Looking for a Green Bean Casserole recipe using REAL ingredients? Try this vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, paleo-friendly recipe that tastes the best! (Jump directly to the recipe.)
You know that feeling you get when your mom pulls out those drawings you did when you were in junior high and showing them to your friends and loved ones during the holidays? “You were so talented! Look at this!” she’ll exclaim loudly, while you try in vain to climb under the sofa to hide. Well that’s sort of how I feel when I look at old blog posts of mine. Yet somehow, recipes and posts do pop up, especially when it’s seasonal hits like my vegan green bean casserole. Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I thought it was time for me to update that specific recipe. It was already a vegan and gluten free green bean casserole, so I thought, since I’m redoing, why not make it grain free and paleo friendly? I know there are tons of people out there could use an allergen friendly and paleo thanksgiving recipe. Not only that, but the shifts I did with the recipe actually make it BETTER. Yep. This is one is a keeper.
If you’ve read this blog before, you’ll know that I don’t have many food restrictions. Other than a minor lactose intolerance that I power through when I have a craving for ice cream (though, after recently getting a review copy of Kelly Brozyna’s Dairy Free Ice Cream cookbook, that might not be an issue either!) I’m extremely lucky to be able to eat most anything I want. But I also know that many people out don’t have the luxury, and that means I often strive to make food that is allergen friendly. But, because I CAN eat gluten, dairy, grains and such, it also means I know those foods taste like. When I develop a recipe it has to stand up to the original. Or, ideally, be better than the original.
So trust me when I say that this vegan, gluten free, grain free, paleo friendly green bean casserole is good, nay great. Not only is it significantly better than the canned mushroom version (duh) since it’s made from real ingredients but it’s actually better than the milk and cream version that I had originally based the recipe on. The nuts like cashews and almonds play so well together with the earthy green beans and the mushrooms in this dish. In fact, this recipe pretty much has taken a permanent place in on my Thanksgiving dinner table, a table full of omnivores that eat flour, grains and dairy goods. And, in the mountain of food that gets produced for the celebratory Thanksgiving, it’s the one that usually gets finished. How’s that for testament to this fantastic dish?
Vegan Green Bean Casserole, gluten free, grain free, paleo friendly
By Irvin Lin
The classic green bean casserole is part of nearly every Thanksgiving potluck in middle America. This recipe reworks the canned green bean and mushroom soup version into an easy from scratch recipe that is friendly to most people with food restrictions, other than those with nut allergies. Even better though, is that the final dish tastes BETTER than any green bean casserole you have ever had. Truth. Bonus, the dish isn’t really a casserole, as it’s made on the stove, which frees up room in the oven for other dishes.
There are a few things to note about the ingredients. The cashews need to be raw and need to soak overnight in water, so plan accordingly. The almond meal or flour can be purchased or just take plain unsalted almonds and grind them up into a powder in a food processor. Arrowroot flour is a thickener that is gluten free and paleo friendly. If you don’t have any on hand, you can substitute cornstarch, glutinous rice flour or tapioca flour in its place. You can even substitute regular flour if you aren’t gluten sensitive.
Revised from a previous post of mine for Vegan Green Bean Casserole, which in turn was inspired by a Cook’s Illustrated recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup raw cashews
3 large shallots, sliced into 1/8 inch thickness
1/4 cup almond meal or flour
1 tablespoon arrowroot flour (or cornstarch, see note above for other substitutions)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
7 tablespoons olive oil, divided
10 oz white or brown button mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
6 medium cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, tips snipped off
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 fresh bay leaf or 2 dry bay leaves
1 cup vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions
1. Place the cashews in a medium sized bowl, and cover them with water until they are completely submerged. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Once the cashews have soaked, drain them and rinse thoroughly. Place the cashews in a blender or food processor and add 1/2 cup of water. Process on high speed until pureed into a thick cream consistency.
2. Line a baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels. Place the shallot slices in a medium bowl and sprinkle the almond meal, arrowroot flour, ground pepper, and salt over the shallots. Toss to evenly coat the shallots. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large sauté pan or skillet on high. Once the oil starts to shimmer (but before it starts to smoke) reduce the heat slightly to medium high and add the coated shallots and fry them, stirring constantly, until they are golden brown, about five minutes or so. Once they are golden brown, move them to the baking sheet.
3. Add 2 more tablespoons of oil to the sauté pan or skillet and turn to medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until they are brown, about 5-7 minutes depending on how thick the mushrooms are. Pour the mushrooms and any accumulated liquid, into a heatproof bowl.
4. Add the final 2 tablespoons of oil to the sauté pan or skillet and turn the heat to medium. Add the onions and cook until they soften about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the green beans, thyme, bay leaves, pureed cashews and vegetable stock. Cook, stirring frequently, until the beans are slightly tender but crisp in the center, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and liquid and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, or until the green beans are tender and the sauce has thickened. Once done, season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the thyme and bay leaves before plating and sprinkle the fried shallots over the green beans before serving.
