Green Bean Casserole (Vegan, Gluten Free)
Vegan gluten free green bean casserole is a healthy take on a Thanksgiving classic recipe. This dairy free green bean casserole has a crunchy topping, creamy sauce and perfectly cooked green beans. Making green bean casserole from scratch is easier than you think and takes less than 40 minutes.
Why you will love this recipe
- Classic recipe with a healthy twist – you won’t even notice that this vegan gluten free green bean casserole isn’t made with mushroom soup as the base! Instead you make a creamy base with vegetable broth, dairy free milk and oat flour (or gluten free flour of choice). You won’t believe how thick and creamy this sauce is.
- Simple ingredients – this dairy free green bean casserole has very simple ingredients all of which can be found in almost any grocery store. Be sure to check out the substitutions below if you are missing any of the ingredients listed.
- Great make ahead item for the holidays – you can make this gluten free dairy free green bean casserole 1-2 days in advance and just top and reheat right before serving. This vegan green bean casserole also travels well, so it’s a great recipe to volunteer to bring to holiday meals or potluck meals.
Ingredients
- Green beans – I prefer to use haricot green beans since they are a bit thinner and are usually sold ready to eat (instead of having to trim off the ends before cooking). You can use haricot, regular green beans, frozen green beans or even canned if needed.
- Onions and garlic – these aromatic vegetables add a deep flavor to the dish and help to create the base flavor profile. Be sure to let the onions start to caramelize before adding the flour and broth.
- Olive oil – olive oil is added to help create a luscious sauce. Typically a roux is made by combining butter and flour, but for this recipe, we are going to use olive oil and flour.
- Oat flour – oat flour is made by grinding up oats into a flour like consistency. You can even make your own oat flour at home using rolled oats or quick oats. The oat flour helps to create a thick, super creamy sauce to coat the green beans.
- Vegetable broth – vegetable broth is an easy way to make any dish taste like it’s been cooking all day. The broth helps to create the sauce for the green beans.
- Dairy free milk – use your favorite dairy free milk (almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, etc.) just be sure it’s unsweetened. You can also use regular milk if you are not dairy free.
- Coconut aminos – coconut aminos are a gluten free, soy free alternative to soy sauce. You can also use gluten free tamari or soy sauce if you don’t have coconut aminos.
- Spices: Salt, dried thyme – these help to make the sauce super savory and perfectly seasoned. You could also use fresh thyme if you have it on hand for other recipes.
- Topping of choice – French fried onions, crackers, chopped nuts, gluten free breadcrumbs, almond flour breadcrumbs.
How to make vegan gluten free green bean casserole
Start by preheating the oven to 425F.
Place a large pot of water on high heat to bring to a boil.
Cut the green bean down into bite-size pieces (2-3 inch pieces).
Chop the onion and finely chop the garlic.
Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, spray the skillet with olive oil or avocado oil and add the onions, cook 3-5 minutes. When onions start to brown, add the garlic, cook 1-2 minutes further.
Move the onions to the side of the skillet and add the olive oil, oat flour and about ¾ of the vegetable broth. Stir well (use a whisk or fork to ensure you’ve got all the flour broken up).
Once the flour seems all broken up, add the rest of the vegetable broth, dairy free milk, salt, and dried thyme. Cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes until thickened. Turn off heat when the sauce starts to thicken.
Add the green beans to the boiling water. Cook 3-4 minutes until they start to get tender. (Tip, I like to put a steam basket down in the boiling water before adding the green beans to make it easier to get them out once they are done cooking).
As soon as the green beans are done cooking, remove them from the boiling water and add them to the casserole dish. Pour the sauce over the green beans and stir well to ensure the sauce is well incorporated.
Top the casserole with your topping of choice.
Bake at 425F for 10 minutes.
Top tips
- If you enjoy green bean casserole with mushrooms, you can chop mushrooms and add them to the sauté pan with the onions.
- Cut the green beans down into 2-3 inch pieces to ensure that they are bite sized. Note: If your green beans need to be trimmed, cut off the ends and remove the string in the bean.
