My parents don’t go in for goop-in-a-can casserole, so this has never been a hallmark of our thanksgivings. I’ve been to other people’s thanksgivings where it is served – its one of those things, like creamed onions, that I don’t object to, but doesn’t feel “required” for thanksgiving to be thanksgiving. If I was hosting and someone felt really attached to to having it, I would make it or encourage them to bring it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother.
Basically, I’m neutral.
We make it and love it.
Only addition we make to original recipe is adding a small bag of slivered almonds.
Adds a nice crunch to the mix.
Since others have mentioned the sweet potatoes, by the way, I’ll say that that was never part of the tradition in my family, and I think I’ve only been to one or maybe two Thanksgiving dinners where it’s been served in its traditional form. Nowadays, I mostly hang out with international students, which means a lot of people who have heard of traditions second-hand and who want to try them out, but who end up putting their own distinctive ethnic twists on them. The end result usually bears only a vague resemblance to the original, but is nonetheless usually great.
Once my black co-worker turned to me in November and asked, “Zsofia, do white people really eat that green bean casserole thing?”
Until then I didn’t know that not every single American eats green bean casserole on the fourth Thursday of November!
Last year I made it fresh and fancy and got universal bad reviews - canned for us, it seems.
I love green bean casserole and love making it. Everyone always raves about it. At least three people at our potluck at work this week came up to me and said it was the best thing there.
Even if I didn’t want to make it for Thanksgiving I’d have to, my SO and our tenant would be quite upset with me if it wasn’t there since they both love it.
A made from scratch green bean casserole is a 'whole nother beast. It’s like Grandma’s baked mac and cheese compared to the boxed stuff.
That one’s very good, but I gotta give a slight edge to good ol’ AB: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/best-ever-green-bean-casserole-recipe/index.html
There’s no denying that it’s a popular recipe, but the notion that it graces EVERY Thanksgiving table in the US (along with Pillsbury crescent rolls) chaps my hide. We never had either of those things at Thanksgiving (or Christmas dinner, either) in any of my formative years.
My aunt worked for Durkee’s, the company that was responsible for the onions before French’s. She hooked us up, and even so we didn’t have the casserole that often. We did heat 'em up in a pie plate to have with steaks. My grandmother made the greenbean casserole for pot lucks.
Oh, and while I’m being angry at food marketers, I am not the only person around who’s old enough to know that the original recipe for “The Original Chex Party Mix” did NOT include garlic flavored bagel chips and DID include peanuts. Harumph.
I’ll always eat it if it’s there, but I won’t be sad if it’s missing. My mom has been including green bean casserole since it replaced the highly unpopular creamed pearl onions.
That Cook’s Illustrated recipe calls for TWO CUPS OF CREAM! for 12 servings!
3/4 cup for 8, actually, if you’re using their "Quick Green Bean ‘Casserole’ " recipe. (The New Best Recipe (2004), pg. 137.)
Besides, unless you’re going low-fat on everything, Thanksgiving is no time to pull your punches and go “lite” here and there. I’m smearing herbed butter under the skin of the turkey, I’m not going to buy no-fat ‘half-and-half’ and make something that’s meh.
I’d never seen it until a few years ago. I’ve tried making it, but…blech.
I don’t like it, regardless of who’s making it.
I got tapped to make it for a work potluck, and thought ‘cool, I can make it so maybe I like it’
No dice. Uck.
You’re not the only one. 
I think of green bean casserole as being what comedian Patton Oswalt called the KFC glop-fests.
“A failure pile in a sadness bowl!”
I just picked up my fried onions today!
I am and have always been the green bean casserole maker of the family.
But I agree, cream of mushroom soup does not go with green beans!
I use cream of chicken soup instead. It makes a big difference.
MY SIL makes it for Thanksgiving and I really like it. Since we moved away 5 years ago we don’t see them for Turkey Day anymore, and my wife doesn’t care for it, I don’t get it these days.
Yikes! You can’t slice it. My mother says it must retain the shape of the can. 
Spouse says he’s tired of g.b.c. Fine iwth me. I’d called it brown bean casserole if you use those tired, old canned ones.
Last few times I made it I used the fresh and layered them with fresh sliced mushrooms and real f.f. onion rings. Didn’t make much difference. With the canned mushroom soup it’s still that trusty old cliche.
Yes, but it has to have real onion rings, not those dried things that come in a cardboard can.
I got assigned to bring the GBC this year, and am making the Cook’s Illustrated version (the two-cups-of-cream one, I’m not pulling any punches) because I don’t care if makes me a snob, I’m not bringing something to Thanksgiving dinner that incorporates cream of mushroom soup. Nothing against good ol’ cream of mushroom soup. Just, not for a dinner party. So I’ll make my fancy-schmancy version and probably everyone in the family will talk behind their backs about how I f’ed up the green bean casserole, but I don’t care.
Ahhhh, family holidays, what would we do without them?
I never heard of this dish until I met my American Mother-in-Law. It’s on the table every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, and I can’t get enough of the stuff.
