Creamy green bean casserole has become a frequent guest, particularly during Thanksgiving, on many family tables since hitting the public in the 1950s. Like many dishes based on prepared foods, green bean casserole couches a healthy vegetable among not-so-healthy ingredients. Even if it's a family favorite, you're better off relegating green bean casserole to Thanksgiving dinner duty and sticking with plain green beans the rest of the year.
Identification
You'll find many versions of green bean casserole, but most stem from the original developed by the Campbell Soup Co. home economics department in 1955. Like many quick-preparation casseroles of the era, it uses only five main ingredients: green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup, French-fried onions, milk and soy sauce. The cook simply mixes those ingredients and bakes them in the oven. Campbell's recipe also suggests adding flourishes such as chopped peppers or cheddar cheese.
Nutrition
The bulk of the nutrition in green bean casserole comes from the green beans themselves. The George Mateljan Foundation lists green beans as excellent sources of vitamins K and C as well as manganese and very good sources of dietary fiber, potassium, vitamin A, folate and iron. The small amount of milk adds a few extra vitamins and nutrients--vitamin D and calcium, largely--but the other ingredients add mostly fat and sodium and little else in the way of nutrition.
Warning
Cream of mushroom soup's contents vary by brands, but generally, each half cup of canned soup adds 870 mg of sodium and 6 g of fat to your casserole. Every 2 tbsp. of French-fried onions adds another 3.5 g of fat and 60 mg of sodium. The single teaspoon of soy sauce in the recipe contains more than 300 mg of sodium, according to the Mayo Clinic. Mix those servings together, and a heaping helping of green bean casserole provides almost 10 g of fat and more than 1,000 mg of sodium. Most adults should limit their sodium to under 1,500 mg per day, and a serving of green bean casserole alone can push you near that threshold.
Benefits
Getting more green beans in your diet will provide some health benefits, according to the George Mateljan Foundation. Vitamin K helps maintain strong bones, vitamin C and folate help prevent colon cancer, and iron gives you an energy boost. Green beans' magnesium and potassium help lower blood pressure, though the high sodium content in the casserole will offset that. Of course, you'll get these same benefits without the fat and salt by eating plain green beans.
Considerations
If your Thanksgiving table wouldn't be the same without green bean casserole, you can take steps in preparation to reduce its fat and sodium. Using low-sodium, low-fat soup and low-fat milk will significantly cut its fat and sodium content, though keep in mind that "reduced sodium" soups can still be high in sodium. If you use canned green beans, rinsing them first will further reduce the sodium content. You also could look for recipes that don't rely on prepared foods. EatingWell, for example, has developed a recipe using a sauce made from low-fat milk, fresh mushrooms, dry sherry, reduced-fat sour cream and buttermilk powder in lieu of canned soup.
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