Miso Is The Perfect Umami-Packed Ingredient To Elevate Green Bean Casserole

Secret ingredients are wonderful things. You don't actually have to taste them to have the dish they're in be better just for adding them. Would you be expecting to add a pinch of cinnamon to your next lasagne? Probably not! Will the sweetness of the tomato sauce be elevated as a result? Absolutely. The same goes for miso paste; it's not just for soup anymore. Try stirring a little shiro miso into the sauce of your next spruced-up green bean casserole. Not only will its sweetness complement those of the green beans and fried shallots, but it will also bring an umami complexity that will pull the whole dish together. 

You might have some miso paste in your refrigerator. If you don't, go ahead and buy some because miso paste lasts for a long time after opening, and is generally a great thing to have around. (Have you used it when making salmon? If so, you know. If not, trust us — it's a match made in heaven.) 

Introducing fermented Asian flavors into such an American dish happened a long time ago — actually, recipe developer Dorcas Reilly invented the dish for the Campbell's Soup Company's test kitchen. Reilly's Green Bean Bake not only featured the titular green beans and Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, it also incorporated soy sauce, an ancient and beloved condiment made from fermented soybeans, toasted wheat, salt brine, and Aspergillus oryzae mold. Reilly didn't just want to add saltiness to her invention; she also wanted an umami-inflected depth of flavor.

Miso paste is essentially soy sauce with less liquid. Soybeans are steamed, salted, and combined with the same Aspergillus mold. There are typically three types of miso available at the store: white (shiro), yellow (shinsu), and red/brown (aka). These vary in length of fermentation and intensity of flavor, with shiro miso being the sweetest and most mild of the three.

A good green bean casserole boasts a spectrum of flavors — from the earthy richness of its mushrooms to the sweetness inherent in cooked green beans, cream soup, and brown-fried shallots. Miso paste embodies all of these characteristics, bringing an umami enhancement without being obvious. Remember though, miso is also pretty salty, so be sure to reduce the amount of salt you'd normally add to the dish accordingly.

You'll want to add the miso paste into the sauce typically made from sautéed mushrooms, cream of mushroom soup, and stock. You won't need much — start with a tablespoon and see if that works. Because it's a paste, you'll want to mash the miso into the liquid with either a fork or whisk until it's fully incorporated. After this, you can continue with adding the blanched green beans, and pop the whole thing in the oven or slow cooker. We promise that your favorite green bean casserole recipe will have one more ingredient from here on out.