Vegan Green Bean Casserole {Low Carb Option}

Making green bean casserole vegan and with real food is easy! Make this recipe with a dairy free condensed mushroom soup and gluten free fried onions or shallots. You can either make it on the stove top, or bake it in the oven for a crispy topping. Either way, it’s delicious and it is the perfect vegan casserole recipe for the holidays! Lower carb and whole 30 options included. 

Alright my friends, this thanksgiving recipe was a reader request for the upcoming holidays. And I promise it’s easy, no weird ingredients either!

Converting classic holiday side dish recipes for a dairy free or vegan diet

Some of you may have grown up eating dairy products, while others of you have been vegan for as far back as you can remember. If you fit into the first category, you may have fond memories of family Thanksgiving dinners.

More specifically, you may remember the creamy green bean casserole. You know, the one with canned green beans, condensed cream of mushroom soup, and lots of crispy fried onions on top. That casserole is a classic holiday side dish must-make, just like the mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin pie, right?

Well, there’s no reason you need to pass on those classic sides, because I have recipes for dairy free and vegan side dishes that taste just as good (if not better!) than the originals!

If mashed potatoes were your favorite back then, now you can enjoy vegan mashed potatoes, made with white beans. Or, instead of the traditional pies for dessert, make my recipe for no-bake chocolate pecan pie bites. They’re just as tasty as the pie, but without the dairy!

And of course, my new favorite vegan casserole recipe…

Vegan green bean casserole

The inspiration for this incredible holiday side dish comes from one of the five ingredient casserole recipes from Food52.  And you won’t believe it’s vegan!

INGREDIENT NOTES

• Cream of mushroom soup – I’ll show you how to make this using a condensed version of my vegan mushroom soup as the sauce. All you need are non dairy milk or coconut cream, mushrooms, spices, and a thickener. To make things even easier, all of these ingredients are easy to find at almost every grocery store.
• Green beans – Frozen or canned green beans can be substituted, you just want to make sure the frozen or canned green beans are thawed and lightly steamed al dente. Be careful not to overcook them, though; otherwise, the casserole will be too mushy.

• Slurry – To thicken the mushroom sauce, you’ll make a slurry of equal parts arrowroot starch and water or non-dairy milk.
• Shallots – Although you can use gluten free fried onions for the top of the casserole, my preference is to make crispy fried shallots. This gives the dairy free green bean casserole a crispy topping, but with a milder flavor. Plus, it’s a good option for anyone who may be sensitive to onions.

How to make this vegan casserole recipe

TWO COOKING METHODS

You can make this side dish from start to finish in an oven-safe skillet on the stove top, or transfer everything to a casserole dish and bake it. Either works!

You can even make it ahead! Everything, minus the fried shallots, can be made 1-2 days before serving. You’ll just need to pan-fry the shallots the day of.

STEP 1 – Make the topping

Making the topping is really easy to do. It’s just a matter of coating the shallots with oil and caramelizing them to bring out their sweetness. Of course, it makes them crispy, too.
During the last 3 minutes of cooking, add 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar to help with caramelization.

STEP 2 – Cook the green beans

After you cook the shallots, you’ll remove them from the pan and use the same pan to steam the green beans. It usually takes 5 to 7 minutes, depending on how tender you like them.

Alternatively, you can a microwaveable bag of frozen green beans, or canned beans if you prefer them. If you use canned, be sure to drain them.

STEP 3 – Make vegan condensed cream of mushroom soup

In order to make this recipe for green bean casserole vegan, we have to make a substitute for traditional condensed cream of mushroom soup. To do this, you’ll saute mushrooms in vegan butter until almost all of the liquid is cooked out. It takes about 10 minutes, and the aroma is AMAZING!

After the mushrooms cook down, you’ll add coconut milk or cream and then use an arrowroot slurry to thicken the mixture.

STEP 4 – Assemble the casserole and bake (if desired)

First, you’ll stir the green beans into the soup mixture. Then, transfer everything to a casserole dish, or use the same oven-safe skillet you’ve been using all along. Top with crispy shallots and serve. Or, you can add gluten free fried onions or some nuts over the top. Then place the dish under a broiler set to 500°F, and broil for 2-3 minutes.

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Cheers to new traditions where EVERYONE can enjoy traditional holiday recipes, food allergies or not!

LC