Vegan Green Bean Casserole
If you tell no one, NO ONE will be able to tell that this is vegan, and that's a good thing! The canned-soup version had a long run, and we thank it for its service. This version keeps the part everyone actually fights over, the crispy fried onions on top, and builds the sauce from scratch: browned mushrooms, garlic, onion and thyme folded into homemade cashew cream. It’s dairy-free, comes together in about an hour, and can be assembled a day ahead, which matters a lot on the big day (Thanksgivings!).
Equipment
- High-speed blender
- Large Pot
- Large bowl (for ice bath)
- Large skillet
- 2-quart baking dish (or 8x8-inch)
Ingredients
- Cashew Cream
- 1 cup raw cashews 140g
- ¾ cup water plus more as needed (180g)
- Green Beans
- 1½ lb fresh green beans trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces (680g)(about 6 cups)
- 1 tbsp kosher salt for the blanching water (9g)
- Mushroom Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil 27g
- 8 oz cremini or baby bella mushrooms sliced (225g)
- 3 garlic cloves minced (9g)
- ½ yellow onion finely diced
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves 16g or 1 tsp (3g) dried
- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth 240g
- 1 tbsp cornstarch 8g
- 2 tbsp cold water 30g
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast 8g
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice 5g
- 1 tsp kosher salt adjusted to taste (3g)
- ½ tsp black pepper 1g
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg 1g
- Topping
- 1⅓ cups crispy fried onions divided (85g)
- ½ cup dried textured pea protein optional add
Instructions
- Soak the cashews. Cover the cashews with just-boiled water and let them sit 15 minutes. Drain, then blend with ¾ cup (180 g) fresh water until completely smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. You want it pourable, like heavy cream. Add water a tablespoon at a time if it’s too thick. Set aside.
- Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Blanch the green beans. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tbsp salt. Cook the green beans 4 minutes, until bright green and just tender, then move them straight into an ice bath. Drain well and pat dry. (Wet beans make a watery casserole, and nobody wants that!)
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and leave them alone for 2 minutes, then keep cooking, stirring occasionally, until browned and their liquid has cooked off, 6 to 8 minutes total. Add garlic, onion and thyme and cook 1 minute.
- Begin to build the sauce. Pour in the broth and scrape up the browned bits. Whisk the cornstarch with 2 tbsp cold water, stir it in, and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Lower the heat and stir in the cashew cream, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Taste. It should be a little saltier than you think, since the beans will soak some of it up. Less is more though, so feel free to adjust.
- Fold the green beans into the sauce, then spread everything into the baking dish.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, until bubbling at the edges. Scatter the fried onions over the top (and optional dried TPP) and bake 3 to 5 more minutes, until they’re deep golden. Keep an eye on them, because they go from golden to burnt faster than you’d like to believe! Let it rest 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Substitutions
- Gluten-free: Swap the fried onions for a gluten-free crispy onion brand. Everything else in the recipe is already gluten-free (check that your broth is too).
- Cornstarch: Arrowroot powder swaps in 1:1.
- Mushrooms: White button mushrooms work. Add a few chopped dried porcini (soak first) for a deeper flavor.
- Fresh vs. frozen beans: Frozen cut green beans work. Skip blanching, thaw, and pat very dry.
- Cashew-free: Use full-fat canned coconut milk in place of the cashew cream. Expect a faint coconut flavor.
- A splash of dry white wine after the mushrooms brown (let it cook off before adding broth)
- ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds mixed in with the topping
- Make ahead: Assemble through step 6, cover, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bake straight from the fridge, adding 10 minutes, then top with the onions at the end.
- Sauce too thick? Loosen it with a splash of broth before folding in the beans.