What You Can Do To Fix A Watery Green Bean Casserole
Green bean casserole is quite possibly one of the most popular side dishes during the holiday season. Its vegetable base, creamy consistency, and crunchy topping contain all of the elements for delicious texture and flavor. According to the Campbell's Company, the famous dish was created by Dorcas Reilly, a Campbell's Soup employee, in 1955, and she named it the Green Bean Bake. This casserole is most favored during Thanksgiving when its recipe is visited over four million times each year.
If you've ever cooked green bean casserole, you know its consistency should be thick and saucy, not thin and watery, as EatingWell points out. 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. When the veggies aren't cooked through, they will release water into the casserole during baking. This extra water results in a soggy, sad 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. The Kitchn recommends you slowly pour and mix the slurry into the vegetable blend on the stovetop. The extra thickening should thicken the sauce, and if the mixture is still runny, repeat the process. The site also reports that you should use 1 tbsp of corn starch if thickening a small portion and up to 4 tbsp of corn starch for large batches.
So, what happens when you remove the casserole from the oven, and it isn't cooked to crunchy perfection? If this occurs, EatingWell recommends you remove the onion topping, return the casserole to the stovetop, add more thickening slurry to the mix, and cook a few minutes longer until thicker. Then, add the onion topping and return the casserole to the oven until the topping becomes crisp and slightly toasted.
Green bean casserole is an affordable, delicious side dish enjoyed by millions every holiday season. There aren't any exotic ingredients or special techniques involved in cooking the casserole, which makes it a popular side dish option most any time of the year.