Green Bean Casserole Double Recipe (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.

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

That means they'll also cook pretty fast, which could easily morph into overcooking if you aren't careful. You'll find that fresh green beans are the least likely to turn out mushy, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to overcook them.

Canned green beans have already been cooked to an inch of their life. Expecting them to not be mushy after you've cooked them into a casserole is a fantasy. Start with fresh green beans, cook them until they are just tender and turn them into a casserole. If green beans aren't in season, use frozen.

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.

The casserole will thicken as it cools. If the casserole is notably soupy at the end of the 25 minutes, add in a cornstarch slurry before you top it with the remaining French onions.

How It Became a Holiday Staple. Green bean casserole was considered a perfect dish for holiday entertaining because it was simple, inexpensive, and could easily be made ahead of time. It became known as a "jiffy casserole" because it went from one bowl to one pan.

Stuffing, cornbread, and rice are also great options that will add some variety to your meal. If you're looking for something a little lighter, a shaved Brussels sprouts salad or roasted sweet potatoes might be just what you need. Another great option is to serve a protein alongside your green bean casserole.

Should a casserole be watery? ›

A casserole is an easy and delicious dish that's perfect for when you are craving something warm and hearty. But they can sometimes turn out too watery. One way to thicken it is putting flour on it in order to soak up the juices and fat in the pan. Or you can make roux.

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.) 7.

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.