The Best Green Bean Casserole Recipes to Grace Your Thanksgiving Dinner Table (2024)

FAQs

Which is better, frozen or canned green beans for green bean casserole? ›

Frozen French-cut green beans are a better option. They hold their texture better than canned, and you can cook them straight from their frozen state. And if you're using fresh green beans? You'll need to cook them first by roasting, steaming or boiling them.

Green bean casserole was considered a perfect dish for holiday entertaining because it was simple, inexpensive, and could easily be made ahead of time.

You can make this green bean casserole from scratch up to 2 days before Thanksgiving. Just before you serve dinner, finish the casserole with a topping of French fried onions and almonds, then simply bake until reheated and golden.

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

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. That'll give it that rich, dense consistency you're looking for.

Add green beans, onion salt, garlic salt, garlic powder, and black pepper to skillet. Cook and stir until desired tenderness is reached, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy!

As canned beans are pre-cooked, it can make it easier to overcook them in your casserole which may impact the flavor, and they're more likely to lose their fresh coloring and turn a less appealing shade of gray-green.

A good rule of thumb is to use about 1 cup of fresh green beans per person. This will ensure you have enough for a satisfying side dish. Tips: Look for fresh green beans that are bright in color and snap easily when bent.

As with most food ,it is recommended not to leave your creamy green bean casserole out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.

How many days is green bean casserole good for? ›

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.

Sure is. You can even lighten the Thanksgiving Day workload by making each of the components (beans, mushroom sauce, and fried onions) ahead of time, store them separately, then assemble and bake the final dish just before dinner.

Pork chops – Pork and green beans go perfectly together! Grilled chicken or chicken tenders – Serve green bean casserole with chicken of any variety. Fish and seafood – This filling side dish tastes perfectly when paired with cooked salmon, shrimp, scallops or any type of succulent fish.

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.

Ingredient: 2 pounds (~8 cups) fresh green beans, trimmed, and cooked.

Frozen vs. Canned: In general, frozen vegetables are better than canned. Fresh vegetables are blanched before freezing, and they do lose some nutrients but not a lot. Produce frozen right at its peak has more nutrients than produce that is picked too early, held, and shipped for thousands of miles.

Freezing Green Beans This one is totally your personal preference. Some folks prefer the taste and texture of canned beans, while others prefer frozen ones.

Now that I'm the one making green bean casserole, I skip the canned beans all together and opt for frozen instead. Frozen green beans are cut, blanched, and flash-frozen to preserve their peak-season flavor.

For that reason, most of the BHG's test kitchen recipes call for draining and rinsing canned beans, which can also help remove the metallic flavor sometimes found in cans. It's an added step that takes less than a minute but improves the flavor and texture of your dish.