A rich yet simple Vegan Green Bean Casserole is a make ahead ready side dish for your holiday table! It features fresh green beans, an easy homemade cream of mushroom gravy, scented with garlic and rosemary. Topped with crispy and chunky homemade bread crumbs. You can make it ahead and pop it in the oven before serving. This recipe is vegetarian, vegan and easily gluten free.
Always Reliable Green Bean Casserole!
A most beloved side at the Thanksgiving table: Green Bean Casserole. Amiright? Something that’s been on the family table since I could utter the words cranberry sauce. No doubt there are many variations, but my favorite of all? Green bean casserole with fresh beans and homemade cream of mushroom!
I topped this recipe with homemade sourdough bread crumbs. If gluten free, top this recipe with gluten free bread crumbs.
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How to Make Vegan Green Bean Casserole
While cooking the mushrooms, now is a good time to make the bread crumbs. Simply toast the bread, then give it a whirl in a food processor until chunky.
About the Key Ingredients
- Fresh Green Beans: in season fresh green beans will offer best texture. You can keep them long, as seen in the pictures, or chop them in half.
- Crimini Mushrooms: add so much flavor and hearty texture to this casserole. You can use fresh white button here too with delicious results.
- All Purpose Flour or Tapioca Starch (for gluten free): this will thicken the homemade mushroom gravy and add creamy body and texture to the casserole.
- Low Sodium Vegetable Broth: use a high-quality vegetable broth for the best flavor. I use low-sodium Better Than Bullion vegetable concentrate. I love it because it’s organic, economical, produces less waste. Plus, it tastes great!
- Plant Milk: I use unsweetened Homemade Cashew Milk, but you can use any plant milk you prefer. Just make sure it’s unsweetened.
- Sourdough Bread or Gluten Free Bread for the homemade bread crumb topping.
Get ahead by making and assembling the casserole (without the breadcrumbs) one day ahead, then refrigerate. When ready to bake, top with breadcrumbs and pop it into the oven!
Traci’s Tips
- Gluten Free? Yes please! Use tapioca flour instead of all purpose, and top the casserole with gluten free bread crumbs.
- What I love about this recipe is not only can it be made in advance, but after blanching the green beans, the recipe is made, start to finish, in a skillet! I like to use my 10″ cast iron skillet for this recipe.
Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Servings:5 Servings
Calories:139kcal
A rich and delicious Vegan Green Bean Casserole recipe is a make ahead ready side dish for your holiday table! Whip this dairy free casserole up in no time using a homemade cream of mushroom base, fresh green beans and sourdough breadcrumbs!
Ingredients
- 1 lb (500g) Fresh Green Beans
- 3 (95g) Slices of Sourdough Bread or gluten free bread
- 2 Tbs Olive Oil
- 12 oz (345g) Crimini Mushrooms large sliced or cut into smaller pieces
- 3/4 C (100g) Shallots about 1 large, iced small
- 1 Tbs Minced Garlic about 2 large cloves
- 1 tsp Fine Sea Salt divided
- 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Fresh Rosemary chopped fine – optional
- 2 Tbs All Purpose Flour or use tapioca flour for gluten free
- 1 C (265g) Vegetable Broth
- 1 C (245g) Plant Milk I like homemade unsweetened cashew milk 1/2 diluted with water
Instructions
Blanch the Green Beans
- To blanch the green beans, fill a medium stock pot 3/4 full with water. Add a pinch of salt and bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, prepare the green beans by washing and trimming the stem end. Leave the green beans long for a fancy look, or trim in half for practical purposes.
- Prepare an ice bath by filling a medium bowl with water and a few hand-fulls of ice.
- Once the water is boiling, plunge the green beans into the boiling water. Set a timer for three minutes. The water does not have to return to a boil. When the timer goes off, drain the beans and transfer them to the ice bath. Allow to set until cool to the touch. Drain and set aside.
For the Bread Crumbs
- Toast the bread in a toaster. Add the bread to a food processor fitted with an S blade, and sprinkle in 1/4 tsp salt. Process until bread crumbs form. I like mine a bit chunkier. Set aside.
For the Casserole
- Preheat the oven to 375F (180C) and arrange a rack in the center.
- In a 10" (25cm) oven proof skillet, I use a cast iron skillet, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the mushrooms and sear them, stirring only a few times, for 7-8 minutes on medium high heat. They will release their juices and turn a dark color.
- Turn the heat to medium low and add the shallots. Saute' for about 3 minutes or until the shallots just soften. Stir in the garlic, 3/4 tsp sea salt, pepper and rosemary. Then, sprinkle in the flour/tapioca. Stir to coat the veggies, one minute. Pour in the broth and bring simmer for about two minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken, stirring occasionally. Pour in the milk, stir, and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat and cook on medium low for about 7-8 minutes, until the sauce thickens a bit. It will be a thinish gravy, but will thicken further in the oven. Taste for seasoning adjustment. Stir in the beans and coat with the creamy mushroom mixture.
- Make Ahead Tip: At this point the casserole can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Allow the mushroom gravy time to cool before stirring in the green beans. Pull it from the fridge when ready to bake while the oven heats up. Top with bread crumbs just before baking. (You'll need to give the casserole a few more minutes in the oven with this method).
- Just before baking, sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the top of the casserole. Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes or until bread crumbs are toasty/crisp and the casserole is bubbly.
- Store leftovers in a lidded container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes.
Notes
Recipe inspired by Haggen, holiday 2018.
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 699mg | Potassium: 615mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 726IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 2mg
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Coming back to this recipe again, third year in a row🙌🏽
Love hearing this, Daniella! Thank youuu for sending a smile!
I made this recipe years ago during Christmas time and my very non veggie boyfriend even loved it! Loved the ability to make it in a cast iron to get that extra iron. This year that same boyfriend is now my husband asking for the recipe for thanksgiving and I have search led high and low AND FINALLY FOUND IT. So excited to finally make this for my family!! The flavors are so wonderful together and even people who don’t like green bean casseroles love this (probably because there’s no processed foods in this recipe) Love, love love!!
What a relief Daniella (I have been down that road)! Thank you for coming back and letting us know! Hooray!
Just in time for Thanksgiving! I’ve been wanting a vegan recipe for this dish because I found gluten free vegan crispy onion rings at Aldi this year. Thank you!