How to Make Healthy and Fresh Green Bean Casserole?

Can green beans help you lose weight?

A one-cup serving of cooked green beans will give about 45 calories and 10 grams of carbohydrates.

With green beans, you are getting a lighter and lower calorie food, as well as one with a amazing crunchy although soft texture; yet you are still getting some of the important nutrient benefits that are usually associated with legumes.

What are the health benefits of green beans?

How good are green beans for you? Green Beans are an ideal food to add to your healthy diet because they are high in nutrients and low in calories.

Green beans have been proven to contain valuable amounts of the mineral silicon, and in a form that makes it easier for us to absorb this bone-supportive and connective tissue supportive nutrient. 

They are a concentrated source of vitamin K, which is necessary for bone mineralization, and also of vitamins A and C, which give powerful antioxidant protection and decrease the number of free radicals in the body. 

Scientific studies have confirmed the presence of beta-carotene, lutein, neoxanthin, and violaxanthin in green beans, which provide anti-inflammatory properties. The presence of these carotenoids in green beans is comparable to their presence in other carotenoid-rich vegetables like carrots and tomatoes. 

Green beans also contain folate, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, magnesium, and potassium.

Green Bean Casserole with Fresh Beans Recipe

(With sour cream, Ritz crackers and cheese)

How do you make green bean casserole? It is easy. You wouldn't know it from the name, but the green bean casserole is a favorite American classic dish. 

“Classic green bean casserole” is a classic only since 1955 when it was invented in the test kitchen of the Campbell Soup Company in Camden, New Jersey. The dish has its roots in the cooking of northern Europe, as it is rich and strikingly satisfying. 

There are literally hundreds of recipe versions posted on the Internet and they are quite definite in calling for frozen green beans, cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup, Durkee French Fried Onions, and corn flakes or Ritz crackers for the topping. 

This is a modern version this recipe so you can purchase fresh crisp green beans that snap at the farmers market and make a truly delicious casserole that your family will love and ask for again. If you want the classic and original “Campbell Green Bean Casserole Recipe” please scroll down below.

Water chestnuts, corn kernels, condensed cream of mushroom soup, and ground beef are all popular add-ons to green bean casserole, but bacon is the only meat you should consider in order to give the green beans a perfect delicious taste. 

You can also use cream cheese instead of, or in addition to, the Swiss cheese. 


Makes 6 servings

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 tablespoon if using Ritz crackers for the topping), melted

Salt
2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
6 slices bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups sour cream or crème fraîche
1/2 pound Swiss cheese, shredded

1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs or 1 roll Ritz crackers (1/4 pound), crumbled
(This amount can be made from crumbling one 1/2-inch-thick slice of 51/4 x 3-inch French or Italian bread in a food processor.)


COOKING DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 12 x 9 x 2-inch baking casserole with 1 tablespoon of butter.

2) Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, salt lightly, and then blanch the green beans by cooking them in the boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove the beans with a skimmer, and let the water continue to boil while you rinse the beans under cold water in a colander. 

3) Once the water is boiling vigorously again, return the green beans and cook until tender but with a slight crunch, about 6 minutes. Drain and immediately run the beans under cold water in a colander to stop them from cooking. Place the green beans in a large bowl.

4) In a skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy, about 15 minutes, then crumble the bacon once it is cool enough to handle. Add the crumbled bacon to the green beans. Discard all but 3 tablespoons of bacon fat, and then add the onion to the skillet over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Transfer the onion to the bowl with the beans. Season with salt and pepper and toss well.

5) This is a “cheesy green bean casserole recipe”. In a bowl, stir together the sour cream or crème fraîche and the Swiss cheese. Transfer to the bowl with the beans and fold together.

6) Transfer the green bean mixture to the prepared baking casserole, spreading it evenly. If using bread crumbs, toss them first with the remaining 1 tablespoon of melted butter. 

7) Sprinkle the buttered bread crumbs or the Ritz crackers over the top of the casserole. Bake until golden brown on top, about 25 minutes. Serve hot.

