This article may contain affiliate links. please check out my policy!
A classic with a twist! Delicious, homemade green bean casserole made dairy-free and with an herbed panko topping instead of fried onions. Try something a little different!
I love green bean casserole. It was something that was always included in holiday meals, usually Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas. I always had a huge helping on my plate, either way! Traditionally, green bean casserole is made using green beans and a can of cream of mushroom soup. But, the cans contain dairy which renders this classic casserole not vegan. womp
There's an easy fix for that, though! Though nothing is easier than just dumping a can of something, right? There are some vegan cream of mushroom soups out there that you could use of course, but I don't personally enjoy the flavor.
This recipe uses my very own, homemade creamy mushroom soup.
Traditional green bean casserole also uses fried onions for the topping, however, due to my intolerance for onions, I replicated the crunch factor by seasoning some panko bread crumbs and it came out incredible!
What makes this the best vegan green bean casserole?
- Dairy-Free
- Easily made gluten-free -continue reading to learn how!-
- Can be made in 30 minutes
- Can be made ahead of time
🥘Ingredients
To make this recipe time-friendly, I am using frozen green beans. You can totally use fresh, a bit of the process will of course change so be sure to check here for instructions on working with fresh green beans. - you can also opt for canned green beans which will be the same process as frozen
I also use panko bread crumbs for the topping as I can't have onions. By all means, get a thing of the French's fried onions to top this glorious dish. Of course, if you have a little more time to walk around your kitchen, you can make your own fried onions. For gluten free, swap for gf bread crumbs.
You can swap coconut milk for any plant milk.
I'm using rice vinegar but feel free to use apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, plain or even lemon juice/pickle juice will work.
Any basic, easy to obtain mushrooms will do.
Any neutral oil will work.
Soy sauce can be swapped for tamari or coconut aminos. Or just straight up salt to taste.
Please see the recipe card for correct quantities.
🔪Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C
Step One - thinly slice your mushrooms. They do not have to be perfect
Step Two - Add a tiny bit of oil to a pot/pan/dutch oven and throw in the mushrooms. Saute on medium-high heat until they start to soften and darken.
Step Three - Add in soy sauce, paprika, garlic powder, veggie bouillon, and vinegar and mix around.
Step Four - Add in a whole can of coconut milk or 1.5 cups of any plant milk.
Step Five - Fill up thee can with water and add it to the pot. If not using canned coconut milk, just add an extra cup of water or milk.
Step six - When the mixture gets back up to almost boiling, add in a cornstarch slurry. This is to thicken to soup. Once the soup is at desired thickness, turn off the heat.
Step Seven - In a bowl add the panko breadcrumbs, oil, paprika, garlic powder, and salt. and mix well.
Step Eight - Mix the green beans with the mushroom soup into an oiled baking dish.
Step Nine - Flatten out the mixture and then top with the seasoned panko crumbs. Throw into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Then run the broiler for 5 minutes - be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn -
💭Using Fresh Green Beans
If you plan to use fresh green beans, there is a little bit of extra work involved. After de-stemming your green beans and snapping them in half (if you prefer), boil them for about 5 minutes in some salty water and then dunk them into super cold or icy water to stop the cooking process.
Then you may mix them into the mushroom soup and continue making the casserole.
👩🏻🍳Cook's Top Tip
If you're making this for a gathering, mix the green beans and mushroom soup together the day before to allow the flavors to really meld together, then on the day of, spread the panko and bake.
🍱Storage
Refrigerator - Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Though it may be pretty bland and mushy by the 3rd day.
Freezer - Place in an airtight, freezer friendly container for up to 3 months.
Reheating - Reheat in the microwave in 30 second intervals or if still in a glass baking dish, reheat in the oven at 350 F / 180 C for 10 minutes.
❓Gluten-Free?
To easily make this recipe gluten-free, a couple of easy swaps are needed.
- In the soup mixture, swap the soy sauce for regular salt (measurement will change see recipe card), tamari, coconut aminos, or miso paste.
- Swap the panko bread crumbs for any of the following
- Corn flakes -do make sure they are gluten free-
- Potato chips
- Rice or corn chex
- Process gluten-free bread
- Store-bought GF bread crumbs
Try some of these related recipes!
📖 Recipe
Equipment
- 1 glass 9x9 baking dish
- 1 Knife
- 1 Medium-size bowl
Ingredients
Sauce
- 3-4 cups sliced mushrooms
- ¼ cup soy sauce - see notes
- 1 Tablespoon oil - for sauteing
- 1 can coconut milk - see notes
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch - + 2 tablespoon water
- 1 Tablespoon paprika - not smoked
- ½ Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 cup water - fill coconut milk can 1 time
- 1 cube veggie bouillon
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar - see notes
Topping
Other
- 2 10 ounce bags of frozen green beans - can sub 1lb fresh or 3 cans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F or 180 °C
- Place oil in a dutch oven or pot and turn on to medium-high heat.1 Tablespoon oil
- Cut up mushrooms and place them into the pot and saute until they start to get soft and smaller, then add paprika, garlic powder, soy sauce, veggie bouillon, and vinegar,3-4 cups sliced mushrooms,1 Tablespoon paprika,½ Tablespoon garlic powder,1 cube veggie bouillon,1 Tablespoon vinegar,¼ cup soy sauce
- Stir and heat for a few minutes, then add in the coconut milk, as well as water and allow to come back to a slight boil.1 can coconut milk,1 cup water
- Next, add the cornstarch slurry and bring back to a boil. Your soup should start to thicken after about 5 minutes. Give it a stir, remove from heat and set aside.1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- Add panko to a bowl with oil and mix around until the panko is well coated. Then add in paprika, garlic powder and salt and mix well again.2 cups panko bread crumbs,1 Tablespoon oil,1 Tablespoon paprika,1 teaspoon garlic powder,pinch of salt
- Take the green beans and add them to the mushroom soup mixture and mix around until all beans are coated. If using fresh green beans, after boiling for 5 minutes and then blanching in ice water, add them into the soup. With canned green beans, drain and then add.2 10 ounce bags of frozen green beans
- Grease a 9x9 baking dish with oil or butter and add the green bean and soup mixture to it. Spread it out evenly. Then, sprinkle the panko mixture over the top evenly.
- Place into the oven for 20 minutes. Use the broiler on the last 5 minutes to get a nice browning on the bread crumbs.
Notes
- For Gluten Free - swap the panko for a gluten free bread crumb and the soy sauce with tamari or coconut aminos.
- You can swap the soy sauce entirely with salt to taste.
- Any plant-based milk will do. I just prefer using coconut milk.
- Vinegar can be regular, apple cider, or red wine.
Nutrition
Need an idea of what to share in a comment? Share any substitutions you made that worked well so that anyone else reading can gain some knowledge in case they run into issues. Comment just to say you've tried it and if you liked it, or If you did not enjoy, or had an issue. Other readers can benefit from you! You can also leave a comment just to tell me you plan on trying it, I don't mind! Be sure to also leave a rating with your comment. Every little bit helps me bring you more delicious vegan recipes! Any rude, non-constructive comments will not be accepted. Thank you.
Leave a Reply