This ultra creamy Vegan Green Bean Casserole is a wholesome take on the classic but is so decadent that you'll never guess it's dairy free (gluten free option)!
I love Thanksgiving!!!
The food, the family...everything about it. Growing up, Thanksgiving was about eating three servings of Aunt Dee's chocolate pecan pie, endless plates of Grandma's sweet potato casserole with toasted marshmallows, and heaps on heaps of classic green bean casserole---french fried onions and all, baby!
And guess what? It still is!
My parents always did most of the Thanksgiving cooking since I was always so busy with school and work. But now that I'm a big girl who'll be hosting my own turkey day before I know it, I decided it was time to buckle down and conquer the casserole.
'Tis a very important casserole! Some people loathe it...but I'm obsessed.
Cream, crunchy, savory goodness. And hey, it's a vegetable!
The magic is in the cashews!
So let's talk about this Healthy Vegan Green Bean Casserole. The secret is the cashews!
Soaking them and then blending them with water creates this insanely thick and creamy addition that transforms the mushroom mixture into decadent heaven.
So thiccccckkkkk.
For the onion topping, I was inspired by Alton Brown's Best Ever Green Bean Casserole. The onions are tossed with breadcrumbs and flour and baked in the oven until nice and crispy.
Layers and layers of texture, my friends.
Winner winner chickpea dinner.
Casserole, conquered.
I'm kind of sort of super duper proud of this Healthy Vegan Green Bean Casserole recipe. I hope you adore it as much as I do!
More amazing Thanksgiving recipes:
- Spinach Mushroom Herb Stuffing
- Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
- Pumpkin Pie Bars
- Favorite Cranberry Orange Sauce
- Maple Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash, Walnuts, and Pomegranate
Healthy Green Bean Casserole
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Yield: 8-10 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This ultra creamy Vegan Green Bean Casserole is a wholesome take on the classic but is so decadent that you'll never guess it's dairy and gluten free!
Ingredients
- Heaping ½ cup raw cashews, soaked for 30 minutes or overnight
- ½ cup water
- 3 medium onions, divided
- 3 tbsp whole grain bread crumbs (sub certified GF bread crumbs if necessary)
- 3 tbsp flour (sub certified GF flour if necessary)
- 2 ¼ tsp fine sea salt (divided)
- 2 lbs frozen cut green beans
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 (8oz) packages sliced mushrooms, chopped
- Pinch ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (sub tamari for gluten-free)
- ¼ cup dry white wine (I used chardonnay)
- Lots of freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Grease a 9x13 inch or 3qt baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Place cashews in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside to soak for 30 minutes or overnight. (If you have a nutribullet or high speed blender, 10 minutes of soaking is fine.)
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 475F and spray a baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Thinly slice two of the onions and dice one onion, setting aside the diced one for later. Combine two sliced onions with bread crumbs, flour and ¾ tsp salt in a large bowl, tossing to combine. Be sure to separate each individual onion piece. Spread onions in an even layer on baking sheet. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, tossing halfway through. Watch carefully to make sure they don't burn towards the end of cooking. Once onions are done, remove from oven and lower oven heat to 350F for casserole.
- Bring a large pot with two inches of water to a boil. Once boiling, add green beans. Bring back to a boil (this may take a while) and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain and run cold water over green beans to stop cooking. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add diced onion and cook for f5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and for another 10 minutes, stirring often. Add nutmeg, soy sauce, white wine, 1 ½ tsp salt, and pepper. (It will taste salty, that's ok!). Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Blend soaked cashews with water in a blender or food processor (I used my nutribullet) until completely smooth and creamy. Add cashew cream and ¼ of the baked onions to vegetable mixture along with cooked green beans, stirring to combine.
- Spread mixture into prepared dish. Top with remaining baked onions. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes (if onions are on the crispier side, you can cover with foil for first half of cooking.) Serve hot!
Notes
To make this dish the day before, I make the green bean casserole portion (don't bake) without the onion topping. The next day, I bake the onions, stir a handful into the green beans, put the rest on top, and bake for 20 minutes per the instructions.
