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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Radhika Sarohia
Made this today and skipped a few of the preliminary steps, due to time constraints, and it still came out well, I’ll be making this again
I topped it with ground flax seeds and onion flakes
I think next time I might bake it for a smaller amount of time so the vegetables are a little more crispy (just a personal preference)
Laina
Hi Susan,
I’m thinking of making this for Thanksgiving, but noticed it’s over-the-top sodium laden. Is that from the tablespoon of salt when cooking the beans, or is there a lot in the french fried onions as well?
If mostly in the bean water I can easily omit that. But I’m guessing the french fried onions are what make the dish and wouldn’t want to not add those. 😉
Laina
Hi Susan,
Just read your notes and noticed your comment on the sodium in the water. I did some reading and found that much of the sodium is absorbed, but couldn’t find out how much.
So my solution will be not to add salt to the water and omit the sodium in the topping because there’s already plenty of sodium in the margarine, and I’ll look for no-sodium bread. I think Ezekiel has a no-sodium version.
Also for the sauce, one could find a no-sodium vegetable broth and my soy milk doesn’t have sodium added either. By doing this it would bring the sodium level to less than 300 mg of sodium.
This is figured at 6 servings so if 8 servings are used the amount of sodium would drop significantly.
Normally I wouldn’t be too concerned for one dish at a special time of year, but there will be other dishes with some sodium as well, so I try to limit the added sodium as much as possible.
I know this isn’t important for everyone, but I do follow E2L and try to be strict with the amount of sodium allowed because I have high blood pressure if I stray.
As always, thank you so much for your wonderful, delicious recipes. I think I’ll be making the Samosa’s this week. I don’t normally eat potato anymore but once-in-a-while I get a hankering for them and the Samosas look and sound so yummy!
Christina
Looks great! What if I’m taking this to a work potluck and don’t have an oven at work? Should I bake the topping with the casserole, or just put it in the microwave at work before serving? I feel like cooking it together in advance would work better.
Susan Voisin
Definitely bake it at home first and then reheat it in the microwave later.
Karen
Do you think the dish would taste as good if the mushrooms were left out?
Susan Voisin
Personally, no, I think that too much of the flavor comes from the mushrooms so it wouldn’t be near as good without them.
KBeane
I made this today to accompany my vegan French onion soup. Very tasty! I love the mushrooms in it. Thanks for posting.
Susan Voisin
Glad you liked it!
Michele
do you mean the same French-fried onions that are used in the regular old green bean casserole recipe?
aren’t they crazy unhealthy and have all kinds of preservatives, etc.? there are/have to be healthier versions … it would be very helpful if you could tell me to what specifically you are referring. thank you.
Carol Lani
OMG! I just remembered that my dehydrator would come in handy with making shoestring crispy onion rings! (Slice thin and add a touch of tamari and or basalmic, perhaps? Then dry till crisp…) Also our local whole foods has a raw dandelion cracker dehydrated by someone in-house and it does have a little olive oil, but would still make a much healthier and very yummy topping for this!!!! Cannot wait to try!
Grace
I just made this for tonight’s thanksgiving meal and it was amazing! This recipe will be going into permanent holiday rotation 🙂
Kristen
We made this again this year – it’s a holiday tradition now. But we also had non-vegan friends make it because I rave about it so much, and they love it now too! Thanks for blessing us with one of our favorite dishes!
Kathy V
Made these for Thanksgiving and they were delicious. I never liked the “original” dish when I was growing up and not vegan. I left them in the oven a little too long and that made the topping extra crunchy. Thanks for another great recipe.
Radhika Sarohia
After seeing some microwave casserole recipes online, I tried to make a low-carb microwave version of this. It came out okay, to my surprise. Need to play around with it a bit more, esp the topping, but it was not too bad 🙂
Kathy
Hi I made this tonight for a belated Thanksgiving dinner in New Zealand. I followed the recipe to the “t” except for the soy creamer. They don’t have that here so I used half soy milk and half coconut cream and it was so yummy with that hint of coconut. Anyway I just wanted to say that all of the comments on here are legit because this recipe truly rocks!! Thank again.
