Oil-Free Vegan Green Bean Casserole! Cashews and mushrooms create the perfect gravy-like base for tender green beans and hearty mushroom; we can’t get enough!

Rich, creamy, and flavorful, this Oil Free Vegan Green Bean Casserole is a healthy twist on the classic holiday side dish. No holiday dinner table is complete without this comforting homemade casserole.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

Mom and I were on a mission to make the ultimate holiday classic, green bean casserole.  No cutting corners on this deliciousness.  This one is made with a decadent cashew cream base.  If you are looking to cut some calorie corners, this is not the recipe 😛

You gotta give this one a try!

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: This is a Whole Food Plant Based version of a Classic Green Bean Casserole minus the Durkee onions.  We created a topping that gives the essence of Durkee onions.  The sauce is rich, decadent, thick, creamy, and delicious.
• Cashew Substitutes: You can try the typical cashew substitutes: silken tofu, white beans, other nuts or seeds with the understanding that the flavor and texture will change accordingly.  You may need to adjust/add ingredients to compensate for the lack of richness that came from the cashews.  We have not tested any substitutions.
• Mushrooms: Feel free to use your favorite mushrooms in this recipe.  Cremini and Baby Bella Mushrooms are excellent for flavor.  We used Baby Bella Mushrooms.
• Dicing the Mushrooms: Dice the mushrooms into ½ inch cubes. They will reduce in size when sautéing them.  We preferred to buy whole mushrooms and dice them ourselves to control the size.  You can purchase already sliced ones if you wish with the understanding that sliced mushrooms tend to be thinly sliced.
• Blending some of the Mushrooms: We loved taking ¼ cup of the sauteed mushrooms and blending them in with the cashews. It gives the sauce a slightly more mushroom-y flavor.  Just note that the sauce will have a slightly darker beige tint (from blending the mushrooms) to it versus a cream-colored tint.  (See photos for reference).
• Thyme: We suggest not blending the thyme, but rather adding it in at the end.  Sometimes when herbs like thyme are blended in a high-speed blender, they can get a little bitter.
• Scraping the bottom of the skillet: After sautéing the onions, garlic, tomato paste and flour, this mixture will look very clumpy.  The flour will try to stick to the bottom of the skillet.  Try to get as much of the flour off the bottom of the skillet and into the high-speed blender as possible.  Don’t worry if you can’t get it all off because when the cashew cream mixture is added back into the skillet, take some extra time to scrape the stuck flour off the bottom to get it mixed into the cashew cream sauce as it cooks in the skillet.  This helps thicken the sauce.  We used a flat wooden spatula to accomplish this, but any wooden or rubber spoon will work just fine.
• Topping: The topping is optional, but we really enjoyed this nice little crunch that it added to the dish. Plus, it tastes great.  Feel free to add your favorite topping.
• Mushrooms: Feel free to use your favorite mushrooms in this recipe.  Cremini and Baby Bella Mushrooms are excellent for flavor.  We used Baby Bella Mushrooms.
• Green Beans:  If you wish to use fresh or frozen green beans (instead of canned), cook them separately until they reach the desired tenderness, drain well, then add the same as you would the canned green beans in the recipe.
• Casserole Pan:  We used a 5.5  x 8.5  x 3 inch casserole pan.  We suggest using a smaller, deep casserole pan.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered container.

This dish freezes well.

Pantry Products Used:

• Vegetable Stock:   We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.
• Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium.  You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.
• Flour:  We used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour.  Please feel free to use your favorite flour.
• Dried Crushed Thyme Leaves:  If you can’t find dried crushed thyme leaves, you can use ground thyme, but use half the amount.
• Panko Crumbs: We used Ian’s Gluten Free Panko crumbs for this recipe.  If you do not need to be gluten free, feel free to use any panko bread crumbs of your choosing.
• Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Products Used:

• Large skillet
• Food processor
• Casserole/Baking Dish (We used a 5.5  x 8.5  x 3 inch rectangular pan)

If you try this classic side, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

Oil-Free Vegan Green Bean Casserole

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 30 Minutes
• Cook Time: 22 Minutes
• Total Time: 52 Minutes
• Yield: 6 Servings 1x
• Category: Side
• Method: Stovetop, Oven
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Rich, creamy, and flavorful, this Oil Free Vegan Green Bean Casserole is a healthy twist on the classic holiday side dish.

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Ingredients

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Base Ingredients:

• 8 to 10 oz. mushrooms, diced *
• 2 Tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari *
• 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 2 Tablespoons flour (of choice) * 

Sauce Ingredients:

• ½ cup [raw] cashews *
• ½ cup low-sodium vegetable broth *
• 1 cup unsweetened plain plant milk
• 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 to 3 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon dried ground mustard powder
• ½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
• ½ teaspoon dried crushed thyme leaves (+/-) * 

Other Ingredients:

• 4 – ( 15.5 oz. cans) green beans, drained *

Topping Ingredients:

• ¼ cup panko crumbs *
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon smoke paprika
• 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper (+/-)

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients (except the dried crushed thyme leaves) in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
3. Place the cashews into a small bowl, cover with boiling water, allow to sit for 15 minutes, then drain and discard the water. Set aside.
4. In a large skillet, add the diced mushrooms and tamari; sauté over medium heat until they are reduced, approximately 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the mushrooms (and any remaining mushroom juice) from the skillet, set aside.
5. Next add the diced onions to the skillet, sauté over medium heat until the onions are softened, approximately 7 to 9 minutes, then add the minced garlic and tomato paste, sauté, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.
6. Then add the flour, stirring constantly for one minute. Remove the skillet off the heat, set aside.
7. Take ¼ cup of the sauteed mushrooms from Step 4 above and place them into a high-speed blender, add the soaked cashews, the onion/garlic/tomato paste/flour mixture, and all the remaining Base Ingredients and the Spice/Herb Mix (minus the thyme). Blend on high until smooth and emulsified.
8. Pour the blender sauce mixture back into the skillet, stir over medium heat until thickened, approx. 2 to 3 minutes. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the skillet for any flour that may have gotten stuck. When thickened, add the remaining sauteed mushrooms (any mushroom juice), thyme, and 4 cans of drained green beans.  Stir until the green beans are completely coated.  Simmer for 4 minutes.
9. Pour the green bean mixture into a small casserole dish, spread evenly. Set aside.
10. Make the topping, by placing all the Topping Ingredients into a small bowl, mix well, then spread evenly over top of the green bean casserole mix.
11. Place in a preheated 350 F oven for 20 minutes, then switch to broil and broil on high for 2 minutes (keep the casserole on the middle oven rack) or until nicely golden brown. Watch carefully to prevent over-browning.
12. Remove, allow to sit for 5 minutes, then serve and enjoy!

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Notes

*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Servings:  6

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