Clean Green Bean Casserole

Looking for a Green Bean Casserole that doesn’t require an un-healthy can of soup?! This recipe is what you’ve been waiting for.
Green Bean Casserole has always been a Christmas dinner tradition in my family and my personal favorite! It’s a great way to add veggies to the table and relatively easy if you use the recipe on the back of the French’s Fried Onion container, but unfortunately a can of Cream of Mushroom is full of preservatives (sorry Campbells!). I've even searched for organic soups, but no luck. So here I re-created my own cream of mushroom using almond milk, onions and fresh mushrooms.  Inspiration came from Fed & Fit’s Paleo version which can easily be made dairy free.

I’ve made this recipe for about a while now and everyone has been pleasantly surprised at the sweet and hearty taste. The French’s fried onion rings are the guilty pleasure on this one. They are too hard for me to replicate, so I continue to use them.

Almond meal, almond milk shallots and fresh sautéed mushrooms make up this home made filling – best described as rich and creamy with bit of texture from the almond meal. If you use regular flour I suggest adding more almond milk to thin it out.

Price: Almond Milk is around $2.99 per liter. Almond meal, (now here is the problem child) is expensive, unless you are gluten free you probably don’t have this on hand. I got on a super sale for $6.99 but usually it’s around $9 (OUCH!), so feel free to use regular flour.

Almond Meal about to go into the pot. 

Ready to make the best, healthy green bean casserole ever!? Let’s go!

Clean Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb Green Beans (standard package size)
8 oz Baby Bella Mushrooms, sliced
2-3 Tbsp. Water
½ Cup Red Wine
1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
2 Shallots, small or medium, chopped
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1¾ Cup Almond Milk
¾ Cup Almond Meal or Flour
1 tsp. corn starch
2 Tbsp. Honey
1 tsp. Salt and Pepper
¾  Cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 Container French's Fried Onion Rings

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a large casserole dish and add frozen green beans. Rinse Mushrooms. In a medium skillet add water, butter, red wine (sweet variety – or substituting more water is fine if you don’t have wine) and sliced mushrooms. Cook on medium high to sauté, until liquid is mostly dissolved, about 20 minutes. While mushrooms are cooking, in a medium/large pot, add 2 Tbsp. EVOO and chopped shallots. Sautee until clear and they start to crisp on the edges. Then to the same pot as shallots, add almond milk, almond meal (or substitute flour), honey, salt and pepper. If using flour you may want to add a little extra almond milk. Stir and simmer about 5 minutes. When mushrooms are done add them to the large pot with the almond milk mixture. Stir. Pour the mixture over the green beans. Next add shredded cheese (or may omit to keep the recipe dairy free). Using a spatula, fold all the ingredients into the pan until mixed.  Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and top with French fried onion rings. Put back in the oven for 5 more minutes. 

Note: You can make this recipe dairy free by omitting the cheddar cheese and butter. It will still taste good! 

I love mushrooms cooked with wine. Please give them a try if you never have! Saute the mushrooms with wine and butter or use water if wine isn't available.

There are alot of things I will do to be healthy, but take out the fried onion rings, I will not! Did you know they are made with Palm oil? Not so bad after all!

Let me know what reaction your family gives a homemade Clean Green Bean Casserole at your next holiday gathering!

Post updated 11/23/2016
Originally posted on 12/21/2015