Green Bean Pie with Ritz Cracker Pie Crust
The best green bean casserole from scratch, Green Bean Pie with a Ritz Cracker Crust is full of fresh, tender green beans and earthy mushrooms, enveloped in a creamy, decadent, cheesy sauce, and topped with the traditional French fried onions. But, it gets better, in this recipe, because it is a pie, all this deliciousness is contained in a simple crunchy crust made with Ritz Cracker crumbs and yes, even more, French fried onions. It's epic!
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 45 min
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter (divided)
- 1 small sweet onion (chopped)
- 12 oz sliced fresh mushrooms (about 3 cups)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1+1/2 lb fresh green beans (rinsed, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces)
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 pkg cream cheese (8-oz, cut into cubes)
- 1/2 cup half and half (or whole milk)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup French fried onions
- 11 oz Ritz crackers (about 3 sleeves or 100 crackers)
- 1/2 cup French fried onions
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (melted)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- 2
Add the crackers and the french fried onions to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until the crackers and onion rings are finely crushed.
- 3
Add the melted butter to the cracker crumbs and process until the butter and crumbs are well combined.
- 4
Pour this mixture into a 9-inch tart pan, or 9-inch baking or casserole dish with at least 3-inch sides.
- 5
Use your hands or the smooth bottom of a measuring cup or glass to gently compress the crumbs on the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
- 6
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- 7
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- 8
While the pie crust cools, in a large skillet or Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat.
- 9
Add the onions and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until they are tender and lightly browned.
- 10
Add the mushrooms, and sprigs of thyme and cook for another 5-6 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender.
- 11
Add the garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds, or until the garlic is fragrant.
- 12
Remove the thyme sprigs and transfer the mushroom mixture to a bowl and set aside.
- 13
In the same skillet or Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add the green beans. Saute for about 15-16 minutes, or until the green beans are crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Turn the heat down to medium if the beans look like they are getting too brown.
- 14
When the beans are done, add the cream cheese, half-and-half, Worchestire sauce, salt, and pepper and cook until the cream cheese is melted and creamy. Add the mushrooms back in and remove from the heat.
- 15
Pour the green bean mixture into the cooled pie crust and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the filling is bubbly. Remove from the oven, top evenly with the French fried onions and bake for another 5 minutes.
- 16
Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.