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When it comes to Thanksgiving, Homemade Green Bean Casserole is a total classic. It is one of my personal favorites and one of those dishes that has to be on my Thanksgiving table. My own rendition absolutely stands up to the classic I grew up on and I know you’ll love it too.
My mom and grandmother have always made this casserole the traditional way (using a can of condensed soup) and I really was really determined to make my own homemade rendition to get as close to the original as possible — and I think I nailed it.
Ingredients:
- Trimmed Green Beans
- Butter or Ghee (You can also use vegan butter to keep this dairy-free!)
- Garlic
- Baby Bella Mushrooms
- Salt and Pepper
- Cassava Flour
- Chicken Broth
- Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
- Dijon Mustard
- Seasonings: Onion Powder, Dried Thyme, Cayenne Pepper
- Unsweetened Full-Fat Coconut Milk
- Crispy Onions
Homemade Green Bean Casserole: Step-by-Step
step one: cook the green beans
To start this recipe, you need to par-cook the green beans. Simply add the green beans to boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, add to an ice bath to stop the cooking process as they will finish cooking in the oven! Once cooled, add to your baking dish.
step two: make the mushroom “roux”
Next, you’ll make the delicious mushroom “roux” that will be the base of your creamy sauce. For this roux, I used cassava flour and coconut milk as the main base and it turned out absolutely delicious — no need for traditional condensed soup! I also included thyme and Dijon in the roux to give it a bit of an elevated flavor, yet still keeping it classic, which I love.
step three: assemble the casserole and bake
Once the mushroom sauce is ready, pour it over the green beans in the baking dish. Toss until the sauce is well combined with the green beans then bake for 10 minutes! After that, toss once more, add the crispy onions and bake for another 5 minutes, or until the onions are nice and browned.
Recipe FAQs:
Yes! If you have anyone in your family who needs to stick to a dairy-free diet, this recipe will be a total winner this holiday season and beyond! Simply use vegan butter and this will be a dairy-free delight.
Yes! Be sure to us gluten-free french onions then you will be all set. I found gluten-free french onions at Tom Thumb, but any french onions you’d like to use works here!
Absolutely! You can make this recipe up to 2 days in advance. I do everything EXCEPT bake it. Make the casserole, sprinkle with the crispy onions and cover tightly with foil. When ready to bake, keep it covered and bake at 375℉ for about 20 minutes, or until it is hot and bubbling. Uncover and continue to bake until the onions are slightly browned, being careful not to burn.
more Thanksgiving recipe ideas
Roasted Garlic Whipped Potatoes
Charred Carrots with Herb Drizzle
I hope you enjoy every bite and that this recipe is on your Thanksgiving table for years to come!
Homemade Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 24 ounces trimmed green beans
- 2 tablespoon butter or ghee sub vegan butter for dairy-free
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
- 2 tablespoon cassava flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 dash cayenne pepper optional
- ½ cup unsweetened full fat coconut milk
- 1¼ cup crispy onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉.
- Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice and set aside.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the green beans and cook for 3 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon to transfer beans to the ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once cool, remove from the ice bath and add to a 2 ½-quart oval baking dish. Set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the butter. Once melted, add the garlic, mushrooms, salt and pepper and saute until the mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes.
- Next, add the cassava flour and stir until well combined (it will be very thick). Then slowly add ½ cup of the chicken broth and stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Next add the final ½ cup of the broth and stir to combine.
- Add the lemon juice, dijon, onion powder, dried thyme, and cayenne (if using) and stir to combine.
- Next, stir in the coconut milk until it is well incorporated and slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Pour the mushroom mixture over the green beans and toss until well coated.
- Place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove from the oven and toss once more. Add the crispy onions and spread evenly over the green beans.
- Place back into the oven and bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until the onions are slightly browned, being careful not to burn.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can’t wait to try this for Thanksgiving! 2 sub questions- would gluten free all purpose flour work instead of cassava? And could unsweetened plain almond milk work instead of coconut?
The gf all-purpose flour should work just fine. I worry about the almond milk not having enough ‘body’ to it… and i find when it cooks down with stuff like this it doesn’t taste so great.
Did a trial run before Thanksgiving…this is SO DARN GOOD. What are your thoughts on doubling the roux to put over the beans so there is a little more sauce? I ask b/c when I improvise I ruin the meal. 🙁
If you want them extra saucy– yes! would be great!! or do 1.5 of the sauce!
I tried this tonight to test before thanksgiving, can I sub whole milk for the coconut milk?
Or would half and half be best?
My family does not like the taste of coconut (I adore it) we are also vegan so was wondering if you can taste any coconut in this dish at all? I also want to fool my family and not tell them it’s vegan?
I don’t find it to be too coconut forward at all– I think the mushrooms and other flavors really overpower it here.
What kind of crispy onions are you using that are gluten free? Also, can the mushrooms be left out if need be?
Hi! Excited to try this for thanksgiving! Can you sub milk or cream for coconut milk if you aren’t going for dairy free?
yes, you can!
Do you think this will double well?
yes!
This looks amazing! Any thoughts on substitution for the coconut milk? We have nut allergies here.
You can sub in regular milk here
Hi Alex! Could I use tapioca or arrowroot instead of cassava flour? I’m having a difficult time finding it! Thanks in advance!
I don’t recommend it in this recipe– it gets more ‘slimy’ and gummy and doesn’t turn mushroom gravy like.
Hi Alex… thank you for this recipe. Can you tell me if it would be considered keto? Are all your recipes keto? I’m new to keto. Thank you
Hi Victoria– I am not super familiar with KETO so i am not 100% sure if this would be considered Keto friendly or not!
excited to try! will it have a coconut flavor to it if using coconut milk?
Thank you!!
Mine didn’t at all! Just make sure you use unsweetened.
Alex, Is cassava flour the only one that can be used? Almond flour ok?
Definitely don’t use almond flour– it will just make the gravy grainy/gritty. Cassava is best here as it’s nice and smooth and similar to all-purpose flour.
Can you substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth?
Yes, absolutely!
Hi! Do you have a favorite vegan butter? My daughter has a dairy and nut allergy but want her to be able to experience this MVP of Thanksgiving.
I used the miyokos vegan butter! It was fantastic!