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Green Bean Casserole - Gluten & Dairy Free

This Green Bean Casserole is thick and creamy with chunky mushrooms, full of flavor and crisp green beans. It is the best dairy and gluten free alternative to the traditional. This recipe serves 6 people, or more depending on their serving sizes. For time-saving on Thanksgiving you can prepare this up to mixing the sauce and green beans together. Then day off just pop it in the oven for 30 minutes and fry up your onions. I would definitely recommend doing the onions day of if you have time!

Course Side Dishes, Veggies
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Green Beans

  • 1 lb Fresh Green Beans
  • 2 tablespoons Olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon Fine sea salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon Ground pepper

Mushroom Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons Ghee, butter or coconut oil
  • 1 medium Yellow onion, diced- about 2 cups
  • 12 ounces Mushrooms, baby portabella or white cut into quarter slices or put into a food processor for smaller pieces
  • 1 can Full fat coconut milk, some cans are 13.66 to 14.5- just use a whole one!
  • 1 cup Chicken Broth/ Stock sub vegetable broth for vegan/ vegetarian
  • 1/2 tablespoon Dried Thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dried Sage
  • 1-2 teaspoons Salt and Pepper, to taste *see note below on salt

Shallot Topping

  • 4-5 Shallots, sliced into rings, about 2 cups
  • 1 tablespoon Ghee, butter or coconut oil

Slurry

  • 2 tablespoons Arrowroot Powder, Tapioca flour or Cassava flour
  • 2 tablespoons Cold water

Instructions

  1. A NOTE ON SALT: As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I like to salt my food in stages while cooking. It helps to break down food and give it more flavor as it is cooking. This means that I do a pinch or two on the onions, on the mushrooms and then taste and add salt to the final sauce as needed. That is why you must ALWAYS taste your food... there are too many variables that can be different with ingredients. Your broth may have more salt, your coconut milk may be sweeter. So what may work for one set of ingredients will not for another. If you don't already salt as you go, I highly recommend it, I notice that I use less salt overall when doing that. But the most important rule is to ALWAYS taste your food before salting! That is why I give a general range of 1-2 teaspoons, especially in this recipe.
  2. First pre-heat the oven to 350. Then, prepare the green beans. Trim off the ends and cut in half. Toss with the oil, salt and pepper. Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.

  3. While the beans are in the oven, chop up the rest of your ingredients: onions, mushrooms and shallots. To cut your mushrooms: cut them in half, and then slice the halves into 4 or so slices. Alternatively you can also process them in a food processor for smaller chunks.

  4. Heat up a pan on medium high heat and when hot melt your 2 tablespoons of ghee/ butter/ coco oil. Once melted add the onions and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes until the onions become translucent.

  5. Once melted add the onions and mushrooms. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Allow the mushrooms and onions to caramelize, cooking for 10-15 minutes. If they are still releasing a lot of liquid, you can continue to cook until that steams off.

  6. Once the onions and mushrooms have reached a beautiful brown, caramelized look add the chicken broth first, then the rest of the ingredients: coconut milk, thyme, and sage. TASTE your sauce and add salt and pepper as needed. Bring the sauce to a simmer for 5 minutes.

  7. While the sauce is simmering make your slurry! The slurry helps the arrowroot/ tapioca/ cassava to dissolve and thicken the sauce without clumping. Mix the flour and water until you have a milky smooth liquid.

  8. Pour in the slurry while stirring vigorously. Give the sauce another couple of minutes to thicken. If the sauce isn't to the thickness you desire just add more slurry in a ratio of 1:1 - so if you just wanted a little more thickness add 1 tsp arrowroot & 1 tsp water. BUT keep in mind that once the sauce cools it will become thicker!
  9. Once your sauce is nice and thick, mix with the green beans and place in an oven safe dish- I used a 1.4 liter casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes.

  10. While the casserole is baking, cook the onions. Use a pan on medium heat, once hot add your cooking fat. When melted add your onions and spread out evenly, sprinkle with salt if desired. Try not to stir the onions too frequently, you want them to sweat out and then get a little brown and crispy. If this is happening too fast, turn the heat down. The onions should be just about ready when the 30 mins is up on the casserole. Alternatively, they have great gluten free crispy onions now you can buy at the store for a traditional feel!

  11. When the casserole is ready, take it out of the oven, sprinkle the onions over top and put it back in the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately!