From Everyday Side to Thanksgiving Favorite: The Story of Campbell’s Iconic Green Bean Casserole

Campbell’s Green Bean Casserole started as an everyday side dish in 1955. More than seven decades later, it is one of the dishes Americans most closely connect with Thanksgiving. Its path from the Campbell’s Test Kitchen to holiday tables across the country is a story of a simple recipe meeting a real need, then becoming a tradition people choose to keep.

It Started in the Campbell’s Test Kitchen

In 1955, Campbell’s recipe developer Dorcas Reilly created Green Bean Casserole at the company’s Test Kitchen in Camden, New Jersey. The assignment was practical: develop a quick, easy recipe around ingredients many American households kept on hand, including green beans and Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup. Reilly tested and refined the formula, adjusting ingredients and baking times before landing on the dish first known as Green Bean Bake.

Reilly had joined Campbell’s in 1949 and became one of the early full-time members of its Home Economics department, now the Campbell’s Test Kitchen. Her work extended well beyond Green Bean Casserole, but this recipe became her enduring contribution to American holiday cooking. In 2002, Campbell’s and Reilly donated her original recipe card to the National Inventors Hall of Fame for preservation.

The Recipe Was Not Originally Designed for Thanksgiving

Green Bean Casserole was originally developed as an everyday side. Campbell’s says its rise as a Thanksgiving favorite came later, after the company began putting the recipe on Cream of Mushroom Soup labels in the 1960s. A recipe built around familiar pantry ingredients suddenly had a direct route into kitchens across the country, and cooks kept bringing it back to the holiday table.

Why Green Bean Casserole Stayed on the Holiday Table

Campbell’s 2026 State of the Sides Report shows that this is a people still look forward to every year. Sixty-seven percent of Americans say Green Bean Casserole reminds them of Thanksgivings past, and only 19% say they would change the recipe, the lowest willingness to change among the top five Thanksgiving sides. Fifty-one percent say the table would feel incomplete without it.

The classic preparation still carries weight, too. Sixty-nine percent say Green Bean Casserole is best made with Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Celery Soup, and 87% choose Campbell’s Soup as their go-to for the best Green Bean Casserole. The same study found that 71% consider Green Bean Casserole a great way to get more vegetables onto the holiday table, a tribute to the recipe’s original intention.

The Simplicity That Worked in 1955 Still Works Now

Part of the recipe’s staying power is that it delivers a familiar holiday result without adding much complexity to a busy day of cooking. Campbell’s current Green Bean Casserole uses five staple ingredients, takes 10 minutes to prep and 40 minutes total to make, and serves six. Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup gives the casserole its creamy, savory base, while French fried onions bring the signature crunch.

The Holiday Table Keeps Making Space for the Classics

Green Bean Casserole’s story also fits a bigger shift. In 2026, 80% of Americans say they enjoy cooking Thanksgiving sides more than the turkey. Eighty-six percent plan to serve at least four sides, with a median of five, and 88% say they genuinely like the traditional Thanksgiving sides. The classics endure because people want to eat them.

For iconic Green Bean Casserole, there’s only Campbell’s. The recipe may not have been invented for Thanksgiving, but decades of holiday tables have made the connection unmistakable. What began with Dorcas Reilly and an everyday side in Camden became a tradition that families continue to choose for themselves every year.