Makes 6 servings.
Check out these other awesome green bean recipes from around the web (warning, not all of them are gluten free, vegan, or paleo friendly, but they all sounds pretty darn delicious!):
Nom Nom Paleo’s Roasted Green Beans with Fish Sauce
Kalyn’s Kitchen’s Stir-Fried Green Beans with Lemon, Parmesan and Pine Nuts
Healthy Seasonal Recipes’s Green Beans with Walnuts and Balsamic
What’s Gaby Cooking’s Grilled Green Beans
Barefeet in the Kitchen’s Turmeric Roasted Green Beans and Potatoes
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
This vegan version is totally fabulous. Awesome side dish!
HomeSpeacker says
We always try to remember to take photos but we’re usually so frazzled trying to make all the food and get it out for everyone that we forget! Hopefully this year we’ll remember…
amran says
I can only imagine how delish your Thanksgiving table must be every year. I hope you will post pics of your Thanksgiving dinner this year!
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Miss Kim @ behgopa says
I can only imagine how delish your Thanksgiving table must be every year. I hope you will post pics of your Thanksgiving dinner this year!
Irvin says
We always try to remember to take photos but we’re usually so frazzled trying to make all the food and get it out for everyone that we forget! Hopefully this year we’ll remember…
The Suzzzz says
Is it weird that I’m reading this at 8:30AM and kind of want that casserole for breakfast?
Irvin says
No. It’s seriously so good!
Shaina says
I can’t wait to try this. I make green bean casserole from scratch, but the cashews in here are calling my name. Lovely.
Irvin says
The cashews are really nice. It’s rich without being heavy like the cream and milk version…
Arthur in the Garden! says
I was just thinking about what I would take home for Thanksgiving…..
Lauren says
This looks fantastic. Cashew cream is awesome isn’t it? Can’t wait to make this.
Irvin says
I adore cashew cream! I need to use it more often. I often forget until I get around to making this recipe each year…
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says
Amazing! Definitely need to make this for Thanksgiving!
Aimee @ Simple Bites says
I have no allergies, intolerance’s or food preferences to speak of, yet I kinda want to hug you right now because I can share this with all my friends who DO. xo
Irvin says
And you know I’d totally hug you back!
Kate@Diethood says
The worst was when they would make me play the violin in front of their guests while they were showing pictures of me at recitals… 😉
But, seriously, these are the best looking green beans. I’m not a fan of that green bean casserole everyone makes, but this, this is beyond beautiful!
Irvin says
Thanks Kate! And I can completely relate to that. Thankfully I stopped taking piano and violin lessons once junior high ended…
Kalyn says
Yum! I am loving the sound of this. Thanks for the shout-out for my Stir-Fried Green Beans with Lemon, Parmesan, and Pine Nuts too, love that recipe.
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes says
Irvin, I wouldn’t have believed it possible to make green bean casserole, vegan, gf and paleo until I saw the amazingness that is this recipe. It looks gorgeous. Thanks for including my recipe too. Sharing!
Lou Lou says
Beautiful recipe! I have a quick question: I am making this over an hour before I plan on serving it because I’m taking it to a thanksgiving dinner at someone else’s home. Can I reheat in an oven? Or do you have any particular suggestions for reheating? Thank you!!
Irvin says
Good question! I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t be able to warm it up in the oven. But I’m not 100% sure because I’ve never had to do that. If I were in your position, I’d put it in a casserole dish uncovered, without the fried shallots, and heat the entire thing up in the oven set at 350˚F for 15-20 minutes – maybe longer depending on how cold the dish is to statr.
While it’s heating up, I’d probably warm the shallots up on the stove with a touch of oil. That way they keep crisp. But if the stovetop is already in use (prime real estate during Thanksgiving) I don’t think it’ll be a problem just sprinkling the shallots over the dish before you reheat. I’d just keep them separate from each other in the beginning because the steam and heat from the green beans might make them a bit soggy.
Rebecca says
Hi! Can’t wait to make this for Thanksgiving! Have you ever used cashew meal instead of soaking and blending the cashews? Trader Joe’s just started carrying a raw cashew meal and I was wondering if I could use that instead as the base for the cashew “cream”. Any idea if it would work, and if so, how much to use?
Irvin says
That so funny that you asked that because I was JUST at Trader Joe’s today buying stuff for Thanksgiving and I saw that! Sadly, I’ve never used cashew meal before but a quick google search said it might be a good substitution. Try boiling some water and placing 1 1/2 cups of cashew meal in a medium size pan. Turn the heat to medium and whisk in some of the water until a paste forms. Keep cooking it over the heat, until it becomes creamy, thinning it with more water if it seems to thick. Once it’s creamy, use it in place of the cashew cream that I made above.