- You can use frozen green beans (I prefer to use the ones that are already trimmed down to bite size pieces). You will only need to boil these for 1-2 minutes since they were blanched before freezing. You just want to cook these through, so they are no longer frozen.
- If you choose to use canned green beans, you can skip the step for chopping and cooking the green beans and just add them (drained) to the casserole dish.
- Make this dish in advance on the stove and reheat in the oven right before serving, just be sure to wait to add the topping till the end. If you are putting this in the oven from the fridge, cook it covered for the first 10 minutes, then remove the cover and bake 10 more minutes at 425F.
What are the best toppings
- Gluten free French fried onions – there are a few brands of these on the market. Be sure to check the label if you are serving anyone that is gluten free at your meal.
- I used Lars Own (bought on Thrive Market, I cannot find the gluten free ones on Amazon).
- There are two options on Amazon (with the same ingredients) Natural Earth Products French Fried Crispy Onions and Simple Truth Organic Crispy French Fried Onions.
- Crushed crackers: You can make a crispy topping from crushed up gluten free crackers. I love Mary’s Gone Crackers Garlic Rosemary Crackers (you can find these at most grocery stores now and online).
- Chopped nuts: Chopped pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds
- Gluten free panko breadcrumbs
- Almond flour breadcrumbs: Combine 1/3 cup almond flour 2 teaspoons avocado oil (or olive oil), ½ teaspoon salt and ½ tsp. garlic powder. Make a crumb with this mixture then sprinkle it on top.
Common questions
Can you use frozen green beans to make dairy free green bean casserole?
Yes! You can use frozen green beans to make this healthy green bean casserole. I recommend using green beans that are already cut into bite-size pieces to make preparation easier.
Drop the frozen green beans in boiling water and cook 1-3 minutes until the green beans are no longer frozen.
Can you use canned green beans to make this gluten free green bean casserole?
Yes, you can use canned green beans instead of fresh or frozen to make green bean casserole.
However, the texture of the beans will be different as canned green beans tend to be a bit mushier of texture than fresh or frozen. Be sure to rinse and drain the canned beans before adding them to the casserole dish.
Can you make this vegan green bean casserole in advance?
Yes! Cook the beans and make the sauce on the stove. Assemble the casserole, but do not add the topping.
Cover and refrigerate 1-2 days in advance.
The day of serving, add the crunchy topping and cover the casserole dish. Bake in a 425F oven for 20 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, remove the cover so the topping can get crispy and brown.
What are more vegan, gluten free holiday side dishes?
- Vegan Squash Casserole
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Rosemary Garlic Potatoes
- Almond Flour Cornbread
- Cauliflower Rice Stuffing
- Stuffed Acorn Squash
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce
- Wild Rice Stuffing
How to make oat flour
Oat flour is easy to make at home with just a food processor or high speed blender and oats (rolled oats or quick oats).
- Put the oats in the food processor or high speed blender and blended until they resemble flour. You may need to pause and start the food processor/blender a few times.
- To ensure that there are no big oats left, sift the flour through a fine mesh strainer.
- Store leftover oat flour in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
How long can you store leftover green bean casserole?
Fridge: Store leftover vegan gluten free green bean casserole in the fridge for up to 5 days. The topping will start to get soggy the longer it sits in the fridge. You can always add more and reheat in the toaster oven or oven to crisp up the topping if needed.
Freezer: Freeze leftover green bean casserole for up to 2 months. I suggest you freeze in single serve portions ½ cup or 1 cup (I recommend Soupercubes for this). Once frozen, move them to a freezer safe bag or container. Defrost in the fridge, microwave or in the oven.
Substitutions
- Green beans – you can use fresh, frozen or even canned green beans to make this casserole. You could also use broccoli, cauliflower or even zucchini in place of the green beans. Chop the broccoli or cauliflower into small bite size pieces before boiling. If you are using zucchini, do not boil it, instead cook the zucchini in the skillet (you will need 8-10 medium size squash).
