Reba McEntire’s Favorite Thanksgiving Side Gets People Fired Up Every Single Year
The Voice Coach and Happy's Place star learned the "classic" recipe in home economics class.
From tater tots to beer cheese and sweet potato casserole, Reba McEntire knows how to cook. And that’s no surprise, considering the Happy’s Place star and Coach on The Voice Season 26 owns a restaurant in Oklahoma. So even if her favorite Thanksgiving side dish is a little polarizing, there’s no doubt it’s delicious.
McEntire shares several of her favorite recipes in her 2023 book, Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots, including “Cowgirl Baked Beans,” “Lucchese's Pork Tenderloin,” and a Thanksgiving side she learned in the ‘70s.
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“When I have friends over to my house, I like to make sure they feel taken care of and never leave with an empty stomach,” she writes at the beginning, adding that some of the recipes are her own while others are “some of my favorites from family and friends.”
Reba McEntire learned a “classic” Thanksgiving recipe in home economics class
McEntire reveals in her book that “Susie’s Green Bean Surprise,” a variation of green bean casserole, was always requested at her family’s Thanksgiving dinners when she was young.
“I had to include this classic,” she writes, per Wide Open Country. “It’s Susie’s recipe from home economics class from the ‘70s. Talk about a blast from the past! It was the No. 1-requested vegetable at Thanksgiving when we were growing up!”
The recipe calls for canned whole green beans, butter, onion, flour, lots of shredded parmesan or cheddar, and a whole tub of sour cream, so you know it’s decadent.
McEntire’s take on green bean casserole is definitely creamy and crispy, and it’s certainly different from the traditional Campbell’s recipe that calls for fried onions and cream of mushroom soup.
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You can find the full recipe for McEntire’s “Susie’s Green Bean Surprise” in her book. It’s simple and straightforward, but as the Queen of Country writes, “If you mess up, there’s always Sonic.”
Reba McEntire’s favorite Thanksgiving vegetable sparks debates every year
Folks have strong opinions about Thanksgiving side dishes, and McEntire’s favorite is definitely one of them. A 2023 poll conducted by Tastes Better from Scratch found that 35% of participants said green bean casserole is their least favorite holiday side dish, with sweet potato casserole following just behind it. In 2024, yet another survey by Instacart and the Harris Poll found that people think green bean casserole is among some of the worst Thanksgiving dishes.
Indeed, you can often find green bean casserole, along with cranberry sauce, on a list of most disliked Thanksgiving sides. But it’s a classic for a reason. Snoop Dogg’s bestie Martha Stewart has a “lighter” recipe for it, as does Alton Brown and, of course, Betty Crocker.
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Whether it’s a Thanksgiving centerpiece of “yard clippings” or her “Tater Tot” Rex Linn, McEntire is grateful for many things. And like millions of others on Thanksgiving morning, McEntire has tuned in to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, watching in awe as Radio City Rockettes put on a dazzling performance. And McEntire has one tiny request: “Can I be an honorary #rockette?” she wrote on X. “I don’t know about the high kick, but I’ve got the dress!!!”
