Thanksgiving SOS: How To Fix Soupy Green Bean Casserole

Beth Ann Mayer
·3 min read
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There's no hard data on this, but "soupy" is probably the biggest complaint people have about green bean casserole. Sure, the ingredients usually include a can of cream of mushroom soup, but the ultimate texture should be rich and creamy instead of loose and watery.

"A soupy, thin casserole makes a mess on your Thanksgiving plate, tastes watered down and often will not support the crunchy topping," says Blair Lonergan, the founder of The Seasoned Mom.

The Rx for a soupy casserole? Thickening. "Thickening the sauce is important because it helps the casserole hold together," says Lauren Allen, the owner and creator of recipe website Tastes Better From Scratch and an Amazon best-selling cookbook by the same name. "Instead of being loose and watery, thickening it creates a creamy texture that coats the green beans, and it allows the other flavors to be more concentrated instead of diluted."

How do food influencers do it? We asked Instagram-famous foodies to share their top green bean casserole thickening tips with us to make sure we all have casseroles that taste as good as they look.

Related: My Chef-Husband Taught Me How to Make the Best Green Bean Casserole

The 3 Best Ways to Fix Soupy Green Bean Casserole

1. Grab the cornstarch

Chantelle Hartman Malarkey, a lifestyle blogger with more than 132K Instagram followers, says the creamier the sauce, the better the casserole. Thickening doesn't have to require much legwork or ingredients, though. If you're putting your recipe together and the sauce doesn't seem quite thick enough, you have some options.

"The easiest route is to get a separate bowl and mix a couple tablespoons of cornstarch with some water," Malarkey says. "Other routes would be adding more cream of mushroom soup."

2. Make a roux

Another thickening option is to make a roux, which is just a fancy name for a mix of fat (usually butter) and flour that does a great job of thickening sauces. Allen loves using it for green bean casserole. Here's how she does it:

  1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

  2. Sprinkle flour over the melted butter.

  3. Whisk constantly for 1-2 minutes.

  4. Cooking, whisking constantly until the roux thickens and turns slightly tan.

  5. Slowly whisk in some cream or milk. Stir until the sauce is smooth and thickened.

  6. Mix the sauce with the green beans (and any other ingredients, like sauteed mushrooms).

  7. Bake as usual.

3. Head to the stove

Your best bet is to thicken the green bean casserole filling before you put it in the oven. If that ship has sailed and you're left with a soupy casserole, Lonergan assures people that all hope is not lost.

"If you've already baked the casserole and it seems too runny," Lonergan says. "Then remove the onion topping as best you can."

Then, follow these Lonergan-backed instructions:

  1. Transfer the filling to a Dutch oven or large skillet on the stovetop.

  2. Heat the filling until it's at a gentle simmer. Make a "slurry" with either cornstarch or flour.

  3. Start making a slurry, a tool for thickening sauces, by whisking a small amount of cornstarch or flour with water or broth.

  4. Whisk until there aren't visible lumps. It should be thick but drizzly in consistency.

  5. As you constantly stir, add small amounts of the slurry to the filling. The filling will bubble on the stovetop.

  6. When the filling reaches the desired texture, transfer it back to the baking dish to finish off in the oven.

  7. Breathe.

Next up: Why Campbell's Green Bean Casserole is My Forever Favorite