# Do you usually have green bean casserole at your Thanksgiving dinner? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885 "2015-11-28T23:12:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/101 "2015-12-01T02:02:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > As much as I don’t like green bean casserole, the one that really gets me, though, is that marshmallow-and-sweet potato thing some people do. Who thought of that? I’ve only once encountered that in the wild, and I just flat out don’t understand the appeal. I suspect that, like everything else, the sweet potatoes have gotten sweeter over the years. I love the gooyey goodness of melted marshmellows, but I’m thinking that sweet potatoes aren’t such a good match anymore. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/102 "2015-12-01T02:36:48Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I suspect that, like everything else, the sweet potatoes have gotten sweeter over the years. I love the gooyey goodness of melted marshmellows, but I’m thinking that sweet potatoes aren’t such a good match anymore. That would make more sense if we weren’t the ones making the sweet potatoes more sweet by adding more sugar. You’d think we’d put less in there. I mean, sweet potatoes just aren’t all that naturally sweet. They have the sweetness of carrots or maybe strawberries (though without the sour). ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/103 "2015-12-01T10:47:42Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That would make more sense if we weren’t the ones making the sweet potatoes more sweet by adding more sugar. You’d think we’d put less in there. > > I mean, sweet potatoes just aren’t all that naturally sweet. They have the sweetness of carrots or maybe strawberries (though without the sour). Hmmm. We never added suger to the SP (although we did add sugar to the carrots and honey to the pumpkin). But the SP I get in the stores here are not at all like the carrots I can buy. It’s like eating candy. And the carrots are still like carrots. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/104 "2015-12-01T16:10:30Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I dunno, I could describe stuffing as a sort of casserole, especially if you don’t actually cook it in the bird (as seems to be the current fashion). So yeah, maybe it’s just you. Hmmm… To me, a casserole is called a casserole, and if someone brought “stuffing casserole” that would, to me, mean it was stuffing plus something else to make it a casserole. But whatever. Apparently it’s just me. I certainly understand why casseroles work well for dinners with lots of people, especially pot luck type things. It’s jus that Thanksgiving is so… traditional, and casseroles seem so… 1950s. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/105 "2015-12-01T16:20:23Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The problem with green bean casserole is that the ingredients overwhelm the green beans. That’s the beauty of it. You don’t have to taste those nasty green beans. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/106 "2015-12-01T16:24:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It’s jus that Thanksgiving is so… traditional, and casseroles seem so… 1950s. You do realize the 1950’s were over 55 years ago right? So, I would think with that many years behind them casseroles would be ‘traditional’ by now. Beside, traditions were made to be broken and new ones created (or recreated). For instance, one of my cousins made cheesy hashbrowns a few years ago for Thanksgiving and now it has sort of become a tradition. One tradition that has unfortunately gone away is grandma’s baked beans. A couple people tried to make them after she died but it wasn’t the same. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/107 "2015-12-01T17:18:02Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Hmmm… To me, a casserole is called a casserole, and if someone brought “stuffing casserole” that would, to me, mean it was stuffing plus something else to make it a casserole. > > But whatever. Apparently it’s just me. I certainly understand why casseroles work well for dinners with lots of people, especially pot luck type things. It’s jus that Thanksgiving is so… traditional, and casseroles seem so… 1950s. To me, a casserole is a mixed-up dish cooked in the oven in a casserole dish. [https://www.google.com/search?q=casserole&oq=casserole&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.1847j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es\_sm=122&ie=UTF-8](https://www.google.com/search?q=casserole&oq=casserole&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.1847j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8) So if you cook stuffing in the oven in a casserole (and that’s what you generally do if you don’t cook it in the bird) it’s a sort of bread casserole. As others have said, the sweet potatoes, mac&cheese, green bean glop, and various other traditional Thanksgiving side dishes tend to be casseroles. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/108 "2015-12-01T17:21:22Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Hmmm. We never added suger to the SP (although we did add sugar to the carrots and honey to the pumpkin). But the SP I get in the stores here are not at all like the carrots I can buy. It’s like eating candy. And the carrots are still like carrots. Weird. The sweet potatoes I’ve had are just barely sweet. The cooked variety is about as sweet as cooked carrots. It is more sweet than pumpkin, though. Though I actually just realized that a significant part of the problem I have with sweet potatoes and marshmallow is the texture. I want my marshmallow paired with something hard. Two gloopy/gooey things together don’t work for me. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/109 "2015-12-01T18:24:31Z")
I like t but I’m not a huge fan. I’m the one tasked with making it every year and I use frozen frenched green beans and soy sauce. The soy sauce is the key to a good GBC. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/110 "2015-12-01T18:58:45Z")
I voted “yes, every year,” but I should clarify; in Minnesota we eat green bean hotdish. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/111 "2015-12-01T19:11:12Z")
Over here in South Dakota, we don’t really call it anything it just sort of shows up. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/112 "2015-12-04T05:10:41Z")
Sweet potatoes are one vegetable that is perfect exactly as it is. You don’t need to do anything for it but stick it in the oven. Just open it up when done and give it a pat of butter. It doesn’t get any better than that. Sweet potatoes already taste like candy. To add sugar to them is to ruin their simple perfection. But… baby marshmallows? Yeeech! _Why?_ ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/113 "2015-12-04T05:14:02Z")
Yup. A roast sweet potato, peeled, is a nice light meal by itself. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/114 "2015-12-04T09:59:16Z")
By some mischance, there was no GBC on the table at my family’s Thanksgiving potluck. My turkey-roasting brother told me they were fixed up with everything we’d need, and assigned me to bring rolls. **kaylasmom** had the sense to instruct me to inquire about ambrosia salad, so I made that as well as the rolls (and it was the hit of the side dishes), but it never occurred to either of us to check about GBC, an oversight that Will Not Be Repeated in three weeks. Honestly, you might just as well need to ask if someone would be bringing a turkey. Or so I used to believe. :smack: My GBC would bring the spark of recognition, and perhaps a tear of nostagia to the eye of James Lileks. All the ingredients come out of a can (with the exception of the slivered almonds, which I lovingly toast in an aluminum pie tin in the oven, in accordance with the technique handed down by my sainted mother). And with the exception of the crumbled crispy bacon bits, which I include only if my favorite niece will not be present. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/115 "2015-12-04T18:27:26Z")
Now that we have a vegetarian in the family, green bean casserole is an important link to the ‘old days’ when we were holiday carnivores. Green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie are the only ‘familiar’ items on the holiday table. We could still have had cranberries, but no one in my family likes them. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885/116 "2015-12-04T18:32:53Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > And with the exception of the crumbled crispy bacon bits, which I include only if my favorite niece will not be present. You, sir, are my new hero and role model. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-usually-have-green-bean-casserole-at-your-thanksgiving-dinner/738885.md?page=5)