Green bean casserole is the great American leveler. It’s a trashy commodity dish served on good China. Mothers across the country make extra pans of the dish for their favorite offspring. It’s very important to call ahead on Thanksgiving to make sure that this dish will be served. It may be up to you to save the day. The original Campbell’s Soup recipe contains four ingredients; canned beans, canned soup, soy sauce and canned fried onions. It is an obscenely easy dish to make that is almost vegan. One tiny ingredient stands in the way of it being truly universal. I’ve see many attempts to veganize this recipe that completely miss the mark. Green bean casserole should be made of canned beans and fried onions in all their hydrogenated fat goodness (although healthy fried onions are available). It’s important to know your audience. There may be times when you don’t want anyone to know you brought vegan food into their house. This is that recipe. The only variation from the original is a quick homemade mushroom soup base. It is uncomplicated and it taste like it came from can. In fact, if you like cream of mushroom soup just add more unsweetened almond milk for that post-apocalyptic flavor. Unsweetened almond milk is crucial to this recipe. “Regular almond” milk is great for cereal but bad for this savory dish, too much sugar. Gluten-free variations are included.
All American Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 T. Flour (Substitute Sorghum Flour for Gluten-Free Soup)
- 1 ½ T. Vegan Butter
- 1 C. Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 1 Cube Vegetable Bullion (Edward and Sons) is my go-to but any will do
- 1 ½ C. Sliced Mushrooms (small carton, pre-sliced)
- 1 T. Soy Sauce
- 2 Cans Green Beans
- 1 Can Fried Onions
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Make the Soup:
In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter and flour together over medium heat. Stir the roux thoroughly and cook it until it’s hot throughout and slightly bubbly round the edges. Add the almond milk a quarter cup at a time. Do not stir the milk at first. Let it heat up in the pan. When the milk is hot whisk it together with the roux. Add the bouillon cube. Continue adding milk heating it as you go until all the milk is integrated. Add the sliced mushrooms and the soy sauce and cook for a few more minutes.
Assemble the Casserole:
Drain the green beans and mix them into your mushroom soup mixture until fully integrated. Pour the mix into a casserole dish and spread it evenly. Arrange the fried onions evenly across the casserole. Bake the dish for thirty minutes or until the casserole is golden brown and bubbling. Let the dish rest for two minutes and serve.
Go Make it Yourself 