A made-from-scratch Vegan Green Bean Casserole with tender green beans baked up in a deliciously creamy mushroom sauce, and topped with crispy, golden, buttery breadcrumbs and tangles of caramelized onions. This really is the ultimate way to eat green beans!
Plain ol' green beans are all well and good, but how awesome is it to eat them in creamy, casserole form? Especially when they are topped with a crispy, golden, buttery, oniony breadcrumby topping! This vegan green bean casserole is comforting, cozy, delicious bliss.
We're talking perfectly cooked green beans doused in just the right amount of creamy, mushroomy, perfectly seasoned sauce, with a delicious tangle of golden, buttery, crispy crumbs and sweet, sweet, fragrant onion on top.
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That creamy green bean goodness and that buttery, golden, oniony topping are absolute magic together and will become the best-loved side on your Thanksgiving table.
You won't find any cans of mushroom soup hidden here. We are making our casserole from scratch, which means it involves a little more work and a few steps, but it's all easy and comes together quickly. And your tastebuds will thank you. Promise.
What ingredients & equipment do I need?
For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card.
So, let's talk about what's going on here.
Here's what you'll be needing:
- Green beans - Wouldn't be a green casserole without them!
- Vegan Butter - We are going all out decadent here. We're doing the sauteeing in some vegan butter and also putting some in the topping. I have give butter/oil-free instructions in the recipe too though.
- Onion- Stringy, golden and caramelized onions get tossed through the buttery, garlicky bread crumb topping for texture, visual appeal and flavour! no dried up onion bits from a container are going in here.
- Stale bread - For the topping. Stale bread works best for making breadcrumbs. If you only have fresh bread though leave it sliced out on the counter overnight to dry out or toast it in the toaster first.
- Garlic - Maybe my favourite ingredient of all time? It adds so much flavour!
- Nutritional yeast - We're putting some in the breadcrumb topping and we're also putting it in the sauce. This is for umami flavour. Don't worry, nothing tastes "cheesy" once it' all cooked up.
- Mushrooms - They add heaps of flavour and texture too.
- Fresh thyme - The best herb with mushrooms!
- Flour - To thicken or sauce
- Stock - To give the sauce flavour.
- Plant-based milk - To give the sauce some creaminess.
- Salt & Pepper - Flavour!
The only piece of equipment necessary is a food processor to make the topping. A high-powered blender will work too but you might need to make it in two batches depending on how big the jar is.
How to make vegan green bean casserole
Step 1 - Trim the ends off the green beans and blanch them then rinse in cold water.
Step 2 - Sauté those onions in a skillet until perfectly sweet and golden.
Step 3 - Whiz up the super yum topping ingredients in a food processor or a blender then stir through the sautéed onions.
Step 4 - Sauté the mushrooms in the skillet with some seasoning and fresh thyme.
Step 5 - Make the creamy sauce right there in the pan with the mushrooms.
Step 6 - Mix the green beans into the sauce. Leave it in the skillet if you want to bake it in there, or transfer to an ovenproof dish if not.
Step 7 - Sprinkle the oniony breadcrumb topping all over those saucy, creamy green beans then bake until golden.
Success Tips
- For best results make sure the bread isn't too fresh. It crumbs much better if it's a few days old.
- Don't use frozen green beans. They will get too soggy.
How to prep in advance
You can prepare the individual components of this recipe in advance, and you can mix the green beans into the mushroomy sauce and have them ready and waiting, covered, in the skillet or any other ovenproof dish in the fridge. Just leave the filling separate from the oniony breadcrumb topping until you are about to bake it so that it doesn't get soggy.
Store the topping in an airtight container, and keep it in the fridge until needed. Green beans do tend to spoil pretty quickly, so I wouldn't make it up any more than the day before you are going to bake it just to be safe.
How to serve
My Vegan Green Bean Casserole will make a fantastic side with your Thanksgiving meal or your Christmas dinner.
It works really well with any of the following:
- vegan roast
- roasted red cabbage
- vegan sweet potato biscuits
- roast stuffed pumpkin
- vegan sweet potatoes
- vegan cranberry sauce
- vegan mashed sweet potatoes
- vegan red wine gravy
- roasted potatoes
- vegan meatloaf
- mushroom lentil loaf
- lemon garlic air fryer roast potatoes
And is great as a meal in itself. Either on its own or with some vegan mashed potatoes.
Storage and reheating tips
This is one of those recipes that is best eaten on the day it's baked. The topping can get a little soggy when you reheat leftovers. But having said that I enjoy it warmed up the next day.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for no more than 2 days. You can pop them in a covered dish and bake in the oven on 350°F (175 °C) for 15 to 20 minutes or until piping hot, or microwave for a couple of minutes.
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 1lb / 16 oz fresh green beans , not frozen, with ends trimmed
- 3 tablespoon vegan butter , or olive oil (optional - you can omit the butter to make the recipe oil free)
- 1 large onion , peeled and cut into half moon thin slices
- 5 oz / 140 g g slices of stale bread (about 3 thick slices) - use gluten-free bread to keep GF
- 3 cloves garlic , divided - 1 clove left whole, the other 2 chopped finely
- 6 tablespoon nutritional yeast , divided
- 6 oz / 170 g / about 2 heaping cups sliced cremini (brown) mushrooms
- 4 large sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour , plain flour in the UK. Corn starch for gluten-free.
