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The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole

November 22, 2006 By Susan Voisin 220 Comments
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Fresh green beans and a homemade, creamy mushroom sauce make this vegan green bean casserole so much better tasting than the standard mushroom soup recipe.
The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole

I had to write a quick post about this recipe because D. and I just had some for lunch and oh my gosh, it is good! Truly, we were scraping the casserole dish clean.

This is adapted and plagiarized from Alanna’s World’s Best Green Bean Casserole, and I have to say, the name fits. I made up a full recipe to bring to Thanksgiving at the in-laws’ tomorrow, but I set aside this small dish to bake today just for us (and to photograph just for you). Though I can’t say that either my husband or I were fans of green bean casserole in general, we’re now fans of this one.

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Original 2006 Green Bean Casserole Photo

Warning: This is not a fat-free recipe. I’ve veganized it and taken out some of the butter/margarine, but there’s still Earth Balance margarine in the topping and some fat in the soy creamer. And oh, those fried onions! (Which I accidentally used a whole can of, instead of the half can the recipe called for.)

What can I say? You could try it completely fat-free as outlined in the recipe’s notes, but for a special occasion, this isn’t a huge an amount of fat. And the taste is amazing. No one will know it’s vegan!

The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole
2018 Green Bean Casserole Update

Twelve years (yikes!) have gone by since I posted this recipe, and since then it has become the recipe most requested by my extended family every Thanksgiving and Christmas. It has become a tradition for us and I hope it becomes one for you.

Thanks to Alanna for the recipe, and thanks to all of you readers for your support through all these years I’ve been posting vegan recipes. Your comments and input make blogging fun!

More Vegan Holiday Recipes?

If you’re looking for more holiday recipes, don’t forget to check the Thanksgiving and Holiday sections!

The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole
4.58 from 14 votes
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The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Nut Free
Soy Free
Sugar Free
You could make this healthier by using caramelized onions instead of fried--just cook them slowly until they begin to brown and then mix them with the bread crumbs. You could also omit the margarine.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 8
Author Susan Voisin

Ingredients

Beans

  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 tablespoon table salt
  • 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces or 2 12-ounce packages frozen cut green beans

Sauce

  • 10 ounces mushrooms (I used a combination of regular button mushrooms and shiitake)
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • generous pinch cayenne pepper (had to add it for the New Orleanians)
  • Salt to taste
  • Fresh pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 3/4 cup vegetable broth (I used Imagine's No-Chicken)
  • 1 tablespoon dry sherry (Alanna's brilliant addition)
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened soy creamer or plain unsweetened plant milk

Topping (see alternate oil-free topping in Notes)

  • 1 1/2 slices whole grain bread
  • 1 tablespoon vegan margarine optional, but topping holds together better with it
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/16 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 3-ounce can French fried onions (see Notes for other options)
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Instructions

  • Beans: Bring the water to boil in a large pot. While it’s heating, cut up the beans. Add the salt and beans to the boiling water. Cover and cook for 6 minutes. Drain beans in a colander, and then spray for a minute with cold water to stop the cooking. Let them drain in the colander, shaking every now and then to get off all the water.
  • Sauce: Trim and discard the mushroom stems and chop the mushrooms into pieces. Spray a non-stick pan with canola oil and heat it. Add the mushrooms, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are very soft and exude their juices. Whisk the flour into the vegetable broth and add to the mushrooms along with the sherry. Simmer, stirring, until mixture thickens. Add the soy creamer and simmer until thick, about 5 to 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings and stir in the beans.
  • Topping: Put the bread, margarine, salt, and pepper into a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Pour into a bowl and add the onions. Stir to combine.
  • To assemble: Put the green beans into an oiled casserole dish and top with the onion mixture. Bake at 425 F for about 15 minutes. If you are not serving this right away, refrigerate the topping separately; bring to room temperature before sprinkling the topping on the casserole and baking for about 20 minutes or until hot throughout.

Notes

*Sodium figure is inflated because it includes all the salt in the bean-cooking water, most of which is not actually absorbed by the beans.
Alternate topping:
You can make this even lighter by replacing the topping with pan-"fried" onions (without oil) and panko, seasoned with black pepper. Sauté about 1 cup of chopped onions and mix with about 2 cups of panko.
Nutrition Facts
The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 102 Calories from Fat 34
% Daily Value*
Fat 3.8g6%
Sodium 1026mg45%
Carbohydrates 14g5%
Fiber 3.8g16%
Sugar 3.7g4%
Protein 3.8g8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutritional info is approximate.

Course Side Dish, Vegetable
Cuisine Holiday, Vegan
Keyword fresh green bean casserole, vegan green bean casserole
Have you made this recipe?Mention @SusanFFVK and tag #fatfreevegankitchen in your photos on Instagram.
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The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole: This is absolutely the freshest tasting green bean casserole, and it just so happens to be vegan. Perfect for the holidays! #thanksgiving #vegan #wfpb #christmas #recipes

Filed Under: Family Favorites, Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged With: Casseroles, Higher-fat, Holidays, Nut-Free, Thanksgiving Recipes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tattoo design app

    November 20, 2016 at 8:11 pm

    This looks delicious and will
    Definitely try it. Thanks

    Reply
  2. suite143

    December 13, 2016 at 12:45 am

    I really wanna try this recipe. This looks awesome from the picture.

    Reply
    • Susan Pearson

      November 19, 2021 at 5:28 pm

      I have made this casserole every year since you published the recipe. It is amazing and I love it!!

      Reply
  3. Tia

    December 24, 2016 at 11:25 am

    Susan, I found this recipe here a couple years ago. I rarely comment online but I thought it was worth letting you know I’ve made it for every holiday meal (Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas) since then. The only issue I have with it is I never have leftovers. Maybe I’ll start doubling it?
    Thank you for a fantastic recipe!

