Have you ever made a green bean casserole and unexpectedly, you had some leftovers? Handling leftover food can be worrisome at times when you do not know to how to properly store it. Your goal is to keep the leftover so it will remain best for consumption even after days or weeks.
Casserole made of green beans is one of the common dishes that can be prepared any time. It is also considered a traditional dish that most people like to prepare for events or gatherings because it is really easy to make and is very scrumptious. It is also a flexible dish which can go well when served with other dishes.
Can you keep green beans casserole frozen? Definitely. Freezing casserole is the best option to store it. You can opt to freeze it with or without its toppings. When you need to prepare it, it is also easy to reheat it.
Here is a walk-through on how to store green beans casserole and keep it frozen.
A Guide to Green Bean Casserole – How to Freeze It
Some families like to prepare green beans casserole for Thanksgiving. It has been a part of this celebration and also in other occasions because it is very versatile. You can serve it with your Thanksgiving turkey, with Mac ‘n cheese, mashed potatoes, or with Cranberry sauce.
Traditionally, it is made of green beans, fried onions, and cream of mushroom. Nowadays, the flavor has many variations depending on one’s taste and different ingredients can also be added.
Grated cheddar is used as the cheese toppings. Some recipe suggested milk to be added apart from the mushroom soup. You can also choose cream of celery or cream of chicken instead of mushroom. You can also concoct your own soup and choose your own recipe.
How Green Bean Casserole is Made
It is always important to know how the food is prepared to understand how it will be best kept. So, here is some information about making bean casserole. You can also follow the steps here to make your own casserole if you have not tried doing it before.
Here is the procedure in making the bean casserole and remember that you can tweak or be creative with your ingredients to suit your taste.
- Prepare cream of mushroom, milk, salt, pepper, fried onions, and green beans.
- Combine the soup and milk in a bowl, add your choice of seasonings and mix it well.
- Drain the green beans and place it in the casserole pan or dish.
- Pour the mixture of seasoned milk and soup on the green beans and mix it. You may add fried onions if you like but leave the onion toppings for later.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the bean casserole for about 25 minutes.
- Mix the cooked casserole and add the onion toppings. You may add cheese for toppings if you like.
- Bake the casserole for not more than 10 minutes.
If you plan on refrigerating the bean casserole or if you just prepared it in advance, do not put fried onions yet. Add onion toppings only when you are baking it and serving it right away.
Uses for Leftover Green Bean Casserole
Delicious dishes can be made from your green beans casserole. You can also add it to other dishes or make your own recipe to enjoy the leftovers.
We listed some ideas that you might want to try.
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Egg hash
- Soup
- Casserole Potpie
- Grilled cheese
- Cheese baked pasta
Your creativity with the dish to suit your taste or make a new recipe can make leftovers even better. We listed a few for your reference but you are always free to do what suits your taste to make your green bean casserole a dish to die for.
How to Freeze Green Bean Casserole
Once you know how the dish is prepared, it will be easier to plan how to store it. Green bean casserole can be stored following two different methods if you want to keep it frozen. You can choose which method works best for you.
- If you prepared the bean casserole in advance to keep it frozen, you can just reheat it in your oven right out of the freezer prior serving the dish.
- You prepared the casserole and had to keep the leftovers so it will stay best for consumption after a day or more.
Depending on these two situations, you can follow the proper way to store your bean casserole and we had it covered in this article to guide you.
Freezing Uncooked Green Bean Casserole
It is recommended and simple to just have the dish ready to be cooked. You can store it in your freezer with your choice of ingredients. You now have a ready dish which you can cook anytime you want. You can even cook it in your oven right after taking it out of your freezer.
Follow these steps to freeze your casserole before cooking it.
- You need to cook fresh green beans and let it cool down for a few minutes. Also prepare your casserole soup and mix it with the beans. For canned beans, just have it prepared in the baking pan and add your mixture without cooking it.
- Prepare your uncooked casserole mix in an oven pan which is also freezer friendly or in any oven-safe dish with lid. If it is still warm, always leave it to cool for a few minutes before doing the rest of the procedure.
- Seal the lid tightly or have the pan covered with a plastic food wrap.
- Use aluminum foil to cover the plastic food wrap to completely seal it in.
- Add label with dates on the packaged casserole to serve as your reminder.
- Keep the ready to cook bean casserole in your freezer for not more than 6 months.
When it is time to cook the casserole, simply take it out from your freezer. Remove the aluminum foil cover and the plastic food wrap before baking it.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the casserole for 40 to 50 minutes. You may bake it a few minutes as you prefer.
Freezing Cooked (Leftover) Green Bean Casserole
Storing ready to cook casserole is very much different from storing cooked casserole since it is susceptible to spoilage than uncooked ones.
Others do not suggest freezing casserole leftovers especially with onion toppings as it can become soggy, but you can still freeze it following some techniques.
Follow our easy steps:
- Leave the cooked bean casserole to cool down for a few minutes at room temperature.
- Carefully scape off or remove the fried onion toppings from the casserole.
- Wrap the casserole pan or tray with plastic food wrap and reinforce it with aluminum foil.
- Label the casserole package with date so you will be reminded of its shelf-life.
- Keep it stored in your freezer for not more than 6 months.
If you need to serve it, just take it out of the freezer and remove all its covers. Reheat it at 350 degrees F. You can fry new fresh onions for the toppings.
Related Questions
I hoped that this article has been helpful to you and here’s additional information for you.
What is used to make cream soup from scratch?
You can prepare home-made cream soup easily instead of buying canned soups and it will be much healthier. Prepare some mushrooms, butter, broth, milk, thick cream, and cornstarch. Follow the cookbook process in cooking the ingredients to make cream soup.
What is my green bean casserole runny?
When the milk added is more than what is needed in the recipe, the casserole can turn out runny or soupy. If this happens, you can add some flour or cornstarch to thicken it. Be sure to mix it well so the soup will not have little lumps.
What can you use as alternative to cream of mushroom?
Some people do not really like the taste of cream of mushroom, and so they find some alternative. If you are one of them, you can choose from cream of chicken or celery as a substitute. You can also prepare your own creamy soup without mushrooms.
What health benefits can I get from green beans?
Green beans are rich in vitamins A, C and K. It also contains Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Potassium, Phosphorus, and Folate. It is also a good source of fiber and protein. Its high chlorophyll content helps reduce the risk of having cancer. It also promotes bone health.
