One of the iconic quotes in the movie “Jurassic Park” comes from Jeff Goldblum’s character, Dr. Ian Malcolm.
“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could,” he says, “they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
That seemed to be the collective sentiment from family and friends this week when I told them what I was going to do with a bunch of leftover green beans I had in the fridge. Namely, I was going to make a hybrid green bean casserole/macaroni and cheese.
Well, the joke’s on them, because this was actually really good, and it was a fabulous way to use up my leftovers.
This recipe comes from the aptly named blog “This is not diet food.” You can find the original post at https://www.thisisnotdietfood.com/mac-and-cheese-green-bean-casserole/. I added a whole lot of extra ingredients and spices into my version below.
Green Bean Casserole Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 ounces macaroni noodles
- 10.5 ounce can condensed cheese soup
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons mustard powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 14.5- ounce cans green beans drained
- 8 ounces mozzarella freshly shredded
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar freshly shredded
- 6 ounces crispy fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a nine-by-13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray, and set it aside.
- Cook the macaroni according to the package directions, and drain it.
- While the pasta cooks, add the cheese soup and heavy cream into a large mixing bowl, and whisk to combine. Whisk in the garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, salt and pepper and minced garlic, as well.
- Next stir in the cooked pasta and green beans to coat everything in the sauce. Finally, stir in about 3/4 cup of each kind of cheese, and pour all of the mixture into your prepared pan, spreading it out.
- Sprinkle the rest of the cheese evenly over the top, and finish off with the crispy onions.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another five to 10 minutes or until the onions are browned and the cheese is melted to your liking.
- Let the casserole rest on the counter for about five minutes before serving.
If you wanted to make this ahead of time to pop in the oven later, I’d recommend keeping the crispy onions off until you’re ready to actually heat it. I ended up freezing half of my casserole, so I’ll be interested to see how it does when I reheat it.
This is a decadent, heavy dish. It’s perfect for a holiday get together, a potluck or any meal where you’re not going to be stuck with all the leftovers, because it is definitely not good for you, even though the flavor profile is nostalgic and a true comfort food.
So, at the end of the day, should you make a combination of two of the heaviest side dishes on the planet? Probably not. But you certainly can, it’s delicious and it won’t lead to rampaging dinosaurs, so why not?
This piece first appeared in print Nov. 27, 2025.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