Just as a caveat, I’ve never done this before, so I can’t guarantee it’ll work! But if it does, that would definitely cut down on the soaking beforehand. If you try this method, be sure to come back and let me know how it turns out!
Emi says
I tried the raw cashew meal, and in retrospect I still should have blended it like you would whole cashews. It came out kind of gritty, and never really got creamy. Overall it was still good, even though I cheated and bought Aldi brand French fried onions that just happen to be vegan! I might try this again for Christmas and put the raw cashew meal and water in the blender this time. 🙂
annie says
Hi there! Prepping for this recipe and am wondering what you mean by “Place the slices in a medium bowl …”? What slices are you referring to? Thanks for the yumminess!
Irvin says
Hi Annie! Sorry about that. I meant the shallot slices. I went ahead and clarified that in the recipe. Enjoy!
Lola says
Wow! This looks fantastic. And cashews are my favorite! Found you via NomNom Paleo (whose taste I trust implicitly!). Love your site. Thank you! 🙂
Irvin says
Awww… I LOVE Michelle over at Nom Nom Paleo. She’s the best! I’m super excited about her cookbook. I think it’s going to be fabulous!
S Chan says
It’s a good thing Kelly Brozyna left her diary out of her cookbook! Haha!
Irvin says
LOL! That’s awesome! Nice catch. I went ahead and changed it in the post (so as not to confuse people) but I kinda want to leave it as is because of your comment. 😉
Jessica says
This recipe was delicious, the sauce was extra creamy and was a hit at my thanksgiving dinner. I would suggest slightly blanching the green beans prior to pan frying them in order to get that tender texture.
Irvin says
That’s a great idea. I personally like my green beans a little more on the crisp side than the tender side but if you like your beans more tender, a quick blanch in boiling water will definitely speed up the cook time! Thanks for sharing and Happy Thanksgiving!
Carolina says
I loved this recipe! I just made this for tonight’s Thanksgiving dinner and it was a hit! Thank you so much!!
Penny says
I made this tonight and it was totally delicious, I didn’t have any green beans so used fresh asparagus, it was a huge hit and I will definitely be making it again, thank you!
Katerina says
I made this for Christmas dinner and my omnivorous extended family loved it- even asked for the recipe! So happy to have found a new use for cashew cheese and a healthier version of 2 sticks of butter, 1 quart of cream green bean casserole 😉
K says
Just made this, and it is delicious! I absolutely adore the shallot crunch. I used 1 Tbsp of oil (vs 6) for frying, and somehow only needed about 1/2 of the cashew cream; I saved the rest for later. Great recipe Irvin, I’d love to see you do more vegan recipes! 🙂
Irvin says
Thanks so much! I really should do more vegan recipes. I love my vegan friends (and readers!). Thanks for stopping by.
Julia says
Found you from Pinterest in my Thanksgiving planning. How do you think this would work with frozen green beans as I’m not sure I’ll have access to fresh in late November?
Irvin says
I’ve never made them with frozen green beans but I think they should. Frozen green beans hold up pretty well and aren’t mushy like the canned ones. I’d definitely give it a try!
Kim says
I have yet to find a substitute for cashews…I am allergic to those! Any ideas on what I could maybe use instead?
Irvin says
Are you allergic just to cashews or to nuts in general? I might recommend trying almond instead of cashews but if you are allergic to nuts, you can try substituting sunflower seeds. I’ve never done it myself so I can’t tell you how the final product would turn out but I know people have done it in the past and sun butter is a pretty common substitution for peanut butter and nut butters so I think sunflower seeds might work.
Good luck!
laurie lowe says
I was wondering about the paper towels in the baking pan. Do you leave them in the pan?
Irvin says
The paper towels are only there to absorb the leftover oil from the fried shallots. Once you sprinkled the shallots over the plated green beans you can just discard the paper towels or compost them.
Nancy says
I would love to make this recipe for my daughter who is allergic to nuts this Thanksgiving. We are not vegan, so can use flour and milk, etc. Could you suggest some substitutions for the cashews and almonds? Thank you!
Irvin says
Hi! If you aren’t vegan, you can definitely skip the cashews and almonds. Skip step 1 completely and instead just add 3/4 cup of heavy cream in place of the pureed cashews in the final step.
When frying the shallots, skip the almond flour and the arrowroot starch. Instead, just toss the sliced shallots in 1/4 cup all-purpose flour along with the salt and pepper, then fry like the instructions state!
Hope this helps! Happy Thanksgiving!
Jamie says
Can I use extra virgin olive oil? What type of onion is the best…white onion, yellow onion, sweet yellow onion, etc? Can I use vegetable broth? Is there a difference between broth and stock?