- ¾ cup / 180 ml vegetable or mushroom broth
- ½ cup / 120 mls unsweetened non-dairy milk , soy milk works best
- ½ teaspoon salt , divided - plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper , divided - plus more to taste
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fill a kettle and boil it. Put the trimmed green beans into a large saucepan and pour over the boiling water. Turn the heat to high and wait for them to come to a rolling boil then turn off the heat, drain them in a colander, and immediately rinse them with cold water. Leave in the sink to drain.
- In a medium skillet over a MEDIUM heat, add 1 tablespoon of the butter (use a few tablespoons of water to sauté with to keep the recipe oil-free). Once melted and the pan hot, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently for about 15 minutes, until really golden brown. Set aside while you prepare the breadcrumbs.
- Break the slices of bread into smaller pieces with your hands and add to the bowl of a food processor along with 1 tablespoon of butter (omit for oil-free), 1 whole clove of garlic and 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast. Process until fine crumbs. Remove the blade and stir through the sautéed onions. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C).
- Warm the same skillet you cooked the onions in over medium heat and add the last tablespoon of butter or oil (or water for oil-free). Add the sliced mushrooms, the sprigs of thyme and a generous pinch of salt and pepper, then sauté until the mushrooms are golden on both sides.
- Add the garlic, cook for a minute more, then turn the heat down to low, remove the thyme sprigs and discard, then add the flour. Stir to coat the mushrooms and continue to cook for 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste.
- Pour in about half a cup of the vegetable broth, stirring well as you go to work out any lumps, then add the remaining ¼ cup, stir again then add the non-dairy milk, the remaining 4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and the remaining salt and pepper. Keep stirring until it is starting to thicken. Turn off the heat, taste and add more seasoning if necessary, then add the green beans to the sauce and stir to coat them.
- If you want to bake it right there in the skillet, flatten the beans down as best you can, then spoon over the oniony breadcrumb mixture. Don't compact it. Just leave it loose and rough looking. Or transfer the saucy green beans to an ovenproof dish, then add the breadcrumb topping to the top.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the bread crumbs are golden and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.
NOTES
Just leave the filling separate from the oniony breadcrumb topping until you are about to bake it so that it doesn't get soggy.
Store the topping in an airtight container, and keep both that and the filling in the fridge until needed. Green beans do tend to spoil pretty quickly, so I wouldn't make it up any more than the day before you are going to bake it just to be safe. Storage and reheating - This is one of those recipes that is best eaten on the day it's baked. The topping can get a little soggy when you reheat leftovers. But having said that I enjoy it warmed up the next day.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for no more than 2 days. You can pop them in a covered dish and bake in the oven on 350°F (175 °C) for 15 to 20 minutes or until piping hot, or microwave for a couple of minutes.
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
This recipe was originally published on November 20th 2018. I've updated the post and now I am republishing it for you. The actual recipe remains the same. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for following A Virtual Vegan!
Marie says
My not-a-vegan husband said it was the STAR DISH of Thanksgiving (and he roasted a turkey for himself!) and gave it an A+, requesting I make it again for Christmas. Big Win.
A Virtual Vegan says
Wow that's great Marie! Thank you for letting me know. That's a vegan win for sure!
Maureen Cram says
Made this for our South African TG celebration (my husband is American and we spend half the year here and the other in the US) and he asked if this was the same recipe I had used before as it was really very nice and tasted far better than previous years. So... I will always be making this version from now on! Thanks so much for all the care you put into your recipes to make sure they are always amazing.
A Virtual Vegan says
You're welcome and thank you Maureen! I'm really pleased your husband enjoyed it.
Kaitlyn says
Total hit at Thanksgiving. We loved the freshness and the little crunch the green beans had to offer. This was a wonderful recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Kaitlyn. I'm really pleased you enjoyed it!
SaSally IG says
Absolutely love this recipe. A regular firm favourite of all the family.
Thank you so much for sharing so many great recipes.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you're enjoying it!
Kim Arsenault says
Didn't love this recipe. Mine turned out mushy and looked pretty messy. I also didn't think it tasted great. My daughter liked it though. Might try it again and see if I can do it better.
Susan says
Could this be prepared 2 weeks ahead and frozen?
thank you.
A Virtual Vegan says
I have never tried it, but I am thinking it probably wouldn't be great after freezing. I would be worried about the texture of the mushrooms and the beans and the topping would likely end up soggy. You can make it the day before though, probably 2 days before actually, just keep the breadcrumb/onion topping and the bean mixture separate. Just make it up to the point you add the topping, put the bean mixture in an oven proof dish and cover with cling wrap, let cool then pop in the fridge, and put the breadcrumb topping in a sealed container or bag in the fridge. Then when you want it, top the beans with the breadcrumb topping and bake as instructed. Hope that helps!
Sandy says
I made this recipe for my (early) Christmas dinner and it was fantastic. I made it ahead of time as the Notes described and it worked out wonderfully. It was crispy on top which we loved. I did it without oil and since most breads have oil in them, I used rice cakes and blended that up to make the bread crumbs and that was perfect. Will be making again.