Dairy-Free Green Bean Casserole – a delicious dairy free green bean casserole recipe with crispy onions and a creamy sauce (just like the classic recipe), made even better than the real thing! This deserves a spot on your Thanksgiving dinner menu (or any special occasion)!
Best Ever Dairy Free Green Bean Casserole
I absolutely LOVE green bean casserole – it is always on our table at both Thanksgiving and Christmas (along with wild rice stuffing, roasted thanksgiving turkey and homemade turkey gravy)! But, it usually is made with canned cream of mushroom soup that is almost impossible to find in a dairy-free variety. So, I created a recipe for dairy-free cream of mushroom soup and then tested it out in your classic green bean casserole recipe …and it worked perfectly. So I am super excited to share the recipe with you guys today and I hope it ends up on your holiday table!!!
Why You Will Love This Healthy Green Bean Casserole
- Flavor: It legit tastes just like your traditional green bean casserole … just without the dairy!
- Dairy-Free: I mean, how many times do I have to repeat that 🙂 being allergic to dairy I was so excited to finally develop this recipe!
- Leftovers: Because we all want enough leftovers the day after Thanksgiving – this recipe makes a generous batch which is much appreciated in our house the next day!
What You Will Need
- fresh green beans: of course you CAN sub in canned green beans if you want, but fresh is the way to go here! You can definitely learn how to blanch green beans a bit before cooking if you want, but either way this will turn out great.
- dairy-free cream of mushroom soup: we include this recipe in the recipe card below – it is so good, so easy and packed with flavor.
- crushed red pepper flakes: there optional and it is up to you as far as how much you want to add, but feel free to omit.
- fried onions: these add that delicious crunch we love!
How to Make Dairy Free Green Bean Casserole
The first step is to cook down your onions and mushrooms then add in some more butter – after it melts add in the flour and create a bit of a paste (aka roux).
Then slowly add in your broth while whisking and it will thicken up nicely. Add in the coconut milk for creaminess.
Add the green beans to a large casserole dish and combine with the cream of mushroom soup.
Place in the oven for about 30 minutes then add the remaining french onions on top and pop back in the oven for 10 minutes or so.
Serve and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
- Green Beans: if you want to take the extra step to blanch green beans before baking, you certainly can!
- Cook Time: after 30 minutes the fresh green beans will be well-cooked, but still firm. If you want the green beans not-so-firm, cook there for an additional 10 minutes or so before putting the extra fried onions on top.
- Storage: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Gluten-Free: to make this gluten-free as well simply use gluten-free flour and a gluten-free variety of french fried onions.
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Dairy-Free Green Bean Casserole Recipe
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 10–12 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Low Lactose
Description
Dairy-Free Green Bean Casserole – your classic holiday side dish, but dairy-free with a homemade dairy-free cream of mushroom soup included!
Ingredients
Dairy-Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 5 tablespoons of vegan butter, divided
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
- 8–12 oz sliced mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2–3 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (use immersion blender to fully combine first if the coconut milk has separated in can)
Dairy-Free Green Bean Casserole
- 1.5 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1.5 cups french fried onions, divided
Instructions
Dairy-Free Cream of Mushroom Sauce
- In medium/large sauce pan melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat and add onion.
- Cook on medium, stirring constantly, until they reduce.
- Add mushrooms and cook on medium/high, stirring constantly until they cook down (approx. 5-7 mins) and start to brown. Stir fairly constantly. (add additional butter, as needed to ensure pan doesn’t dry out – I added a couple extra tablespoons – kind of depends how big your mushrooms are and how long they need to cook down. They will absorb the butter pretty quickly).
- Add a pinch of salt and the thyme. Stir.
- Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and let melt.
- Add flour and stir to fully combine.
- Add broth, 1/2 cup at a time, whisking continuously.
- Let simmer about 5-10 minutes, whisking softly, and you will see it start to thicken.
- After 10 minutes, add coconut milk. Stir to combine.
- Taste and add additional salt, pepper or thyme – as desired – remove from heat. It will thicken as it cools and gets closer to room temperature.
Dairy-Free Green Bean Casserole
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place green beans in 9×13 baking dish or casserole pan.
- Add Dairy-Free Cream of Mushroom Soup, red pepper flakes and 1/2 cup of the fried onions. Mix well.
- Bake for 30 minutes, middle rack and uncovered.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining fried onions on top. Bake for another 15 minutes.
- Remove and let cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- Green Beans: if you want to take the extra step of blanching green beans before baking you certainly can – just make sure you pat dry the blanched green beans with a paper towel before cooking.
- Coconut Milk: if you don’t like coconut milk you can sub in almond milk, it just might not be quite a creamy (soy milk would work too).
- French Fried Onion Alternatives: feel free to use bread crumbs or crushed pork rinds instead of crispy fried onions if you prefer!
- Cook Time: after 30 minutes the fresh green beans will be well-cooked, but still firm. If you want the green beans not-so-firm, cook there for an additional 10 minutes or so before putting the extra fried onions on top.
- Storage: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Gluten-Free Version: to make this gluten-free as well simply use gluten-free flour and a gluten-free variety of french fried onions.
- Dairy Sensitivity: if you are able have butter or ghee feel free to sub that for the vegan butter.
Originally published December 1, 2018.
Ali says
Made and took to dinner- left a little crunchy and finished them at the hosts house for a perfect side dish!
Erin says
Yay!!! Thanks, Ali!
Kathy Palahnuk says
I grew up eating all things made with cream of Campbell soup and have really missed recipes like this during the holidays! The soup was easy to make and so delicious I wish I had found this long before! The soup alone was delicious but combined with the other ingredients to make the casserole so easy and delicious no one even knew it was dairy free! This dish really brought back holiday memories for me while allowing me to share with my dairy free daughter!
Erin says
That is so great to hear, Kathy! I am so glad your daughter go to enjoy this holiday classic 🙂 I really appreciate the feedback!
Kathy Palahnuk says
So excited to comment I missed rating the recipe! Five stars ⭐️ of course!
Erin says
Aw thank you, Kathy! 🙂 I appreciate it!
Becca Bakker says
This recipe was amazing! I was looking to make a gluten free and dairy free thanksgiving this year — and this recipe made that so easy. It has the charm, love, and taste of my grandmothers thanksgiving green beans! But a bit healthier. I used gluten free fried onions to complete my dish. This was delicious and so easy! This will be the only way I make this dish moving forward 🙂
Erin says
So happy to hear that, Becca! So glad it measured up to the taste of your grandmother’s recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful review, it means a lot!