Ninja Foodi Green Bean Casserole w/ Air Fried Onions

Not only is this green bean casserole EASY to make, it's QUICK! It also happens to be delicious, and this is coming from someone who is not a fan of green bean casserole!

You only need a few fresh ingredients to make the best tasting homemade green bean casserole AND we even air fry our own onions, so this is 100% scratch made.

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I think green bean casserole is a lot like cranberry sauce, you either LOVE it or you don't. I've never been a fan of either one, but, when I don't particularly like something, I try to switch it up so that I do like it and that's what I've done in this recipe.

If you want to try a delicious take on a cranberry sauce, check out my recipe for Cranberry Apple Chutney. It's so good!

I switched out the canned soup and canned green beans in favor of fresh green beans and letting the pressure cooker make the condensed mushroom soup at the same time it cooks the beans. I can't begin to tell you how easy it is... and so quick!

You can even make it ahead of time, warm it through and then add the homemade air fried onions on top, pop it under the broiler for a few minutes and it's ready to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it Worth it to Make Homemade Air-Fried Onions?

I'm sure the sale of French's Crispy Fried Onions is at an all-time high around Thanksgiving & Christmas, in part to being used by households all over the US to top their Green Bean Casseroles!

Let's face it they are tasty and easy to sprinkle on top. No work, No fuss. BUT, I wanted to try my hand at homemade air fried crispy onions. I wasn't sure if they would turn out, but I gave it a shot and here are my thoughts.

I used the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper to make them and it took two batches to get ½ of a thinly sliced onion air crisped because I didn't want to crowd the basket. Had I used the Ninja Foodi XL grill, I think I would have been able to get it all done in one batch.

They are super easy to make and each batch only takes about 5 minutes or so to air crisp, so it doesn't take too long.

They can be made ahead of time, so that is a plus.

They were a little messy, but not too bad.

Taking all of that into consideration, are they worth making homemade or would I buy them prepared next time?

I would definitely make them myself and this is why.

The FLAVOR is unbelievable. I know exactly what is in them. You can taste REAL onions!

I know they say that French's Crispy Onions are made from real onions, but you can't see any onions. I'm guessing they are dehydrated and in powder form.

While French's are a little crispier than my homemade kind, I will always make them myself from now on.

The directions for making them are in the recipe card and detailed instructions with pictures are below.

Can I Serve the Green Bean Casserole in a Casserole Dish instead of the Inner Pot?

YES! Using the Pressure Cooker to make the Green Bean Casserole is quick and easy, but you don't always want to serve right out of the inner pot when you are entertaining.

Simply make the green bean casserole as instructed in the recipe and, after you thicken with the cream and the roux, transfer it to your casserole dish.

I just recently received a new line of casserole dishes from Pampered Chef and they are BEAUTIFUL!

Here is the link if you want to check them out, they come in 3 sizes.

1 Qt Enamel Cast Iron Baker

2 Qt Enamel Cast Iron Baker

6 Qt Enamel Dutch Oven

Then, you can either refrigerate it (covered) if you aren't serving it that day or place the crispy onions on top and broil for a few minutes in your oven just before serving.

How to Make Green Bean Casserole in an Instant Pot

If you have an Instant Pot Duo Crisp or a Crisping lid for your Instant Pot, simply follow the same instructions in the recipe.

If you don't have a crisping lid, then after you stir in the roux and cream and the sauce thickens, transfer to your oven-proof serving dish and put the crispy onions on top. Broil just for a few minutes before serving.

How to Make Homemade Air Fried Crispy Onions

Step One

First thing to do is preheat the Ninja Foodi on broil or Air Fryer on the hottest air fry setting for 10 minutes. Make sure the basket or cooking surface is in during the preheat.

Thinly slice ½ of an onion. I used a Vidalia onion, but you can use any type of onion you like. You want the onions to be about 2 millimeters in thickness, almost thin enough to see through.

It really helps to use a mandoline OR a very sharp Chef's knife to get the slices thin and even so they cook evenly.

