Green Bean Casserole (From Scratch) (2024)

FAQs

Should green bean casserole be soupy before cooking? ›

Green Bean Casserole from Scratch FAQs

Cover and freeze until you are ready to bake. You can bake start from frozen without adding the onions until the casserole has already baked for about 20 minutes. Should green bean casserole be soupy? No, your green bean casserole should not be soupy.

Mistake #5: A Runny Casserole

If you don't, the excess water from the beans can leak out into the casserole and make it thin and runny. If you sense it's a little watery, "add a thickener like roux or starch to absorb the additional liquid or cook a little longer," she says.

When I make green bean casserole, I skip canned beans all together. Frozen green beans are the best green beans to use for green bean casserole.

Add a thickener

While your green bean casserole is on the stove, incorporate a thickener into the vegetables, such as cornstarch or flour. According to The Kitchn, you can combine cornstarch and a small amount of water or broth in a cup and stir until the lumps are gone, and it becomes a thick yet drizzly consistency.

Overcooking the beans won't just drain them of their appealing color, but it will also make them too soft and mushy, resulting in a less appetizing casserole.

The Casserole Is Too Soupy

If you used frozen green beans, but didn't fully defrost and drain them prior to adding them to the casserole, that mistake will surely account for the excess water you're now experiencing.

Green bean casserole should have a nice thick sauce that coats the green beans—it should not resemble soup. One common cause of a watery casserole is not adding enough thickener, such as flour or cornstarch, to your sauce.

✿ 4 cups of green beans is about 1½ pounds fresh or 16 ounces frozen or 2 cans (15 ounces each) drained.

Fans love the dish in part because of how simple it is to throw together. It calls for ingredients that could be found in a typical home kitchen pantry: canned or fresh green beans, mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce and black pepper.

Green Bean Casseroles are served at 20 million Thanksgiving dinners every year.

Can I eat week old green bean casserole? ›

Green Bean Casserole Leftovers

Your creamy green bean casserole will last about four days in the fridge. The crunchy topping will get softer as time goes by; pop it into the oven to reheat to crisp it up a bit. While casseroles have a reputation for being freezer-friendly, green bean casseroles don't freeze so well.

Instacart conducted a survey with The Harris Poll and found that a majority of Americans, 69%, secretly dislike some classic Thanksgiving food but eat it anyway because of tradition. The top offenders were: Canned cranberry sauce (29%) Green bean casserole (24%)

Stored properly, your leftover green bean casserole will last 3-4 days in the fridge. Freezing: Wrap your green bean casserole tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil, freezer wrap or transfer to an airtight container and keep in the freezer for 6 months.

To prevent a soupy casserole, be sure to fully thaw any frozen vegetables in a colander over a bowl, and pat dry, squeeze excess moisture out of greens like spinach or chard, and quickly precook watery fresh vegetables like onions, mushrooms or squashes just until they release their moisture.

There should still be liquid in the pan, but it should not be soupy. Beans absorb liquid on standing. (Total baking time is 4 to 5 hours.)

It's normal that even after the baked beans are supposed to be done cooking, they will continue to absorb some liquid. After letting them sit for a few minutes, it's likely they won't turn out as watery as you might fear.

The longer you simmer and reduce the beans, the more the sauce will thicken. If you don't cook the beans long enough, the sauce will stay loose and runny, according to Home Cook World.