Easy Green Bean Casserole Recipe (2025)

FAQs

How do you make green bean casserole not watery? ›

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.

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.

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

Start making a slurry, a tool for thickening sauces, by whisking a small amount of cornstarch or flour with water or broth. Whisk until there aren't visible lumps. It should be thick but drizzly in consistency. As you constantly stir, add small amounts of the slurry to the filling.

Make a cornstarch slurry for a fast and easy thickener.

A few minutes before your casserole is done, add it a little at a time until you are happy with the thickness. Then, let the casserole finish baking. You can also substitute chickpea flour for cornstarch. Chickpea flour is an excellent thickener for savory dishes.

One common cause of a wet, soupy casserole is undercooking the vegetable ingredients on the stovetop. When you choose to use fresh green beans, onion, and mushrooms instead of canned, cook the veggies well before tossing them into the oven.

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.

Del Monte Cut Green Italian Beans

These Del Monte Italian beans are perfect for that preparation. They lean salty and they have a nice texture that can hold up to some simmering. If your recipe happens to call for Italian green beans, these are the best canned green beans.

If your beans have a few brown spots, they are OK to consume. Just cut off the brown areas before cooking and eating. Just know that these slightly past-their-prime beans may not have the flavor, texture, or nutritional benefits of perfectly fresh beans.

Can you freeze green bean casserole? ›

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.

But if you ever end up with a watery green bean casserole, create a cornstarch slurry and mix it in until the sauce thickens up.

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.

Ingredients. The recipe, which has not changed, calls for green beans, mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce, ground black pepper, and french fried onions.

You might not realise it, but those perfectly ripe, bursting-with-moisture-veggies that you're tossing into your casserole are most likely the culprits when it comes to a watery bake, which is why it's important to heed the recipe when it comes to prepping your vegetables and cooling your finished product.

Add a thickening agent.

In a separate bowl, dissolve a teaspoon or two of cornstarch or all-purpose flour in a small amount of cold water. Add the slurry to the bubbling soup. The soup should thicken up. Add more cornstarch or flour as needed until the soup reaches your desired consistency.

Use starches to thicken beans

A cornstarch slurry is used to thicken almost any kind of sauce and it only takes a few seconds to make, per Baking Kneads. Simply add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to 1 cup of water or to the liquid from the baked beans (scoop it out into a separate bowl and let it cool first) and mix.