Dorcas Reilly, who created green bean casserole, dies at 92
HADDONFIELD, N.J. — The woman who created a Thanksgiving staple enjoyed by millions — the green bean casserole — has died at age 92.
Dorcas Reilly died on Oct. 15 of Alzheimer's disease, said Ken Tomlinson of the Hinski-tomlinson Funeral Home in Haddonfield, New Jersey.
Campbell Soup officials said the New Jersey resident was the driving force behind the popular dish, made with green beans and cream of mushroom soup and topped with crunchy fried onions. The company said it is the most popular recipe ever to come out of its corporate kitchen. The recipe's website got 2.7 million visits during last year's holidays, the company said.
The original recipe card was donated to the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002.
"Dorcas was an incredible woman, whose legacy will live on for years to come. She will be missed by her Campbell colleagues and all those who were impacted by her creativity and generous spirit," the company said in a statement.
Reilly was a Campbell Soup kitchen supervisor in 1955 when she combined the ingredients of the now-legendary green bean casserole for an Associated Press feature.
In a 2005 AP interview marking the recipe's 50th anniversary, Reilly said she didn't remember having a hand in it because the dish was among hundreds that were created during her time at Campbell's. She also helped create a tomato soup meatloaf, a tuna noodle casserole and Sloppy Joe-like "souperburgers."
The recipe is still a fixture on soup-can labels and television commercials. And Reilly said she always kept the ingredients for the casserole on hand in her home — just in case someone asked her to whip one up.