Nova
WOW! Made this for Thanksgiving this year and it was a huge hit with everyone, including my meat-eating, salt and sugar loving parents! I subbed coconut milk for the soy creamer. The sauce itself is so deliciously creamy and mushroomy that we have stared to use the sauce over whole wheat macaroni with some green beans added in – completely leaving out the french fried onions and margarine. This recipe is a keeper!
norjdont
I just had to tell you this is a knockout recipe! The first time I made it was to use up the green beans I kept getting in my CSA box. I’m not sure why I even tried it, as no one in my family(husband, son and I) have ever liked the regular version, but I’m so glad I did. Then came Thanksgiving, and the “What sides are we going to have this year?” discussion my family has EVERY year. My sister-in-laws grandmother said green bean casserole. And because she’s over ninety, we all agreed, even though she wouldn’t be spending dinner with us. I promised to deliver a dish everyone would love, so long as no one asked any questions(I’m the only vegan). At first everyone took that small obligatory scoop, but then they came back for seconds and if they were lucky enough thirds. It was the first dish that ran out. And now, tonight I was planning the menu for Christmas. It’s just going to be just my the three of this year and we’re keeping it small. I asked my son to pick a side…and he picked “That green bean stuff.” Highest praise. Thank you for this!
kristina
Just want to let you know that this is my 4-5th year making this recipe and it’s my dad’s absolute favorite. He’s 66, and on the fragile side – and requested this as his only Christmas gift. Thanks for sharing your love of food 🙂
Happy Holidays!
Kristina D, from NH
Abra
Made this tonight as well and it was a real crowd pleaser. I think the sauce alone would make a great thick soup. Definitely a keeper!
Tracey
This is the BEST green bean casserole EVER… vegan or not. I made it for the teachers at my daughter’s preschool for a special lunch, and they were all asking for the recipe. It is amazing. Thank you!!! Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
Rachael
Thanks for this recipe! It’s the best green bean casserole I’ve made. I did substitute 2 cans of green beans for the fresh because that’s what I had, but it still turned out amazing.
Sarah
It really is the best. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving to roll around so I can make it again. Everyone in my family loves it except for my picky grandpa who only eats about three things and won’t eat anything if he suspects it of veganism. I pretty much live off the leftovers (if there are any) for every meal until it’s gone. SO freaking good.
Michelle
Amazing recipes!!!
Alli
I love this recipe. I found it when I was vegan around 2008 and it was such a hit I’ve cooked it every T-day since. My husband checks and double checks that I’m serving the dish weeks in advance.
Kelly
This sounds AMAZING and can not wait to try it for Thanksgiving this year! Can it be made the night before and still come out OK??
Susan Voisin
Sure. I bake it without the topping and refrigerate the topping separately; then I bring to room temperature before sprinkling the topping on the casserole and baking for about 20 minutes or until hot throughout.
Kelly
Thank you!! Baked the green bean part and tastes divine!! Can’t wait to try it all put together tomorrow!!
Peggy
I made this for the second time tonight. It was delicious!!! As a spice lover, I added extra garlic, cayenne, chili pepper and red pepper flakes (my norm!) and used vanilla soy milk. My husband questioned why in the world I would even consider vanilla with green bean casserole, but I followed my instincts and it worked. Turned out to be a very spicy dish with a hint of sweet. Thanks for the great recipe!
Dina
… Hi Susan … i want to thank you for all the recipes that i have received from you … i’m grateful & privileged to be a vegan … because this is how i found you … God Bless you Susan … your loved ones & the whole world … God Bless …
Adam Podraza
Susan, even though this recipe is 6 years old I have to share how much I loved it. Everything is sheer perfection.
Tami@Nutmeg Notebook
I made this for my family for Thanksgiving and it was a stand out dish at our table! It was perfect and I will be making this again and again. Thanks so much Susan!
Sara
Hi Susan. I made this recipe yesterday for Thanksgiving and I need your advice on how to make it better for Christmas. I prepared the recipe exactly as directed and my sauce was extremely thick- just like it’s supposed to be. I poured it into my casserole dish and drove it to my parents, where it sat on the counter for about 2 hours before we baked it. To my dismay, the thick sauce turned to liquid and I had more of a green bean soup than a casserole. What do you think I did wrong?
I also made your double layer pumpkin cheesecake, which turned out perfectly, and was a huge hit with my non-vegan family! Also your mushroom gravy, also delicious, thank you!
Susan Voisin
Sara, I’m so sorry about that! I can’t figure it out, unless the beans just continued to give off liquid after they were cooked. I’ve made it before to take with me, and I make it up to the baking step, keeping the topping separate, and I’ve never had that happen. But maybe next time, keep the beans separate from the sauce until you’re ready to bake. Drain the beans of any accumulated liquid before assembling the casserole. Hopefully this will work!
