Healthy Green Bean Casserole

Healthy green bean casserole made with a creamy mushroom cashew sauce and homemade crispy baked onions on top. Dairy-free, vegan + gluten-free friendly.

Growing up, green bean casserole was at every single holiday meal and I’m still such a big fan!

Traditional green bean casserole is made with canned cream of mushroom soup and packaged fried onions, but in true EBF fashion, I have upgraded the recipe! No more canned veggies and soup… we’re using fresh green beans and mushrooms, homemade crispy baked onions and a homemade cashew cream sauce to keep this version dairy-free.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s a healthier version of a classic holiday staple.
• It’s dairy-free, vegan and can easily be made gluten-free!
• No canned veggies or soup required… we’re only using fresh, real-food ingredients for this recipe!

Ingredients Needed

Crispy Baked Onions

• yellow onions – instead of using the traditional packaged crispy fried onions we’re coating fresh onions with oat flour and panko bread crumbs and baking to create crispy onions to top the casserole.
• oat flour and panko bread crumbs – to coat the onions before baking and to achieve that crispy “fried” onion texture that we all love! If you need this recipe to be gluten-free, use gluten-free bread crumbs or almond meal. If you don’t have oat flour on hand, all-purpose or gluten-free all-purpose flour will work as a substitute.
• sea salt – to season the onions.

Green Beans and Sauce

• cashews – make sure to use raw, unsalted cashews! Instead of using canned cream of mushroom soup we’re soaking and blending cashews to combine with the mushrooms to create a lovely, creamy sauce.
• almond milk – my go-to milk is unsweetened almond milk, but feel free to use your favorite dairy-free or regular dairy milk if you don’t need this recipe to be vegan. Just make sure whatever milk you’re using is unsweetened otherwise it could change the flavor of the sauce.
• fresh green beans – you won’t find canned green beans over here! We’re only using fresh green beans for this recipe and blanching them for a few minutes before baking.
• vegan butter – to keep this recipe vegan, we’re using vegan butter to sauté the mushrooms. Feel free to use oil, ghee or regular butter instead!
• mushrooms – a key ingredient for green bean casserole! Baby portobello mushrooms or baby Bella mushrooms work perfectly for this recipe.
• garlic – a nice flavor enhancer for the sauce.
• oat flour – to help thicken the sauce. Feel free to use all-purpose flour, cornstarch or arrowroot powder instead if that’s what you have on hand.
• vegetable broth – this is the base liquid for the sauce. I prefer to use low-sodium veggie broth so I can control the saltiness of the dish better. Feel free to use chicken broth if you don’t need this recipe to be vegan.
• tamari or soy sauce – just one teaspoon adds nice umami, savory flavor to this sauce! Coconut aminos will also work.
• salt and black pepper – for seasoning.
• nutmeg – just a pinch adds a subtle nutty flavor to this casserole. Feel free to skip this if you don’t have any on hand or aren’t a nutmeg fan.

How to Make Healthy Green Bean Casserole

Soak cashews: Add cashews to a bowl with water and let soak for at least 30 minutes.

Cook onions: Preheat the oven to 475°F. Combine onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan in the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes. When they’re done baking, remove and set them aside. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.

Blanch green beans: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When the beans have cooled, drain and set aside in a large bowl.

Make creamy mushroom sauce: Drain cashews and add to a blender with almond milk. Blend until smooth and creamy and set aside. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and tamari, simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the cashew cream. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

Bake: Pour sauce into a large bowl with the green beans and ½ cup of the crispy baked onions. Place green bean mixture into an 8×8 baking dish and top with the remaining crispy baked onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly and warm throughout, approximately 15-20 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

How to Make in Advance

You can definitely make this healthy green bean casserole ahead of time! To prep in advance, prepare the dish as directed, but don’t bake! When your green bean and mushroom mixture is ready, pour it into a prepared baking dish, cover and store in the fridge. Store your cooked onions in a separate container in the fridge. Don’t top the casserole with the onions until you’re ready to bake, otherwise the onions will get soggy.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven, top the casserole with your onions and bake as directed!

What to Serve with Green Bean Casserole

This healthy green bean casserole is a staple in our house for Thanksgiving every year! Here are some ideas for what to serve it with:

• Main entree: lentil loaf
• Other sides: healthy sweet potato casserole, mashed cauliflower, vegan cornbread, butternut squash quinoa stuffing, wild rice stuffing or cranberry sauce
• Salads: roasted butternut squash salad or kale and brussels sprout salad
• Roasted vegetables: maple roasted kabocha squash, roasted carrots or roasted root vegetables
• Dessert: healthy sweet potato pie, healthy apple crisp, pecan pie brownies or vegan pumpkin pie

How to Store Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat the green bean casserole on the stovetop, in the oven or microwave. 

More Holiday Side Dishes

• Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
• Healthy Mashed Cauliflower
• Green Beans Almondine
• Healthy Cranberry Sauce
• Apple Cider Vinegar Brussels Sprouts
• Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad
• Healthy Mashed Potatoes
• Sourdough Stuffing

Be sure to check out the full collection of Thanksgiving recipes as well as all of the green bean recipes on EBF!

Healthy Green Bean Casserole

4 from 41 votes

Healthy green bean casserole made with a creamy mushroom cashew sauce and homemade crispy baked onions.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 58 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 18 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

Crispy Baked Onions

• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup oat flour
• 2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs, gluten-free, if needed
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Nonstick cooking spray

Green Beans and Sauce

• ½ cup cashews, soaked
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 24 oz fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
• 2 Tablespoons vegan butter
• 12 oz baby portobello mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 Tablespoons oat flour
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon low-sodium tamari, or soy sauce

Instructions

 

• Add cashews to a bowl with water for soaking. Let soak for at least 30 minutes.
  
• Preheat the oven to 475°F.
• Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 25 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
  
• While the onions are cooking, prepare your green bean mixture.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside in large bowl.
  
• Drain cashews and add to a blender with almond milk. Blend until smooth and creamy and set aside.
  
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and tamari, simmer for 1 minute.
  
• Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the cashew cream. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.
  
• Remove from the heat and pour sauce into a large bowl with the green beans and ½ cup of the crispy baked onions. Place green bean mixture into a 8×8 baking dish and top with the remaining crispy baked onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly and warm throughout, approximately 15-20 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.
  

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 of recipe Calories: 213kcal Carbohydrates: 26g Protein: 9g Fat: 10g Sodium: 690mg Fiber: 6g Sugar: 7g

Author: Brittany Mullins

Course: Lunch/Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: healthy green bean casserole

Web Story: https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/web-stories/healthy-green-bean-casserole/

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

Please leave a comment and star rating on this post and share on social media using the hashtag #eatingbirdfood. I love seeing your recipe shares!