should double just fine, Abby!
This is simple
Thanks, Polly!
Hey Stacey !!
This recipe looks perfect !! I am wondering, can I set it up in the slow cooker the night before ? Also do you think it would freeze well ? Thanks for the recipe !!
I meant set up the slow cooker insert the night before and put in the fridge until I want to add it to the slow cooker base.
Yes, I think that should work just fine. I’m not sure about freezing. It should work just fine, but the texture might change a bit.
Thank you sooooooooo much !! I will let you know how it works out !!
Excited to hear!
I will be making this for a group of vegetarian friends. Suggestions? Recommendations? Ideas?
Eliminating the bacon and using all cream of mushroom should work.
I can’t wait to try this with the cream of bacon and cream of chicken soups. Now, all I need is to find cream of bacon. My local store doesn’t carry it.
Oh, no! I hope you’re able to find it!
I had to order the cream of bacon from Amazon.
Glad to hear you were able to find it somewhere. Thanks for the tip!
I love the ultimate green bean casserole & would love to try this slow cooker version but I have been unable to find cream of bacon soup locally & Amazon is way too expensive. What can I substitute to get similar results?
Thanks! You could use two cans of the cream of mushroom.
Just opened my email, went straight to this recipe. Oh my stars, we southerners know that bacon and cream of anything makes a recipe better but I had no idea that they made cream of bacon soup! This truly a culinary changing moment in my life. And we can make a favorite recipe not only better but in a crockpot, one of my favorite kitchen tools! I can hardly wait to make this, thank you!
Ha! It’s a game changer for me, for sure! Hope you’ll enjoy this version!
I’ve been looking for something easy and here it is. Thank you!
Sure hope it fits the bill for you!!
I am NOT waiting to make for Thanksgiving, nope how about NOW!!
Ha! Let me know how it turns out for you!
This is genius, Stacey. I’m going to try this at Thanksgiving. 🙂
Thank you, Aileen!!!