Are you tired of serving up the same old green bean casserole at every holiday meal? Looking for something a little different but just as easy to make that’s way tastier? This twist on the classic staple uses fresh asparagus instead of mushy canned green beans. It’s studded with smokey bacon bits, shredded cheddar cheese and a crunchy cracker topping to give it some lovely texture. No gloppy green bean mush in a pan! Instead you have crisp spears of asparagus in a flavorful creamy casserole. You will love that it can be made in advance; all you need to do is add the cracker topping before popping it in the oven and then placing it, piping hot, on your holiday table. It’s the perfect easy side to add to all your holiday meals, and it’s absolutely delicious!
Cut bacon strips into ½ inch pieces.
Cook bacon in a skillet, over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat for the cracker crumb topping.
Cut fresh asparagus spears into 2 inch pieces.
Discard tough woody stem portions and separate the tender tips from the stalks.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Set up a large mixing bowl with ice water.
Once water is boiling, add asparagus stalks and cook for 2 minutes.
After two minutes add the tips and cook for another minute. Cook just until crisp tender.
Transfer asparagus to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Shocking the asparagus in ice water keeps it bright green.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the Cream of Mushroom soup, Worcestershire sauce, the can of drained sliced mushrooms, ½ the cooked bacon bits and ½ the shredded cheddar cheese.
Stir to combine.
Drain the asparagus and add it to the mixing bowl.
Stir to combine all the ingredients.
Transfer the mixture to a greased casserole dish.
Top with the remaining bacon bits and the remaining shredded cheddar cheese.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.
To Bake:
Preheat oven to 350℉.
Remove casserole from the refrigerator. Allow it to come to room temperature for about an hour on your counter.
Crush Ritz crackers (about a cup of cracker crumbs) and place them in a mixing bowl.
Heat 3 tablespoons of the reserved bacon grease in a small bowl in the microwave oven until it’s liquified. You could substitute with butter if you prefer.
Add the melted bacon grease or butter to the crushed Ritz crackers and toss to coat the crushed crackers.
Spread crushed crackers in an even layer over the asparagus casserole.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until hot and bubbly and the cracker topping is toasted and golden brown. Serve piping hot.
Ok I have to admit, this casserole is only about a thousand times better than the traditional green bean version! Using fresh asparagus keeps it from having the same mushy texture as its traditional green bean counterpart made with canned vegetables. The bacon gives it a smokey touch of flavor and the bacon infused crunchy cracker topping elevates it to a whole other level. The cream soup gives it just the right hint of creaminess. Even if you don’t care for cream soups, you’ll hardly know it’s there thanks to all the other flavorful ingredients.
This casserole will be making an appearance at every holiday meal going forward. I’ve found a new family favorite! This one is a keeper! This was a huge hit at Thanksgiving, and I know it will disappear at Christmas and Easter as well. Give this one a try, you won’t be disappointed, I promise!
Holiday Asparagus Casserole
Equipment
- Oven safe casserole dish.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs fresh asparagus spears
- 10.5 oz Cream of Mushroom soup
- 7 oz can of sliced mushrooms, drained
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 8 strips bacon
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers
Instructions
- Cut bacon strips into ½ inch pieces.
- Cook bacon in a skillet, over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- Reserve 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat for the cracker crumb topping.
- Cut asparagus spears into 2 inch pieces, separating the tips from the stalks.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Once water is boiling add asparagus stalks and cook for 2 minutes.
- After two minutes add the tips and cook for another minute. Cook just until crisp tender.
- Transfer asparagus to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the Cream of Mushroom soup, Worcestershire sauce, sliced mushrooms, ½ the shredded cheddar cheese and ½ the cooked bacon. Stir to combine.
- Drain the asparagus and add it to the mixing bowl. Stir to combine all the ingredients.
- Transfer the mixture to a greased casserole dish.
- Top with remaining bacon bits and the remaining shredded cheddar cheese.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.
To Bake:
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Remove casserole from the refrigerator.
- Crush Ritz crackers and place them in a mixing bowl.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of the reserved bacon grease in a small bowl in the microwave oven until it's liquified.
- Add the bacon grease to the crushed Ritz crackers and toss to coat the crackers with the bacon grease.
- Spread crushed crackers in an even layer over the asparagus casserole.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until hot and bubbly and cracker topping is toasted and golden brown.
- Serve hot.
Did You Make This?
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Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:35