Sara
Hi Susan, thanks so much for this advice! I made this dish again yesterday, and this time I kept the beans separate from the sauce until we were ready to put it in the oven. It was perfect and didn’t get at all watery. This time I used plain coconut milk creamer, and a combo of almond meal and sliced almonds for the topping. Delicious!
Usha
Made this for Thanksgiving just as written. I would never have treated green beans this way (50’s ish casserole) if it weren’t for the fact that Susan vouched for the result. She told the truth. It was Excellent! Non-vegan folks raved about it. The little bit of leftover was cleverly stashed for later by me, but were discovered and eaten by my teenager the next day!
Also worth observing that this was a very forgiving recipe…it went in the oven a bit longer than stated since other things were in there too, and at a lower temp, and still turned out stellar.
Alaine
It really is the best vegan casserole. I’ve made this recipe 3 times since Thanksgiving! I added about 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce and about 1/2 tsp of dried thyme to the sauce, and a sprinkle of Italian bread crumbs to the topping as a substitution for fresh bread and butter because I’m lazy. Crazy good!
Karen Havling
Susan, thanks for a great recipe. I took it to Christmas dinner at my parents – they and my daughter-in-law are vegan, while my son and I are vegetarian. There were a couple of meat-eaters also, and everyone loved it! I used almond milk instead of soy creamer since that’s what I had on hand, and added a Tbsp of soy sauce. I also just used FF onions for the topping instead of mixing it with bread crumbs. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Bridget Young
I made this yesterday for Christmas dinner and it was so good! I am the only vegan in the family but everyone thought it was delicious, (and we’re talking 3 generations.) Thanks so much for this recipe. It’s a holiday classic!
Krysia Kaminski
I thought these recipes were fat free — this one certainly isn’t. ??
Susan Voisin
I pointed out in the introduction that this is a special occasion dish that has reduced fat but isn’t fat free.
Krysia Kaminski
sorry – i saw that after i posted. Great site!
bikehikenc
Wondering how this would be to substitute squash for the green beans???? I want to make a healthy squash casserole and have not found any really good recipes.
Kirsten
Oh my goodness Susan! This is fantastic! I know it’s nowhere near Thanksgiving but I had a bag each of fresh green and yellow beans from the farmer’s market, that needed to be eaten tonight or go to waste. Since I’m lazy, I added a can of black beans and called it 3-Bean Delight! I served it all over a bed of barley for a one dish meal!
Other modifications I made:
Unfortunately I can’t have whole onions right now so I added onion powder to both the mushroom sauce and the bread crumbs. I also added crumbled almonds to the topping but I think I’ll leave them out next time.
kariann
The soy creamer that I use has cane sugar in it. Will that add a sweetness to this dish? What brand of creamer do you usually use for your recipes? Thank you, I am trying to prepare my Thanksgiving day menu.
Susan Voisin
The one I’ve used is the plain Silk creamer, which probably has sugar in it, but it’s not enough to be noticible in this. I have also used plain unsweetened almond milk and just added a thickener to it.
Dawna Hill
Hi Susan, is there any way that this can be made delicious without soy creamer, margarine and fried onions? (I follow Dr Mcdougall’s diet.) I see that I can use an alternative milk to replace the creamer and omit the margarine. If I use flax to make a sauce for this casserole or use flour/cornstarch/vegy broth with spices and so forth will this taste similarly to your recipe? I think salt may help the taste, but still omnivores would not eat this as it doesn’t have margarine, creamer, and fried onions. Would that be the case? If the dish is fat free, omnivores wouldn’t eat it, do you think? Do you have an idea for a very low fat sauce for this beautiful casserole? Thank you so much Susan.
da
No need to advise or apologize that your recipe is not low fat. Thankfully I never fell for that ruse. Cheap white Starches, modern wheat and sugars, not fat is the enemy.
Becky
Well, I picked up the soy creamer that has sugar in it so not a good choice. Will almond milk make this totally runny?
Becky
Saw the answer from someone else! Thanks!
Louanne
Did a test run for the office potluck, and I subbed in almond milk with a bit of cornstarch and used Alton Brown’s onion topping from his best ever green bean casserole – it was so good! Thanks, Susan!