    Reply
  4. Teri W

    August 29, 2017 at 9:55 am

    Can I freeze the leftovers? Thank you, LOVE this recipe!

    Reply
    • Susan Voisin

      August 29, 2017 at 11:37 am

      I don’t see why not. The topping will probably not be as crunchy, so I would plan to add more when reheating.

      Reply
  5. Claire

    December 22, 2017 at 9:19 pm

    I just made the green bean casserole and neither me or my husband liked it. I think it was the soy creamer which had a sweet taste. We threw it away. It was a big disappointment . It really looked so good.

    Reply
    • Susan Voisin

      December 23, 2017 at 7:59 am

      I’m sorry to hear that. You have to be sure to get unsweetened creamer, which can be hard to find, or just use plain soy milk.

      Reply
    • Hope Posch

      November 24, 2019 at 9:31 am

      I agree that the recipe had a bit of an off-putting sweetness. Other than that, the recipe was great. I will make this again, but substitute unsweetened almond milk for the soy creamer.

      Reply
      • ACC

        November 19, 2020 at 8:11 am

        Did you ever wind up making this with almond milk? If so, how did it turn out?

        Reply
      • ACC

        November 19, 2020 at 8:22 am

        Oops! Nevermind! I just noticed at the bottom of the page that there are older comments and a number of folks already mentioned it.

        Reply
  6. Paula

    November 15, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    This is an amazing recipe. We have had it for Thanksgiving several years now, and it is always a hit. Is there a way to make this gluten-free?

    Reply
    • Lexi

      November 21, 2018 at 6:31 pm

      I just made this gluten free. I used corn starch instead of flour, and my topping will have gluten free (and vegan) French fried onions and gluten free bread. I wish I had omitted the cayenne but otherwise this is yummy!

      Reply
  7. Ecfinn

    December 10, 2018 at 1:44 pm

    Thank you for posting this recipe. I thought it was good, My husband thought it was very good. My only minor complaint is that I thought it was a little bland. I think that is because it needed more salt. I’ve seen other recipes call for soy sauce, so I think I’ll throw some Bragg’s Aminos in there next time. I used French’s and stirred some into the casserole, as well as topped it because I love those things. Thanks agian.

    Reply
  8. Patricia G.

    February 12, 2019 at 4:56 pm

    Hello Susan;
    Green bean casserole is not part of my cultural context (Canadian-European), so I do not not have a comparison, but it was amazing! Also, I had some aquafaba, so used that as the binder on the topping rather than margarine, and it worked beautifully – firm, crunchy crust, beautiful mushrooms and green beans below….:)

    Reply
  9. Cheryl Cromwell

    November 6, 2019 at 8:12 pm

    I did not see in the recipe where it called to add the sauce. I’m assuming before baking.

    Reply
    • Susan Voisin

      November 6, 2019 at 9:27 pm

      Yes, it’s at the end of step 2.

      Reply
  10. Marcia

    November 18, 2019 at 7:31 pm

    Thank you, Susan, for sharing this recipe! My husband’s niece’s Grandmother brought something similar to Thanksgiving dinner one year and it was a HUGE hit! I’ve been trying to find something similar and should have known I’d find it here! Love the fact that I can make it ahead since T-day is always full of too much to do and not much time to do it! I’ll return after we enjoy it and let you know what hit it was and rate it then. Thank you so very much! Hope your T-day is as wonderful as you are!!

    Reply
  11. werner

    November 29, 2019 at 5:51 pm

    Have made this for years, everyone loves it. I add 1 tbsp tamari and a little fresh thyme. But this year I cooked the beans in my Instant Pot – 1 c salted water + beans x 2-3 min w quick release. Then proceeded w casserole assembly. Perfect!

    Reply
  12. Vegas Papi

    December 6, 2019 at 2:32 am

    We had it! Was a hit! However I forgot to cook the beans! So next year COOK THE BEANS!

    Reply
    • Susan Voisin

      December 6, 2019 at 9:38 am

      Oh my gosh! I’m glad that turned out edible!

      Reply
  13. Lauren

    November 18, 2020 at 1:41 pm

    I’ve made this every Thanksgiving for the past 5 years (and will for every year to come!) so I figured it was finally time I post a review to say that this truly is the BEST EVER green bean casserole! The addition of sherry really makes the flavors pop! I am the only vegan in my family and no one ever complains about eating this 🙂 The only change I make to the recipe is I omit the bread crumbs and only use fried onions as the topping.

    Thanks for this awesome recipe!!

    Reply
  14. Kelly Redard

    November 28, 2020 at 9:36 am

    I’ve made this twice and my green beans were just not soft enough. I recommend fully cooking them because the 15 min in the oven really only heats it up and browns the topping. I’m trying to figure out if I can save this yesrs by putting back in the oven at a lower temp for about 30 min. I love green bean casserole and your recipes Susan.

    Reply
    • Susan Voisin

      November 28, 2020 at 11:05 am

      I’m so sorry. Mine are always cooked in that 6 minutes of boiling, but some beans may need more. I’ll adjust the recipe instructions to make it clear that they should be just done before draining.

      Reply
  15. Elizabeth McKeown

    November 18, 2021 at 1:37 pm

    Ever since we’ve started having Thanksvegan, back in 2009, I’ve made this recipe. And I can attest, it IS the best GB casserole ever. And alllll the non-vegan family members agree! I always double the recipe so I can have leftovers AND so family members can take some home as well. This is the best dish!

    Reply
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Susan VoisinI'm Susan Voisin, and I love creating delicious whole foods plant-based dishes with no added oil. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram.
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