7 QUICK TIPS: What is the Best Way to Prepare Green Beans?

1) How do you make green beans taste good? Proper cleaning and cutting Green Beans help to guarantee that the green beans you serve will have the best flavor and retain the greatest number of nutrients. Just prior to using the green beans, wash them under running water.

2) How to clean green beans? Rinse well in a colander under running water after cutting off ends. To preserve nutrients, do not soak green beans or their water-soluble nutrients will leach into the water.

3) How to cut green beans? Most Green Beans no longer have strings; therefore, you do not have to snap off the ends of each bean individually to remove the string. 

You can line up a cluster of beans so that they are parallel to one another with all tips facing in one direction and tails facing in the other. Trim the stem ends, leaving the tails intact unless they have browned or are dry. 

Leave beans whole or cut them into pieces on a diagonal. Alternatively, you can use kitchen shears to trim the stem ends and cut the beans into pieces.

4) If you are buying green beans in season and as fresh as possible, you don’t need to tail the beans. Just trim the stem ends. Snap beans (string beans) are called because you can snap them into halves or pieces when fresh.

5) If you don't have fresh green beans available on a year-round basis, buying frozen green beans can definitely provide you with a nutritionally valuable option.

6) You should rinse canned beans before use. For the best source of nutrients and lowest sodium, choose fresh or frozen greens beans for cooking.

7) How to Store Green Beans? - Best Way to Store Vegetables in Fridge

What is the difference between a string bean and green bean?

Snap beans, green beans, or string bean no matter which name you like better, they are one and the same. Green snap beans are categorized into two different groups, bush or pole beans, based on growth characteristics. Green beans also snap when broken to indicate turgor and freshness of the bean.

ORIGINAL (1955) Campbell Soup Green Bean Casserole Recipe

This is the classic and original Campbell's green bean casserole recipe. This recipe is originally called “Green Bean Bake”. The recipe was created in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly, former manager of the Campbell Kitchens.

Campbell Green Bean Casserole is a dinner favorite of creamy and saucy green beans.

This easy recipe coats green beans with a saucy combination of Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup and a splash of soy sauce. The green beans are then smothered or topped with crunchy French Fried onions for the perfect and yummy finish.

Why has it become a classic? “Campbell Green Bean Casserole” has become a worldwide dinner favorite and American holiday tradition because it’s convenient, attractive, and quite easy to transport to a potluck dinner or party.

You can customize or hack it to perfectly suit your family’s needs. The options are only limited by your imagination, and, any way you modify it, it’s certain to become your family’s favorite.

You can substitute Campbell’s Condensed Golden Mushroom or Campbell’s 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup in lieu of regular Cream of Mushroom.


Preparation Time: 10 minutes 
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves 6 awesome persons

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE INGREDIENTS:

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) CAMPBELL’S Cream of Mushroom or 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. soy sauce
Dash pepper
4 cups cooked cut green beans
1 -1/3 cups French’s® French Fried Onions


COOKING DIRECTIONS:

1) MIX soup, milk, soy, pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in 1 1/2-qt. casserole.

2) BAKE at 3500F for 25 minutes or until hot.

3) STIR. Sprinkle with remaining onions. Bake 5 min. Serves 6.


QUICK COOKING TIP: Use 1 bag (16 to 20 oz.) frozen green beans, 2 pkg. (9 oz. each) frozen green beans, 2 cans (about 16 oz. each) green beans or about 1 1/2 llb. Fresh green beans for this recipe.



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REFERENCES:

Campbell Soup Company. 1968. Cooking With Soup (Cooking With Soup: A Campbell Cookbook Series) Rev. ed. Edition. Campbell Soup Company. ASIN: B000FVI9DE

Cara Mangini. 2016. The Vegetable Butcher: How to Select, Prep, Slice, Dice, and Masterfully Cook Vegetables from Artichokes to Zucchini. Workman Publishing Company. ISBN-13: 978-0761180524

Clifford A. Wright. 2008. Bake Until Bubbly: The Ultimate Casserole Cookbook. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN-10: 0471754471

George Mateljan. 2015. World's Healthiest Foods, 2nd Edition: The Force For Change To Health-Promoting Foods and New Nutrient-Rich Cooking, Second edition. GMF Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-0976918516