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.
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.
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!
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
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)
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
Nutritional info is approximate.
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This looks delicious and will
Definitely try it. Thanks
suite143
I really wanna try this recipe. This looks awesome from the picture.
Susan Pearson
I have made this casserole every year since you published the recipe. It is amazing and I love it!!
Tia
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!
Teri W
Can I freeze the leftovers? Thank you, LOVE this recipe!
Susan Voisin
I don’t see why not. The topping will probably not be as crunchy, so I would plan to add more when reheating.
Claire
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.
Susan Voisin
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.
Hope Posch
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.
ACC
Did you ever wind up making this with almond milk? If so, how did it turn out?
ACC
Oops! Nevermind! I just noticed at the bottom of the page that there are older comments and a number of folks already mentioned it.
Paula
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?
Lexi
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!
Ecfinn
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.
Patricia G.
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….:)
Cheryl Cromwell
I did not see in the recipe where it called to add the sauce. I’m assuming before baking.
Susan Voisin
Yes, it’s at the end of step 2.
Marcia
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!!
werner
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!
Vegas Papi
We had it! Was a hit! However I forgot to cook the beans! So next year COOK THE BEANS!
Susan Voisin
Oh my gosh! I’m glad that turned out edible!
Lauren
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!!
Kelly Redard
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.
Susan Voisin
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.
Elizabeth McKeown
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!
Rachel
I make this every year, and it’s always popular.