Learn how to make a vegan and gluten free version of green bean casserole. This recipe consists of cooked green beans, sauteed mushrooms cooked in a creamy sauce topped with homemade French fried onions. A delicious casserole that is perfect for the holiday season.
Thanksgiving just wouldn't be complete without that green bean casserole. This is a timeless dish that is a signature for most households during the holiday season.
I know just how important this side dish is to my vegan and gluten free readers, so much so that I made my own rendition that caters to most dietary requirements.
What is a green bean casserole?
In short this is an American side dish that is served during the holiday season. The dish was created by Dorcas Reilly and her team in the Campbells home economic department.
The casserole consists of three main components - green beans, cream of mushroom soup and French fried onions.
It was created at a time where processed foods were heavily utilized hence the reason why Campbell's cream of mushroom soup was a key feature.
Although many people still adhere to this method, there is a more modified version where sliced mushrooms are pan seared (brown) and a creamy bechamel sauce is used in place of cream of mushroom soup.
Some people add cheese be it cream cheese or shredded cheese to yield more creaminess and then the infamous French fried onions are added as a topping.
Speaking of toppings, the good news is that I have already posted my the gluten free version of French fried onions, so all aspects of the recipe are covered!
Also, I've swapped the Campbell's cream of mushroom soup for something that is much more vegan friendly. It's cross between a rich sauce and soup!
It's just the right consistency, not too thick and not too thin, which is what you need to make an awesome green bean casserole.
The steps
- (move onto the next step, if you don't have a steamer) I steamed my green beans using my steamer basket, set it up in hot water and sprinkled the pink salt over the beans and steamed for several minutes, removed the beans, rinse them under cold water, set aside to cool.
- If you boiling the green beans, then bring a large pot of water to the boil.
- Stir in the pink salt then add the green beans.
- Reduce the heat to medium then cook the beans until they are fork tender and the colour starts to darken (this will take a few minutes) then drain, cool and set aside.
- Add the olive oil to a non stick saucepan, on medium heat.
- Proceed to saute the mushrooms with the garlic until they are slightly brown. During this time they may extract their own juices.
- Continue to cook the mushroom until any excess liquid eventually evaporates.
- Push the mushrooms to one side of the saucepan, now melt the butter in the pan.
- Stir in the flour, keep stirring until the flour turns golden brown (don't worry if it doesn't turn completely smooth).
- Whisk in the vegetable broth so it dissolves the flour.
- Pour in the coconut milk and stir in the cheese until the sauce becomes smooth and starts to thicken.
- Add the thyme, soy(a) or aminos if you are using it and stir.
- Add the desired amount of pink salt and black pepper, do a taste test to adjust the seasoning levels to what you would want.
- Stir in the green beans and ⅓-½ cup's worth of French fried onions, continuing to stir until the beans are completely heated through.
- Transfer the green bean/sauce contents to the baking dish, spreading out the mixture evenly.
- Sprinkle on the amount of French fried onions that you prefer.
- Bake in the oven for roughly 20 minutes, cover loosely with aluminium foil for the first 15 minutes, then leave uncovered for the remaining 5 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
To yield that creamiest from the sauce I would recommend using full fat coconut milk because fat free coconut milk is very thin and wouldn't result in the best structure for your sauce.
I personally recommend making it on the day but I do understand that people maybe limited for time especially when they are making multiple holiday recipes.
What I would suggest is having the green beans cooked and left in a bowl. Also do the same with the mushroom sauce, prepare then set it side.
The next day all you will need to do is toss the green beans in the sauce (it may thicken up when left to cool overnight, perfectly normal!) simply re-heat, allow it to loosen up, toss in the beans, add the topping and bake!
Yes, you can! However, it's very important to use whole French cut beans not those thinly sliced/halved beans
If you do decide to use frozen ones, then you will want to thaw them out completely and use some kitchen towel to blot off any excess water so your casserole's flavour won't be diluted.
It's a nay from me, mushrooms are a complete hot bed for absorbing water, they are like a sponge and soak it up!
Water logged mushrooms will resist the browning process so some of the flavour will be loss, at a risk of ruining your recipe.
Please play it safe and use fresh mushrooms!
Notes and tips
- The exact dimension for the oval baking dish I used is 28x19x6cm (11x7x2 inches).
- The amount of French fried onions you use will be subjective, I LOVE onions so as you can see, I overloaded the casserole.
- This is the link to the Homemade Vegetable Broth that I use.
- Be sure to do a taste test, especially when you have made the sauce and are adding the seasoning and adjust to how you would like it.
