Who created the green bean casserole recipe in 1955?

Dorcas Reilly created the green bean casserole recipe in 1955 while working in Campbell Soup Company’s home economics department.

Reilly developed the dish in Campbell’s test kitchen in Camden, New Jersey. The assignment called for a quick recipe using ingredients many American households already had, including green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup, and milk. Crisp fried onions supplied the contrasting topping.

The original recipe was first called “Green Bean Bake,” rather than green bean casserole. Campbell’s later printed it on soup-can labels, helping the dish become a familiar Thanksgiving side in the 1960s. Its popularity was tied both to convenience-food cooking and to the growth of casserole-style family meals.

A common mix-up is crediting Campbell’s as the sole creator. The company promoted and commercialized the dish, but Reilly is recognized as the recipe’s creator. In 2002, she and Campbell’s donated the original recipe card to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.