Healthy Vegan Green Bean Casserole

You’ll never believe this rich, creamy vegan green bean casserole is dairy and gluten free, paleo friendly and whole30 compliant! Perfect for a healthy Thanksgiving!

This post is brought to you by a deprived person named Taylor.

Which also happens to be ME.

I’m going to get honest with you, and risk potential judgement, RIGHT OFF THE BAT in sentence number 3:

I’ve never had green bean casserole before making this recipe.

Aaaaaaand, you just x’d out of your screen because you cannot trust a recipe from someone who has never even had the dish, and then tried to remake it without knowing all the flavor profiles that said dish should have.

I get you. I understand your concerns and shifty eyes that are currently happening IF you are still here, reading along and giving me the benefit of the doubt.

I told you in the paleo sweet potato casserole  that Canada just does Thanksgiving differently. We don’t eat that iconic casserole. We don’t eat paleo pecan pie. And we DEFINITELY don’t eat green bean casserole.

It was more like turkey, easy gluten free stuffing, roasted Brussels sprouts and MAYBE roasted acorn squash if Grandma was feelin’ wild and crazy.

Now that I am livin’ in ‘merica I knew it was finally time to assimilate with the “in crowd” who knows “what’s up” at Thanksgiving, and make a green bean casserole.

Of course, with Mr. FFF at my side to taste-test and help me along the way. If anyone knows what a dish of thick, creamy and rich sauce hugging crunchy, tender-crisp green beans are supposed to taste like, it is HIM.

Obviously, I could not ask him to be my taste-tester if the recipe was going to be like the standard as in: loaded with ALL THINGS DAIRY.  Considering he is intolerant of lactose, this would pretty much kill him.
And then I would have no one to taste test my food.

And I would lose my hubby. Which, I guess, would sort of be not-so-ideal too.

I KID.

So, we’re ripping one from the scalloped sweet potatoes playbook and using a magical combination of almond milk, coconut milk and tapioca starch as the base of the MANDATORY thick and creamy sauciness that usually comes from a can of soup. A can of soup that has VRY VRY sketchy ingredients, I might add.

No Bueno.

This mish-mash of milks simmers together with tender, golden brown sautéed onions and meaty-mushrooms to create a velvety-smooth, UBER thick creamy base that gets slathered on fresh green beans and topped with DEEP-FRIED onion rings.

There is a very necessary need to discuss that we are deep frying the onions because it is the first recipe EVER that has something deep fried.
Also, probably the last.

I thought about just doing oven-baked onions, but when I asked my ace-taste-tester what his thoughts on this were he said this to me:

“People will REVOLT.”

Literally. No qualms about it. No joking laugh. Just matter-of-fact you would all revolt and hate me forever if I did a green bean casserole without super crispy, fried onion rings.

So, here they be.  And, you know what?

They’re RLY RLY good and you should be getting the thought that MAYBE you will still try them in the oven, even though Taylor said do not do it EVER, out of your very head’s RIGHT NOW.

It’s Thanksgiving my friends, go big or GO HOME.

I actually don’t mind if you go home.

As long as you plan to make this green bean casserole once you get there.

Print

Healthy Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 4 -6, as a side

Ingredients

For the casserole:

• 1 1/2 Tbsp Avocado oil
• 2 Cups Mushroom sliced
• 1 Cup Onion diced
• 1 Cup + 1 Tbsp Unsweetened almond milk divided
• 1 Cup + 1 Tbsp Full-fat coconut milk divided
• 1 tsp Sea salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Tapioca starch
• 1 Lb Green beans trimmed

For the onions:

• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 a Large onion thinly sliced
• 1/2 Cup Avocado Oil for frying *Read notes
• 2 Tbsp Tapioca starch
• 2 Tbsp Coconut flour
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Fill a medium bowl with the 1/2 cup of almond milk (from the fried onions) and add in the thinly sliced onion (making sure to separate all the rings) so they can sit while you make the casserole.
3. In a large, high-sided frying pan heat the olive oil over medium high heat.
4. Add in the mushrooms and onions and cook until lightly golden brown, about 3-4 minutes.
5. While the mushrooms and onions cook, fill a large pot with water, adding a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil.
6. Once boiling, add in the trimmed green beans and cook until fork-tender, about 7-8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a paper towel. Try to lightly press out as much of the water as you can. Set aside
7. Once the mushrooms and onions are cooked, add in 1 cup of the almond milk and 1 cup of the coconut milk (reserving the rest for later) along with the salt and pepper and stir until well combined.
8. Bring the mixture to a boil. While you're waiting for it boil, whisk together the 2 Tbsp of tapioca starch and the remaining 1 Tbsp of each milk in a small bowl until smooth.
9. Once boiling, stir in the tapioca/milk mixture, whisking constantly so that it doesn't cook and get chunky. Boil the milk mixture for 4 minutes, stirring CONSTANTLY so that it doesn't burn.
10. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring very frequently, until the mixture is REALLY thick and reduced by half, about 10-11 minutes.
11. Once the sauce is thick, add the green beans in and stir until evenly coated.
12. Pour the mixture into an 8x8 inch baking dish and bake until the sides are bubbly and the sauce has further thickened, about 25 minutes.
13. While the casserole cooks, it's time to make the onions.
14. Heat the avocado oil in a medium saucepan, or high-side skillet, over medium high, then reduce to medium. The oil should sizzle when you add the onion, but you don't want it too hot that it just burns the onion.
15. Place the tapioca starch, coconut flour and salt and pepper into a large zip-loc bag and shake around until well mixed.
16. Drain the excess almond milk out of the onions and add them into the bag and gently shake around to evenly coat each ring.
17. Drop a few rings into the hot oil, making sure not to crowd them, and cook until lightly golden brown and crispy, flipping as necessary. I did mine in 4 batches to make sure they weren't over-crowding.
18. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and gently blot off the excess oil. Repeat until all the rings are done.
19. Once the casserole has cooked, scatter the fried onions on top, lightly pressing them into the casserole. Bake for 5 minutes more.
20. DEVOUR

Recipe Notes

*You will not actually consume NEARLY this much oil - I measured it after frying the onions, and had 5.5 Tbsp left over. So, nutritional information reflects only using a total of 2.5 Tbsp. However, you need all that extra oil to cover the onions so they cook and get crispy.

FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:

• Avocado oil
• Tapioca starch/flour
• Large frying pan
• Mixing bowl

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: SMART POINTS: 8  POINTS+: 6. OLD POINTS: 5

(Based off 6 servings)

IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAG @FOODFAITHFIT AND #FOODFAITHFITNESS ON INSTAGRAM! I LOVE SEEING YOUR RECIPE RECREATIONS!

 Want more paleo-friendly Thanksgiving sides?

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Potatoes and Bacon

Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Curry

Curried Butternut Squash Salad with Apples, Dates and Pecans

Paleo green bean casserole from around the web:

Paleo Spicy Green Bean Mushroom Skillet–  Wholesomelicious

Vegan Green Bean Casserole – Eat The Love

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