Fresh Green Bean Casserole from Scratch
Learn how to make an amazing fresh green bean casserole from scratch with 10 simple ingredients. This family favorite side dish is totally vegan, dairy free, egg free, nut free, and has suggestions for a gluten free topping!
A green bean casserole is one of our FAVORITE recipes to make for Thanksgiving. And it doesn’t require that many ingredients to make it from scratch. Plus, it totally tastes amazing with the homemade mushroom sauce, crispy onion toppings, and the fresh green beans.
Thanksgiving, if you ask me, is all about the side dishes. Everything from soft and fluffy dinner rolls, amazing cornbread stuffing, sweet potato casserole, and even a refreshing Thanksgiving fruit salad. Those are what make up my favorite parts about Thanksgiving!
This casserole is:
- Totally dairy free, egg free, nut free, and easily made gluten free
- Uses fresh green beans
- Real, homemade gravy
- No cans of condensed soup
Ingredients
For the full list of ingredients, complete with recipe amounts, please see the recipe card below.
- Green beans: I’ve tried this with frozen green beans and while you can get good results, using fresh green beans gives the best texture. Blanching them keeps the green color even after baking in the oven, and keeps them a bit crunchy. No mushy veggies here!
- Mushrooms: White button mushrooms, baby bella mushrooms, and even bigger portabella mushrooms all work here. It’s really down to what type of mushroom you can find and what you prefer taste wise!
- Seasoning Mix: I LOVE and strongly recommend that you mix up a batch of my all-purpose seasoning mix to make these green beans. It hits all the right notes of savory, sweet, and umami. However, you can also use a poultry seasoning mix as well.
- Plant based milk: Use your favorite plant based milk or cream to make this recipe. When I’ve made it with soy cream, it makes for the heaviest and creamiest gravy sauce. When I make it with plain soy milk or oat milk, it makes a lighter gravy that allows the herbs to shine through. So up to you! And yes, you can make this with coconut milk or cream from a can, but I find the coconut flavors really out-do everything else. So if you LOVE coconut, go ahead and use it. Otherwise, I suggest a different plant milk that is more neutral in flavor.
Substitutions
- Gluten Free: To make this gluten free, make sure that you use a good gluten free flour blend when making the mushroom gravy sauce. I find that King Arthur Measure for Measure gets me great results every time. You’ll also want to make sure you use either homemade gluten free crispy onions, or find a store-bought kind that doesn’t use wheat flour. If you can’t find any, feel free to use plain gluten free crispy bread crumbs on top.
Instructions
Make sure to check out the recipe card below for the full recipe and ingredient list.
If you’ve never made green bean casserole from scratch before, don’t worry! It isn’t complicated to make, it just takes a little bit of time. If you are making this for Thanksgiving, I suggest that you prep all the steps the day before and combine everything in the oven on Thanksgiving Day.
- Blanch the green beans. Wash the fresh green beans and then trim the ends off. Cut them in half before blanching in a rolling boiling pot of water. After just 90 seconds, transfer the green beans to a large bowl of ice water to stop cooking.
- Make the mushroom gravy sauce. In a large skillet, cook the mushrooms in a tablespoon of vegan butter for about 5 to 8 minutes. Then add the onions and cook. Add the flour and butter, cooking down for about 2 minutes to make a dark roux and finally add the remaining plant milk and herbs.
- Stir it all together. Add some of the fried onions and all of the green beans to the skillet with the sauce. Mix well.
- Bake. Bake this uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes. In the final 5 minutes of baking, add the remaining fried onions.
How to Store & Make Ahead
Fridge: Store fully baked and cooled leftovers in a fridge safe container and keep for up to 4 days. Reheat as desired.
Freezer: You can make and assemble the casserole, including covering with the fried onion toppings, but don’t bake the final casserole. Wrap tightly and freeze for up to 1 month. Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before baking as directed.
Make Ahead: Prepare everything as directed except don’t bake in the oven and don’t top with the final crispy onions. After the sauce is finished and the casserole is assembled, allow it to cool, cover tightly, and place in the fridge overnight. The next days, allow it to sit on the countertop for an hour (to make sure your baking dish doesn’t break in the oven!) and then bake as directed.
Thanksgiving Recipes
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Equipment
- Mixing bowls and spoons
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Skillet
- Baking dish 8×10-inch (20×25-cm)
- Cooking pot
Ingredients
- 1 lbs green beans about 4 cups
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter divided
- 2 cups mushrooms washed and sliced
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup plant based milk or cream
- 1 tablespoon all purpose seasoning mix or poultry seasoning
- 1 cup crispy onions
Instructions
- Prep the green beans. Wash and trim the ends off of the fresh green beans. Bring a large pot of water to boil and blanche the green beans in the rolling boiling water for 1 minute. Immediately remove the green beans into a big bowl of ice water. Let them cool while you move on in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Lightly butter your casserole dish and set aside.
- Begin the mushrooms. In a large skillet, melt one tablespoon of the vegan butter and begin to cook the mushrooms and salt over a medium heat. They should cook down in about 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the type of mushroom used. I find white mushrooms cook more quickly than Bella mushrooms.
- Add the onions. Now add the onions to the mushrooms and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Make the gravy. Into the same skillet, add the flour and the remaining 3 tablespoons of vegan butter. Cook this roux for about 2 minutes, allowing it to develop a nice color. After 2 minutes, add the vegetable broth and the vegan milk. Bring to a boil and cook until thick, about 5 minutes. The gravy is now done.
- Combine. Add the green beans into mushroom gravy. Give it a good mix. Stir in half of the crispy onions. Transfer to your prepared baking dish.
- Bake. Bake the green bean casserole uncovered for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, add the remaining half cup of crispy onions on top of the casserole and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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