Thanks!!
Irvin says
Hi Jamie,
You can definitely use extra virgin olive oil. That’s what I use in my house! Just make sure to keep an eye on it as it has a lower smoke point than regular olive oil. Not a big issue but you don’t want your oil to burn!
As for onions, I cook with yellow onions mostly. I’d skip the sweet onions because that will give a sweet taste to the dish. White onions are fine as a substitute but I prefer yellow for cooking and white for raw dishes like salsa.
And yes you can use vegetable broth. They are pretty interchangeable but broth tends to be seasoned with salt, pepper and herbs, while stock is more straightfoward vegetables or meat/bones if you are making a non-vegetarian stock. In the case of this recipe, it shouldn’t matter, but definitely underseason when you cook if you are using broth and taste the end result and adjust your seasoning then!
Enjoy and happy Thanksgiving!
Allison says
Hi! Anyone try making this a day or two in advance and then doing the shallots the day of? Trying to get things done today!
Ally Wilton says
Made this last year and it was a huge hit!! Thank you. Coming back to it this year with a double recipe. I, too, am wondering about doing a lot of it the day before. Did the shallots early and will try to crisp them up tomorrow. Also going ahead with the mushrooms. Any other insight into how much I can do today to be delicious and easy tomorrow?
Kristina Jennifer says
Just found this on pinterest while at the store! Looking forward to making this delicious treat for the family. I looked through the comments and found a lot of helpful input for adjustments. Going to prep tonight and finish tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving!
Dani Hinds says
What an excellent dish! I made it two times this Thanksgiving holiday. First, I served it to non-vegans and it they were amazed. The second time I brought to a community event run by Akron Cooking Coalition, where all food is vegan; the casserole was demolished in less than 5 min. I have committed this recipe to memory, and I look forward to making this habitually. Thank you!
Irvin says
Yay! I’m totally a non-vegan omni but I think this recipe is better than the regular cream version! In fact I served it this past Thanksgiving along with the turkey and people loved it!
Jessica says
Is there any way to subsitute the cashews and almonds? I have a nut allergy but love this recipe.
Juliette says
Can I make the beans into string beans and get the same thickness for the sauce? Because the string beans will cook quicker.
Emily says
I’ve made this twice so far. Usually in x3 quantities. Fantastic. I usually do extra shallots. For those of you wondering about reheating… I usually make it a hour or more before thanksgiving dinner in a casserole dish, and then I heat it up in the oven for 30 minutes before its served at the designated house. Everyone adores it.
Marcy says
Not sure where or even if I can find raw cashews where I live – what could I use instead that is also dairy-free??
Kendra says
Will this work to make ahead?
Nicole says
This sounds delicious! How far in advance do you think it can be prepared? I’d love to serve it for Thanksgiving but not sure I’ve got room on the stovetop that day:(
O du viet nhat says
thanks for share
thanks
Gía Vé Máy Bay says
This looks fantastic! I’m a total sucker for green bean casserole and this one sounds just about perfect.
Anuj Gupta@knee replacement says
Thanks for sharing
Ally says
Just FYI, this has been a favorite and a regular on our Thanksgiving table for the last 4 years or so… It is so good! And, no guilt makes it even better. Thanks for the recipe!
Brittany says
Hello! Instead of making this with cashews, can I use cashew milk?
Irvin says
Yes! Absolutely. If you have cashew milk, use that instead!
Jeremiah says
Learning is at times hard but you have simplified it clearly, thanks for the wonderful recipe and I will try it out. Thanks
Julia Roumanis says
Hey. I’m interested in making this recipe but didn’t read how to split the onions up. How much of the onions do I fry and how much do I sautés for the sauce?
dee says
What’s the nutritional information on this recipe? Looks delish!
Shivang Goel says
This recipe is the best to try in this time of a pandemic. Loved it. Thanks a lot.
Susmita Agarwal says
It seems very tasty and amazing, but can you please tell is it good for heart patient?
Gary says
This looks fantastic! I’m a total sucker for green bean casserole and this one sounds just about perfects recipe.
Lara says
This recipe is the best to try in this time of a pandemic. Simple and delicious
Mr jatt says
Can peanuts be substituted for other types of nuts for this recipe?
aycup says
Hi, I love food and cakes recipes. I also do a lot at home. Thank you for your delicious recipes.
rozita piers says
oh this is nice i like it
تعمیر اجاق گاز says
I can only imagine how delish your Thanksgiving table must be every year.
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Can this food be used as a diet food?
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Srinivasi says
I can’t wait to try this. I will try the recipe next weekend
inno veneers says
i really love vegan recipes thank you for sharing
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Emi says
I’m still making this for Thanksgiving in 2023! I’ve been making this for over 5 years I think! Love this recipe.
Heather says
Still making this one 10 years later! Thank you!
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