The mandoline I use works great, it's the best mandoline I've ever purchased and I love that it comes with a guard and a cutting glove. Mandolines are super sharp, so you really have to keep safety in mind when using them.

Here is a link to the mandoline I use: Mandoline Slicer with Cut-Resistant Gloves and Blade Guard

If you would rather look into getting a good quality knife, the one I use is right here: Pampered Chef Chef's Knife

Step Two

Melt ¼ cup of butter in a small bowl.

In a medium size bowl or coating tray, mix ⅔ cup of all purpose flour with 1 teaspoon sea salt, and 1 teaspoon onion powder.

Make sure to mix the flour mixture well so the onion powder and salt are equally dispersed throughout the flour. Nothing worse than having a salt pocket on your air fried crispy onions.

Step Three

Coat the onions in the melted butter and dredge through the flour mixture. Try to avoid having the onions clump, they tend to want to stick together.

Step Four

Spritz the basket of the Ninja Foodi or your Air Fryer cooking surface with oil of choice and lay a single layer of the onions in the basket. Spritz the top of the onions with oil.

Air Crisp on 375℉/190℃ for about 7-10 minutes, tossing them to separate any that are sticking together after 5 minutes.

Remove from the basket and let cool on a cooling rack. It's important that you don't put them on a plate or they will steam on the bottom and become soggy.

Allow the onions to cool completely before bagging them up if you aren't using them on the same day.

How to Make the Ninja Foodi Green Bean Casserole

Step One:

Cut the ends off of the fresh green beans and place them in the inner pot. Slice the mushrooms and add them to the inner pot. I used baby portobello mushrooms, but you can use white button if you prefer.

Dice the onion into about ½" dice and add to the pot. Add the salt, pepper, and dried thyme leaves. I used dried thyme leaves in this recipe, if you wanted to use fresh, I would add 2-3 sprigs. If you have dried ground thyme, only use a pinch because a little goes a long way.

Step Two

Peel and smash a bulb of garlic. I know, I know... that's a TON of garlic! Of course you don't have to use all or even any garlic if you don't want, but a whole bulb works perfectly in this dish BECAUSE we only smash it AND we pressure cook it.

Minced garlic is VERY different from whole cloves that are just smashed and minced is much more powerful in flavor. I've used anywhere from 5-10 whole cloves that I smashed and the garlic flavor in the green bean casserole is subtle. I promise!

If you want to use minced garlic instead, I would use about 1 tsp.

Add the peeled and smashed garlic to the inner pot.

Next add the beef broth and sherry and stir. The sherry is optional, but it really gave a great flavor. I used the cooking sherry from the grocery store, so you don't need to get fancy. Unless of course you enjoy cooking with sherry and then you probably have a nice bottle already!

Place the rack in the high position in the Ninja Foodi. Move the stringbeans around if needed.

Step Three

Time to make the roux! Don't worry though, it's super easy and doesn't involve the stove at all.

Simply mix ¼ cup of butter and ¼ cup of flour together to form a paste. I do this right in the 6" Fat Daddio pan that I'll use to pressure cook the roux. You can use any pan that fits on the top of the rack as long it's pressure safe.

Put the pan on top of the rack (it needs to be 2" or less for the 6.5qt Ninja Foodi) and cover it with foil or these handy silicone covers.

Put the pressure lid on and pressure cook on high for ZERO minutes. Take the time down until it reads zero and press start. When the time is up, do an immediate release.

Step Four

Remove the pressure lid when the pin in the back drops and remove the covered pan from the rack. Remove the rack. Mix the flour/butter mixture so it is all combined and add to the inner pot.

Add ½ cup of heavy cream or half & half and stir. Turn the heat on low-medium and heat just for about a minute or two. Stir and you will see the sauce thicken.

When it is as thick as you want it to be, turn the Ninja Foodi off.

Either transfer the mixture to a casserole dish or simply top with the crispy onions and Air Crisp on 400℉/200℃ for 3-5 minutes.

Serve & Enjoy!

Be sure to check out these other fantastic Thanksgiving or Holiday Recipes by The Salted Pepper!