Green Bean Casserole is one of those classic holiday recipes that can easily be made vegan. Crispy fried onions top off a creamy base of green beans smothered in a rich mushroom sauce.
So how do you replace traditional ingredients with plant-based versions? Let me show you.
Ingredients for Vegan Green Bean Casserole
I found all of these ingredients at my local natural food store, Basil Bandwagon Natural Market. You should be able to find all of these ingredients pretty easily as well. More and more mainstream grocery stores carry these types of products. And your local natural food store will carry them too.
Green Beans
Of course, you need green beans. I'm a big organic fan so I chose organic green beans. But any green beans will do. You can even use frozen green beans for a short cut. For this recipe you'll need 16 ounces. I dropped mine in a pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes, then drained them.
Vegan Butter or Sesame Oil
If you're not using oil you can substitute this with a few tablespoons of vegetable broth instead. But otherwise choose your favorite butter or un-toasted sesame oil to cook the onions and garlic.
Onion and Garlic
Cooking the onion brings out the natural sweetness. I like to add a pinch or two of salt to help the onion "sweat" and release its moisture. If you don't have onion, leeks or scallions could be used in a pinch.
Sea Salt
Just the right touch of salt always makes a recipe pop. I love the Redmond sea salt, and they are sharing a 15% off all their products special discount for the Natural Kitchen Cooking School community!
Save 15% off Redmond Sea Salt using this code - "NaturalKitchen"
Black pepper
I'm not a huge spice fan, so black pepper is as hot as it gets for me. If you like more kick feel free to throw in a few pinches of nutmeg and even some cayenne, although that's not a traditional ingredient. I know that won't stop you spice fans out there!
Mushrooms
Mushrooms add such a nice depth of flavor in this recipe. Cooking them fresh replaces using condensed cream of mushroom soup that you see in some recipes for Green Bean Casserole. You can use any you like but I chose regular old button mushrooms. We're talking about fresh mushrooms, by the way, not dried. Baby bella mushrooms would be great too. Shiitake mushrooms might even be nice though I haven't tried using them.
Gluten-Free Flour
If you're opting for gluten-free you can choose from gluten-free all-purpose flour or gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour like I used. If you're not following a gluten-free diet you can use regular all-purpose flour instead. Other substitutes that would work include arrowroot starch and cornstarch. The idea is to thicken the almond milk and vegetable broth into a nice consistency.
Vegetable Broth
I used homemade vegetable broth and you can find my recipe for an immune-boosting variety HERE. But store-bought vegetable broth will work just fine too. Just be sure to use one that is not tomato-based. In my opinion a tomato flavor will not jive with this recipe.
Almond Milk
Almond milk has such a nice texture when it comes to plant-based milks. It's often my go-to for dairy-free milk. But if you have a nut allergy there are plenty of other options. For example, you can choose oat milk, rice milk or a nice store-bought or DIY seed milk.
Crispy Fried Onions
Ok. I have fallen in love with these organic vegan crispy French fried crispy onion rings. It's the ingredient that just makes it when it comes to any green bean casserole. And if you're making this vegan version you'll want to make sure that your onion rings are vegan too. So these qualify and the flavor and crunch is perfection!
Putting it all together
I've included the recipe for you down below to make it super simple to make your own Vegan Green Bean Casserole. And over on Christine's Natural Kitchen I walk you through it, step by step, in this video.
This post was made in collaboration with Basil Bandwagon Natural Market, my favorite place to shop!
Natural Kitchen Cooking School, LLC participates in the Amazon Associate program. This means that we may receive a small commission for purchases made through links in this post. Thank you for your support of the work we do here at Natural Kitchen Cooking School!
Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 16 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter or sesame oil
- ½ cup minced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Black pepper to taste
- 8 ounces finely chopped button mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 ⅓ cups crispy fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium high heat. Add the green beans. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a colander to cool and drain. Set aside.
- Make the sauce by heating a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the vegan butter. Once the butter has melted add the onion and garlic. Add a pinch of the sea salt. Cook and stir for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and a few more pinches of sea salt. Cover and let them cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the flour and stir it around for a few minutes. Gradually add the vegetable stock, whisking to prevent lumps. Slowly stir in the almond milk with a whisk. Reduce the heat to low and cook, lightly covered, for 5 minutes, or until it thickens up. Add ⅓ cup of the fried onions.
- In a lightly oiled 2-liter glass casserole, spread the pre-cooked green beans in an even layer. Add the sauce to cover the green beans. Top with the remaining fried onions. Bake for 15 minutes, uncovered. Serve hot.
Notes
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products we use and love!
Looking for more holiday recipes, or delicious sides for any meal?
Watch our Youtube video on making the perfect Mashed Potatoes.
Vegan Scalloped Potatoes is another satisfying side dish.
Pumpkin Pie can be made vegan and makes the perfect ending to a Thanksgiving meal.
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