This dairy free green bean casserole will leave you speechless! It's easy to make with simple whole food ingredients and makes the perfect healthy side dish.
Not only is this green bean casserole vegan, but it's also gluten-free! It's amazing what you can make with plant-based ingredients.
This post was originally published on October 8, 2020.
I have never been a huge fan of traditional green bean casserole, the overly rich yet mushy result made me gag. But after creating the best vegan alfredo sauce, I knew it was the perfect ingredient to use for a vegan green bean casserole remake!
Ingredients
This healthy green bean casserole recipe has enough of the traditional flavor for nostalgia purposes, but is WAY better! Fresh, crisp, creamy, and extra delicious, all from vegan whole food ingredients.
You won't find any condensed soup in this recipe! Here's what you'll need:
- Yellow onion
- Mushrooms
- Green beans
- Vegan Alfredo sauce
- Seasonings
- Fried onions
To top, you can use store bought crispy onions or you can make my onion ring recipe for a healthier fried onion topping.
How To Make Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Just a few steps stand between you and this dairy free green bean casserole:
- Sauté onions & mushrooms.
- Add green beans, cook a little to soften and add cream sauce.
- Pour into baking dish & bake.
- Top with onions and brown a few more minutes in the oven.
- Serve!
Recipes To Serve With Green Bean Casserole
Any classic holiday meal will be improved with this dish, try serving it along with any of these dairy free recipes:
- Gluten-Free Vegan Stuffing
- Creamy Vegan Mashed Potatoes
- 4 Ingredient Vegan Gravy
- Healthier Sweet Potato Casserole
- Maple Roasted Carrots
- The Best Vegan Broccoli Casserole
- Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Healthy Vegan Cauliflower Casserole
- Healthy Cranberry Sauce
- Vegan and Gluten Free Apple Pie
- Easy Vegan and Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie
Preparation and Substitution Tips
- Fresh green beans are best for this recipe, but if you can’t find them frozen will work in a pinch.
- I use my vegan Alfredo sauce for this recipe as I feel the flavors go best together. My vegan cashew cream sauce could also work, or any vegan store bought sauce.
- You can use the store bought crispy fried onions or make your own. I used my onion ring recipe and chopped them up, it worked out fantastic!
- I used a square baking dish for this recipe. Most casserole dishes will work, but you may need to adjust baking time depending on the depth.
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
- To save time day of, make the sauce and crispy onions beforehand.
- You can also prepare ahead of time by assembling the casserole.
- Leave off the crispy onions.
- Cover the dish and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
- Remove from the fridge about 20 minutes before baking, top with the onions, then pop it in the oven!
- Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, leftovers will keep for up to 4 days.
- Reheating in the oven is best for the crispiness, but microwaving would suffice.
Common Questions
Green bean casserole was invented in the 1950's in the Campbells test kitchen. It traditionally consisted of cream of mushroom soup, milk, green beans, soy sauce, and fried onions. While it's a classic on many a table, it's a little too mushy, and a little too -not- vegan for my taste. Hence, this recipe!
As I mentioned before, I like to use my onion ring recipe and chop them up. You can also easily sauté onions until soft and coat in breadcrumbs. If onions aren't your jam but you still want some crunch, try plain breadcrumbs, crushed croutons, ritz crackers, or potato chips!
Usually, no. Cream of mushroom soup contains, well, cream. And milk is often used as well. My vegan Alfredo sauce is a great substitute and contains zero dairy, making this version of heathy green bean casserole completely vegan.
Sautéing the mushrooms and onion before mixing in and baking will help prevent excess moisture. Classic recipes may need a thickener in the sauce, but this version uses a nice and thick sauce that won't get runny!
More Dairy Free Recipes
Absolutely no dairy is used to create these amazing recipes, they're just made with whole food, plant based ingredients!
- Easy Enchilada Casserole
- The Best Vegan Cheese Sauce (Great for mac and cheese!)
- Vegan Cotija Cheese
- Dairy Free Nacho Cheese Sauce
- Easy Gluten and Dairy Free Pot Pie
- Vegan Whipped Cream
Amazing Dairy Free Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped sweet or yellow onion
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms , about 8 ounces
- Drizzle of olive oil , or broth if you don’t use oil
- 1 pound fresh green beans , see note
- 3 cups vegan Alfredo sauce , or cream sauce of choice (see note)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups fried onions , store bought or homemade (see note)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F/ 175 C
- Wash and clean the string beans, cutting off the tips.
- Sauté the onions with oil or broth until soft. Abut 5 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the green beans, cover and steam for 10 minutes.
- Take off the heat and stir in the cream sauce.
- Pour into a square baking dish and bake for 15 minutes.
- Top with the onions and bake another 5 minutes.
- Serve!
Notes
- If you can’t find fresh, frozen could work in a pinch.
- I have many cream sauces you can choose from or you can use a ready one from the store. I use my Vegan Alfredo Sauce.
- I used my onion ring recipe and chopped them up.
- You can use the store bought crispy fried onions or make your own. You can also easily sauté onions until soft and coat in breadcrumbs.
- Nutrition facts use half of my onion ring recipe, so others will change the results.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Sarah
This was a hit with the whole family! Never going back to the old version!
Roxanne
This is delicious. Thank you!
Roxanne
Perfect. Just what I was looking for. I have a suggestion. Please put your name or blog name on your printed recipe. I often print out recipes I want to try, then when I go back to find them again, I don't know which site I got the printed recipe from. I'd love to be able to see it on the recipe. Thanks!
veggiesdontbite
Hi Roxanne! Thank you so much for your great review! I am thrilled you liked it! I was not aware my name didn't translate over to the printed page, since it is on the recipe card. But I just added a snippet to appear at the bottom of the print page with my website name on it! Let me know if you see it on your end.
Kelly
If your looking to wow your family at thanksgiving, this green bean casserole will not disappoint! The Alfredo is delicious!! Sophia you’re recipes are always spot on 😄thank you!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so so much Kelly!! I am so happy you liked this so much!
Deb Lee
Great recipe! I was able to use almost 2 pounds of beans instead of 1 pound, with 3 cups of a vegan mornay sauce I made, and it was still quite coated! Personal taste I guess!
I made sure almost all the water was evaporated from bottom of frying pan before adding sauce, didnt want to risk it being to watery!
The miso and tahini did not give it an overpowering taste, we were questioning whether it would!
I took a short cut and just used sautéed onion on top! Now I see how easy the recipe is, next time I'll go for the home made crispy onion too! Then it will be more like Mom's!
Thanks
veggiesdontbite
I'm so happy you liked it Deb!! And definitely add more or less to make it how you prefer, I like it creamy and wanted it to be like the traditional. Try the crispy onion for sure!!