This vegan green bean casserole is made with fresh green beans, scratch made mushroom gravy and oven-baked crispy onions. Healthy and delicious, worthy of the holiday table.
Within you, there is a stillness and sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself. —Hermann Hesse
If you are looking for a vegan green bean casserole that is cozy and comforting, we’ve got the perfect recipe for you! Whether you are looking for a tasty side dish for the holiday table, or something healthy for a special dinner, you and your guests will love this!
This chef perfected recipe, can be made ahead, or made in stages, and takes about 30 minutes of hands-on time with the oven doing the rest of the work. To save time, purchase crispy shallots, to save a step!
What is Green Bean Casserole?
Green Bean Casserole is a classic American side dish created by Dorcas Reilly in 1955. She was Cambell’s Soup’s Test Kitchen Manager, and her original recipe was made with Cambell’s canned mushroom soup, canned green beans and fried onions. We’ve taken inspiration here, but created a healthier version with a lightened-up homemade mushroom sauce (vegan), crispy baked shallots and fresh green beans.
Ingredients In Vegan Green Bean Casserole
- Fresh green beans – trimmed and cut in half.
- Onion or shallots – to add savory depth to the gravy.
- Olive oil ( or vegan butter) to add richness to the gravy}
- Mushrooms – cremini, shiitake, king oyster, portobello, or a combo.
- Garlic – to add punchy flavor
- Fresh thyme – or sub-fresh sage or rosemary.
- Salt and Pepper – add flavor.
- Flour– to thicken the gravy- feel free to use a gluten-free flour blend
- Veggie broth – or use water and a boullion cube.
- Plant-based Milk– to add creaminess to the soup.
- Crispy shallots or crispy onions- either storebought (fastest) or make your own- see recipe card!
- Optional: ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard or 1 teaspoon lemon zest for a little tangy flavor. Miso paste for depth!
How to make Vegan GREEN BEAN Casserole
Step One: Blanch! Bring a pot of salted water to boil and blanch fresh green beans until just tender. Set aside.
Step Two: Make the optional Crispy Shallots. Slice shallots (or red onions) thinly. Place in a bowl and toss well with olive oil, salt, pepper, flour and panko. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan, bake until lightly golden, about 18-20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Set aside. Note- shallots will get darker faster than onions so watch carefully.
Step Three: Make the Mushroom Sauce. Saute onion and mushrooms over medium heat until mushrooms release their liquid. Add thyme and garlic. Feel free to use a mixture of mushrooms if you like- cremini, shiitake, chanterelles, etc.
Sprinkle with flour, then add veggie broth and miso paste, stirring to let thicken. Stir in the plant-based milk- almond, soy, oat, etc to give it a little creaminess.
Step Four: Assemble! Place the blanched green beans in a greased 8×8 baking dish.
Pour the mushroom sauce over the top. Spread the mushroom sauce over the green beans evenly.
Step Five: Bake! Bake uncovered in a 350F oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and bubbling. If using store-bought crispy onions, add these halfway through.
StorAge and making ahead
Leftovers will keep up toe 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Feel free to make this up to 3 days ahead, and bring it to room temperature before baking.
More Favorite vegan side dishes!
- Green Beans with Toasted Hazelnuts, Truffle Oil and Lemon Zest
- Our BEST Thanksgiving Side Dishes
- Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic and Horseradish(Vegan-adaptable)
- Roasted Red Kuri Squash
- Lemony Roasted Asparagus
- Simple Roasted Vegetables
On the homefront: It’s cold and rainy here, and since the time changed and darkness comes sooner now, I’ve been feeling a little restless at night. I usually enjoy an evening stroll as the sun sets to calm my mind and bring a peaceful end to my day, but it gets harder to do this as the daylight shortens.
I think of my Finnish family and how they coped with darkness through generations of winters.
I try to summon up what my mother had, and what her mother had, and the hundreds of mothers that came before. The light from within, that can’t be extinguished by the changing of the seasons.
I hold this here in my heart, and feel them with me- the light-bringers and torchbearers.
Somehow it helps…
Enjoy the Greenbean Casserole and please rate the recipe for us!
Cheers 🥂,
Sylvia
Green Bean Casserole | 60-sec video
Vegan Green Bean Casserole
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4-6
- Category: side dish
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This healthy vegan Green Bean Casserole is made with fresh green beans, oven-baked crispy shallots, and a creamy mushroom sauce that is VEGAN! Easy, healthy and delicious, worthy of the holiday table.
Ingredients
1 pound Green Beans, stems removed and halved
Crispy Onions (or shallots)
- 2–3 shallots, or 1 small red onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons panko or breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoons flour
- generous pinch salt and pepper
Creamy Mushroom Sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil or vegan butter
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 2–4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons flour or GF flour blend
- 1 cup veggie broth
- 1 cup nut or soy milk
- 1 teaspoon miso paste or splash soy sauce
- Optional: 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard or 1 teaspoon lemon zest for a little tangy flavor.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Prep the green beans: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil ( 12 cups water + 1 tablespoon salt.) Once boiling, add the green beans and simmer until tender-crisp, about 5-6 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Make the crispy baked onions: While water is boiling, thinly slice the shallot or onion into rings, place on a parchment-lined sheet pan, separate the rings, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with panko and salt and pepper, tossing to coat well. Yes, the crumbs may not stick- this is OK. Bake 17-20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until lightly golden. Note: Shallots will brown faster than onions so watch these closely. ALSO-You’ll bake these again with the casserole, so don’t let them get too dark here.
- Make the Mushroom Sauce: In a heavy bottom pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and saute 5-6 minutes, stirring. Add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and continue cooking until the mushrooms release their liquid and begin to carmelize, another 5-6 minutes.
- Sprinkle with the flour, and toast the flour, stirring for 60 seconds. Add the veggie broth and stir well to incorporate the floured mushrooms. Bring to a simmer, stir in the nut milk and miso paste, stirring well. Bring to a simmer, once simmering, it should thicken slightly, then turn off heat. If you prefer a little tanginess, add 1/2 -1 teaspoon dijon mustard, or lemon zest.
- Assemble: In a greased 8×8 baking dish, (for 1 lb green beans) Pour the mushroom sauce over top, spreading it out. Top with crispy onions.
- Bake in the oven, uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until golden and bubbling.
Notes
- If your onions happen to get too dark, during the first go around, add them to the casserole during the last 5-10 minutes of baking- as they will darken even more.
- Feel free to make this ahead (leave onions off) and refrigerate. Bring to room temp before baking, top with crispy onions and bake at 350 uncovered, until bubbling, 25-30 minutes.
- Leftovers keep 3-4 days in the fridge.
- Feel free to add 1/2 cup walnuts (or pecans) for a heartier dish.
- 1 lb green beans serve 4-6 people. 1 1/2 lbs green beans serve 6-8. I kept the topping the same for both, so it will be considerably “lighter” with the bigger portion of green beans. I prefer the richness of of the topping with 1 lb of green beans. 😉
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¾ cup
- Calories: 198
- Sugar: 5.7 g
- Sodium: 645 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 18.1 g
- Fiber: 3.5 g
- Protein: 5.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Delicious and delicate flavor. I didn’t even have onions or mushrooms. I did package of spaghetti squash frozen cubes for the mushroom sauce and for the crispy veggies I used frozen peppers. Just wonderful.
So glad it worked out Rachel! Thanks for taking the time to rate and review!
I trialed making the crispy onions with both Almond flour and semolina. Both worked well, although the semolina was crunchy-er. Next time I will probably do a mix of both!
Great to hear Amber!
The best vegan recipe!! I tried quite a few over the years and this one is the keeper. The crispy shallots are so good I would recommend to make a double batch.
So happy you enjoyed this Kara! Thanks so much for circling back and leaving a review, very appreciated!
Love your recipes. This is an excellent replacement for ‘traditional’ green bean casserole. Fresh green beans and fresh mushrooms are so much better. I also made mine gluten and dairy free. I used gluten free panko and flour. Then used what I had on hand… almond milk and replaced the miso with homemade cashew ricotta. Because of the umami properties of miso, I added a few drops (1/4 tsp) of fish sauce. MMMMM!
Sounds really tasty Terry!
Can you suggest a substitute for the panko crumbs and the flower? I would like to avoid wheat altogether, thank you
What if you coated the onions with almond flour?
This was hands down the best “green bean casserole” type recipe I have ever tried. So much better than the soupy/artificial version that I’m used to. I LOVED the mushroom sauce and I was tempted to make it again and cover everything on my plate with it. Instead, I made your mushroom gravy and that was terrific too! Thank you so much for all of you’re great ideas. I really don’t know what I’d be eating without you 😉
Thanks so much Angie! Really happy you enjoyed this!
Excellent recipe. We used “barista-style” oat milk and the mushroom sauce came out so creamy and rich (in the best way).
Perfect Chris! Yes, that oat milk is super creamy! Glad you liked it!
So good! It was a hit this Thanksgiving!
Great to hear Jamie!
Can I use cream of mushroom soup instead of the sliced mushrooms?
Yes Heather, feel free to use instead of the mushroom sauce. 😉
Green bean caserole is a favorite of mine. Excited to try this healthier version. If gluten is out for me do you have any ideas on how to get the crunchy topping without breadcrumbs. Perhaps some kind of walnut crumble?
I like that idea Laura! What if you used ground walnuts ( or almond flour) instead of the bread crumbs? Perhaps lower the heat? I also have seen GF bread crumbs out there too!
Laura, if you have extra time you can make gluten free breadcrumbs! That’s what we did last week.
There are step-by-step recipes online, but all we had to do was toss a couple slices of gf bread in the food processor and bake to a golden brown.
Thanks Chris!
I ended up trying this using a GF flour blend for the gravy. No milk. And a combination of roasted shallots and walnuts as the crunchy topping. It turned out great and has better textures for the green beans and mushrooms than the traditional casserole( the veggies aren’t mushy like they are from the can). I wish I made 10 times more crispy shallots because they are addictively delicious.
Glad you enjoyed this Laura!