Easy & Tasty Gluten Free Green Bean Casserole Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my green bean casserole bland? ›

The Casserole Is Bland

Another one of the most common green bean casserole mistakes is to choose a recipe that's a bit too simple, which can result in a bland dish.

Now, canned fried onions and cream of mushroom soup have a lock on traditional Green Bean Casserole, but neither are typically gluten free. Problem solved with this re-imagined, gluten free Thanksgiving side dish recipe with major flavor thanks to…

"Canned green beans are very soft and delicate," Malarkey says. "They tend to mush up while mixing, and I like a little crunch to my green bean casserole." The other two pros we spoke with agreed. When presented with the choice of fresh or frozen green beans for green bean casserole, frozen came out on top.

Mistake No.

Green bean casserole should have a nice thick sauce that coats the green beans—it should not resemble soup. One common cause of a watery casserole is not adding enough thickener, such as flour or cornstarch, to your sauce.

Casseroles can really shine when they achieve a harmonious balance of flavors. Sweet, salty, spicy, and acidic elements should blend well and complement each other. Add ingredients like caramelized onions, olives, or lemon zest to give your casserole a depth of flavor.

Try different herbs for added flavour: sage or lemon thyme work wonderfully well. For a meatier casserole, add chopped sausage or pancetta when cooking the chicken. Stir wholegrain mustard through the casserole at the end of cooking (to taste); this is especially good if you have sausage in the casserole.

Some baked beans do contain gluten—a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. The beans themselves should be gluten-free (assuming no gluten cross-contamination in processing). 1 However, some baked bean recipes may include gluten-containing ingredients, such as Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke flavoring.

Vegetables – All vegetables are naturally gluten free. You can eat a wide variety to get the vitamins and minerals you need. A few examples are zucchini, green beans, peas, lettuce, carrots, eggplant, peppers, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, and potatoes. Fruits – All fruits are also naturally gluten-free.

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.

How to thicken up green bean casserole? ›

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.

Overcooking the beans won't just drain them of their appealing color, but it will also make them too soft and mushy, resulting in a less appetizing casserole.

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

Toss drained/rinsed/dried beans with a bit of olive oil (or avocado oil) and your favorite seasonings. You can add crushed whole seeds (coriander, cumin, fennel, mustard, etc.), woodsy herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage), red pepper flakes, crushed garlic cloves, and of course salt and pepper.

Fresh herbs or citrus zest can also punch up flavors with a bit of welcome brightness for a long-cooked dish, as can adding some heat in the form of a dash of hot sauce, a generous pinch of minced or sliced fresh chili pepper, or a shake of red pepper flakes.