We Tested 4 Famous Green Bean Casserole Recipes and Found a Clear Winner (2024)

FAQs

Which is better in green bean casserole canned or frozen? ›

Green beans from a can have already been cooked to death right in the can and harbor plenty of sodium that could make your casserole too salty. 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.

Green bean casserole

These are all potential signs of Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that produces the dangerous botulism toxin.

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

Green Bean Casserole was created by a Campbell Soup Company employee, Dorcas Reilly, at our Camden, New Jersey headquarters in 1955. She was one of the first full-time members of Campbell's Home Economics department—now known as the Campbell Test Kitchen, where I work.

They don't have any added sodium, and they're also cooked a lot less. As a result, they come out of the oven with the perfect balance of flavor and texture. If you find your green bean casserole is turning out salty and mushy, those canned green beans might be to blame.

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.

Lectin is a protein which can be found in many types of beans, but it's most highly concentrated in kidney beans. Ingesting high doses of lectin can cause diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Lectin in kidney beans is so concentrated that some individuals can become sick after consuming just four or five beans.

According to the USDA, food that has been left out of the fridge for more than two hours should be thrown away. That's because between 40° F and 140° F (what the USDA calls the "Danger Zone"), bacteria grows incredibly fast and can make you sick.

Common bacterial blight affects bean foliage, pods, and seedlings. Early foliar symptoms are small, angular, light green, water-soaked or translucent spots. During warm and wet conditions, these lesions rapidly enlarge and merge.

What is a #5 can? ›

Let the casserole cool to room temperature. Wrap well with plastic wrap and foil, label and date, then freeze for up to 2 weeks. To serve, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Discard the plastic wrap and foil from the frozen casserole.

Macaroni and cheese is the oldest written casserole recipe found in 1250.

Popularity. It was originally marketed as an everyday side dish but became popular for Thanksgiving dinners in the 1960s after Campbell's placed the recipe on the can's label. The recipe popularized the combination of the soup with green beans.

Green Giant, the frozen and canned food brand, has shattered the Guinness World Record for largest green bean casserole. The massive dish weighed in at 1,009 pounds and was made with an estimated 1,069 cans of Green Giant green beans, 485 cans of mushroom soup, 65 quarts of milk, and 95 pounds of French onions.

“While there's no reason to be worried about using frozen or canned food, there's a preference for frozen because of the amount of added salt [in canned], and some canned fruits have added sugar,” says Hachem. Still, canning also can improve the safety of foods, particularly those prone to harbouring pathogens.

Frozen produce is blanched (cooked in hot water quickly) and that affects the nutritional value slightly. Canning requires a lot more processing. Aside from certain fruits like tomatoes and pumpkins, canned goods are likely to have less nutritional value than frozen.

Canned green beans are a little more nutrient dense than fresh green beans. Raw green beans have a Nutrivore Score of 605. Canned green beans including the liquid have a Nutrivore Score of 661. So eat whichever one you prefer!

In conclusion, frozen green beans are a convenient, nutritious, and versatile option for anyone looking to add more vegetables to their diet. They offer all the health benefits of fresh green beans without the hassle of preparation and spoilage.