- Onions and garlic – onions and garlic are a great way to add a depth of flavor to the dish. You can use yellow or white onions or shallots. If you don’t have onions on hand, simple omit them from recipe. If you don’t have fresh garlic on hand, you can use 1-1.5 teaspoons of garlic powder instead of the garlic.
- Olive oil – you can use avocado oil, melted butter or ghee (not vegan) in place of the olive oil.
- Oat flour – the oat flour helps to create that thick, creamy sauce. You can also use your favorite gluten free flour, but I wouldn’t recommend almond flour or coconut flour. Almond flour will not thicken the sauce and the coconut flour will likely make it too thick.
- Vegetable broth – you can use vegetable broth, chicken broth, chicken stock or bone broth in place of the vegetable broth.
- Dairy free milk – use whatever dairy free milk you love (be sure it’s unsweetened). Some great options are almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, flax milk, coconut milk (canned or in the carton).
- Coconut aminos – you can also use gluten free tamari or soy sauce if you don’t have coconut aminos.
- Spices: Dried thyme – you can also use fresh thyme if you have it on hand. You can use 1 tablespoon fresh thyme in place of the dried thyme.
If you love this casserole, you should try
Dairy Free Broccoli Cheese Casserole
Vegan Gluten Free Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds green beans, trimmed
- 1 medium onion
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup oat flour
- 1.5 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup dairy free milk
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 cup gluten free french fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Chop the onion and garlic and cut the green beans down into 2-3 inch pieces.
- Preheat the skillet over medium heat. When preheated spray the skillet with olive oil or avocado oil and add the onions, cook 3-5 minutes.
- After 3-5 minutes, add the garlic to the skillet with the onions. Cook 1-2 minutes.
- After the garlic has cooked, moved the onions over to the side of the skillet. Add the olive oil and oat flour. Add about 3/4 of the vegetable broth to the skillet and stir well until the flour has dissolved completely into the vegetable broth.
- Once the flour is broken down add the rest of the vegetable broth, dairy free milk, coconut aminos, salt and dried thyme. Stir well. Cook for 2-5 minutes over medium heat until thick.
- When the water has come to a boil, add the green beans and cook 3-4 minutes until tender.
- When the green beans are done, drain them and add them to the casserole dish. Then pour the creamy sauce over top. Stir well until the green beans are well coated.
- Add the crispy fried onions or topping of choice over the green bean mixture.
- Bake at 425F for 10 minutes.
Notes
- If you enjoy green bean casserole with mushrooms, you can chop mushrooms and add them to the sauté pan with the onions.
- Cut the green beans down into 2-3 inch pieces to ensure that they are bite sized. Note: If your green beans need to be trimmed, cut off the ends and remove the string in the bean.
- You can use frozen green beans (I prefer to use the ones that are already trimmed down to bite size pieces). You will only need to boil these for 1-2 minutes since they were blanched before freezing. You just want to cook these through, so they are no longer frozen.
- If you choose to use canned green beans, you can skip the step for chopping and cooking the green beans and just add them (drained) to the casserole dish.
- Make this dish in advance on the stove and reheat in the oven right before serving, just be sure to wait to add the topping till the end. If you are putting this in the oven from the fridge, cook it covered for the first 10 minutes, then remove the cover and bake 10 more minutes at 425F.
- Gluten free French fried onions: there are a few brands of these on the market. Be sure to check the label if you are serving anyone that is gluten free at your meal.
- I used Lars Own (bought on Thrive Market, I cannot find the gluten free ones on Amazon).
- There are two options on Amazon (with the same ingredients) Natural Earth Products French Fried Crispy Onions and Simple Truth Organic Crispy French Fried Onions.
- Crushed crackers: You can make a crispy topping from crushed up gluten free crackers. I love Mary’s Gone Crackers Garlic Rosemary Crackers (you can find these at most grocery stores now and online).
- Chopped nuts: Chopped pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds
- Gluten free panko breadcrumbs
- Almond flour breadcrumbs: Combine 1/3 cup almond flour 2 teaspoons avocado oil (or olive oil), ½ teaspoon salt and ½ tsp. garlic powder. Make a crumb with this mixture then sprinkle it on top.