- Here is the recipe to how I made the French Fried Onions in my air fryer.
- You will need to double or possibly triple the batch of onions depending on how much you intend to use.
- For best results eat/serve the casserole on the same day.
- You can use any type of mushroom you wish to make this recipe.
More vegan holiday recipes to try
- Macaroni Pie
- Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese
- Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts
- Cranberry Relish/Sauce
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Nut Roast
- Chestnut and Pumpkin Soup
- Pumpkin Parfait
**Don't forget to comment below and star rate if you have tried my recipes. Let's be friends and engage on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram I also like to pin on Pinterest, where you can find more amazing recipes.**
Vegan Green Bean Casserole With Coconut Milk (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
To steam/boil the green beans
- 1 lb French cut green beans (455g) use fresh or thawed ones
- water
- 1 teaspoon pink salt (5g)
To saute the mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (15g)
- ½ lb mushrooms chopped into small pieces (225g)
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tablespoon butter (45g)
- 3 tablespoon gluten free flour (24g) I used brown rice flour
To make the sauce
- 1 cup vegetable broth (250ml) see notes for the recipe link
- 1¼ cup full fat coconut milk (275ml)
- ⅓ cup vegan cheese (37g) or vegan cream cheese
- 2 teaspoon dried thyme (10g)
- 1 tablespoon organic soy(a) or coconut aminos (15g)
- ½ teaspoon paprika (1.5g)
- black pepper and pink salt to taste
- 1½-2 cups Gluten free French fried onions see notes for the recipe link
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350f/180C/gas mark 4
- Lightly grease a oven proof dish and set aside.
To cook the green beans
- (move onto the next step, if you don't have a steamer) I steamed my green beans using my steamer basket, set it up in hot water and sprinkled the pink salt over the beans and steamed for several minutes, removed the beans, rinse them under cold water, set aside to cool.
- If you boiling the green beans, then bring a large pot of water to the boil.
- Stir in the pink salt then add the green beans.
- Reduce the heat to medium then cook the beans until they are fork tender and the colour starts to darken (this will take a few minutes) then drain, cool and set aside.
To saute the mushrooms
- Add the olive oil to a non stick saucepan, on medium heat.
- Proceed to saute the mushrooms with the garlic until they are slightly brown. During this time they may extract their own juices.
- Continue to cook the mushroom until any excess liquid eventually evaporates.
- Push the mushrooms to one side of the saucepan, now melt the butter in the pan.
- Stir in the flour, keep stirring until the flour turns golden brown (don't worry if it doesn't turn completely smooth).
To make the sauce
- Whisk in the vegetable broth so it dissolves the flour.
- Pour in the coconut milk and stir in the cheese until the sauce becomes smooth and starts to thicken.
- Add the thyme, soy(a) or aminos if you are using it and stir.
- Add the desired amount of pink salt and black pepper, do a taste test to adjust the seasoning levels to what you would want.
- Stir in the green beans and ⅓-½ cup's worth of French fried onions, continuing to stir until the beans are completely heated through.
- Transfer the green bean/sauce contents to the baking dish, spreading out the mixture evenly.
- Sprinkle on the amount of French fried onions that you prefer.
- Bake in the oven for roughly 20 minutes, cover loosely with aluminium foil for the first 15 minutes, then leave uncovered for the remaining 5 minutes.
Notes
- The exact dimension for the oval baking dish I used is 28x19x6cm (11x7x2 inches).
- The amount of French fried onions you use will be subjective, I LOVE onions so as you can see, I overloaded the casserole.
- This is the link to the Homemade Vegetable Broth that I use.
- Be sure to do a taste test, especially when you have made the sauce and are adding the seasoning and adjust to how you would like it.
- Here is the recipe to how I made the French Fried Onions in my air fryer.
- You will need to double or possibly triple the batch of onions depending on how much you intend to use.
- For best results eat/serve the casserole on the same day.
- You can use any type of mushroom you wish to make this recipe.
I am loving this version of green bean casserole. I am lactose intolerant and this is my kinda recipe. So tasty and flavor packed!
Yay! Glad to hear it fits your dietary needs.
Vegan and GF? This is my kind of casserole. So hard to find a good Thanksgiving side dish that satisfies both those needs - this one does it in a delicious way!
Thank you Gina
The creamy sauce sounds delicious with the green beans! Perfect side dish for thanksgiving.
Definitely and thank you Beth
All the flavours of a green bean casserole but much lighter and healthier - perfect!
Thank you Amanda
I love green bean casserole and this looks delicious - can't wait to make it!
Thank you so much