What is the actual green bean casserole serving size that most people take at Thanksgiving? It depends, but I'm here to answer that with a bunch of visual representations.
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Green bean casserole serving size: the basics
To start, let's cover the basics. Almost every recipe for green bean casserole uses 2 pounds of green beans in a 9x13 dish and serves 8-12, without leftovers.
This is a 9x13 casserole dish, showing what 8 servings of green bean casserole would look. That individual portion is really dependent on each guest at your Thanksgiving dinner.
- Small children and seniors eat a lot less
- Hungry teens and young adults can eat a lot more
- How many people consider this their favorite dish? They'll eat more if it's their favorite
- How many other sides do you have? The more sides, the less of each one people take (because they want to try them ALL!)
Even when considering all of that, it can be hard to know how much green bean casserole to make. Let's see what actual serving sizes might look like - and when in doubt, make extra if you like leftovers!
Serving size: by weight
Let's say you make a regular recipe that uses 2 pounds of green beans. That's 32 ounces of green beans, before they are trimmed. You lose about 3-4 ounces per pound of green beans from trimming. (That's 6-8 ounces for a 2-pound batch).
That brings the casserole down to about 25 ounces of green beans. Let's divide that up based on number of servings:
- For 12 servings: 2 ounces of green beans per person
- For 10 servings: 2.5 ounces per person
- For 8 servings: 3 ounces per person
- For 6 servings: 4 ounces per person
To put that in perspective, the suggested serving size of green beans is 3.5 ounces for a regular dinner (not in a casserole).
Serving size: by portion
Another way to look at the problem, visually, is to take your empty 9x13 dish and divide it into 6, 8, 10, and 12 portions. Grab your serving spoon - how big of a scoop do you think people will take?
This helps me estimate the actual green bean serving size people will take. And if you want to be really thorough, scoop something of a similar portion size onto the dinner plates you'll be using for Thanksgiving. How much of the plate does it take up?
How many other sides will fit on the plate? How big of a serving of green bean casserole will fit on the plate next to turkey, a large (?) serving of mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, and cranberry sauce.
Will there be side plates to accommodate the cranberry sauce and/or rolls? If so, that opens up more space on the plate (which people tend to fill to its fullest).
Leftovers
Next up: do you plan of having leftovers? If so, are you sending those home with guests or keeping them for yourself? A controversial question, I know! I try not to get in the middle of it.
So you know what I do? I make extra of my (favorite) dishes ahead of time, and keep them in the fridge. I don't take them out (if I'm hosting) and I don't bring them (if I'm a guest).
That way, whatever is left out at the end of dinner is free for the taking! I can let guests divvy it all up without worrying about saving a serving of each side dish for me. Meanwhile, I have several, giant-sized green bean casserole servings tucked away in my fridge.
Not the most popular side dish
Green bean casserole isn't the national favorite (although it's at the top of my list)!
When large magazines (like Food & Wine) or companies (like Campbell's) take polls, stuffing and mashed potatoes are always at the top. Green bean casserole hovers around the 5th spot.
Although I'd like to think if people were eating a green bean casserole made entirely from scratch it would be a different story (right? right?!).
Considering most Thanksgiving feasts have 4-7 side dishes, 5th place isn't looking so good! (More for me, I guess!)
- Most popular side dishes for Thanksgiving 2024 (Statistica)
- Campbell's State of the Sides 2024 (a fun report by state with other interesting trends)
- Favorite side dish according to a Reddit poll
All of this is to say, if you have stuffing and mashed potatoes (and those don't run out), you can probably expect guests to eat a regular-sized serving of green bean casserole.
Green bean casserole recipe
Every year, I make a green bean casserole with fresh green beans. Everything is made from scratch including the mushrooms sauce and fried shallots (to replace French's fried onions).
It takes a lot of effort, not gonna lie! So I do two things. First, I have a make-ahead green bean casserole version - it's the same recipe, but with make-ahead directions.
The mushrooms sauce can either be made 3 days ahead and stored in the fridge, or 3 months ahead and stored in the freezer. The fried onions can be made several months in advanced (if you manage to not eat them all!) and stored on the counter in an airtight container.
Second, I made a double batch of the sauce and fried onions well in advance. I use some of it for a green bean casserole right away, while green beans are still in my garden. Then at Thanksgiving, I use a small portion of it to make a small side dish for myself, post-Thanksgiving, as well as the full-size casserole for Turkey Day!
Thanksgiving recipes
I also make a quadruple batch of cranberry pear sauce every year. I love eating it as a late night snack. It freezes so well, I put a quart in the freezer to use in the middle of winter when I'm bored and looking for something fun.
You can also check out my Thanksgiving menu that includes some of my favorite recipes from other bloggers, and some of them are make-ahead as well.
If you're wondering what else is currently in season, check out my calendars to see what produce is in season each month (and coming up soon).
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