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Make this Healthy Green Bean Casserole from scratch and wow your guests and your taste buds! Let me show you how to make green bean casserole healthier by just replacing a few simple ingredients.
I asked on Facebook and Instagram recently what favorite Thanksgiving recipes you wanted me to #makeithealthy and one of the most requested recipes was a healthy green bean casserole.
We got SO many responses and had a blast seeing everyone's excitement about wanting to eat healthy and still enjoy a tasty Thanksgiving dinner.
Because these two things should totes be possible. And they are! This healthy green bean casserole is so good!
I actually didn't grow up with green bean casseroles at my Thanksgiving dinner table. We'd have steamed green beans mostly - maybe with some parmesan - but nothing like what it seems most people enjoyed. Then, as Dustin and I created our own Thanksgiving menu, we've usually make these Parmesan Garlic Green Beans (which are yummy!).
To be honest, I have always found it kinda crazy how the "crispy onion" topping came from a can and people would just open up the can and toss it on the casserole. But, again, I didn't grow up with it so there's also that nostalgia around foods from your childhood.
Good news, though. I've found a Clean Eating, whole, more delicious way to enjoy our green beans this Thanksgiving.
Ingredients For Healthy Green Bean Casserole
Fresh Green Beans: Crisp and tender, trimmed beans that form the base of the dish.
Yellow Onion: Thinly sliced and cooked until golden for a crunchy topping.
Almond Meal: Finely ground almonds that add texture and nutty flavor to the topping.
Cremini Mushrooms: Sliced mushrooms that bring an earthy flavor to the sauce.
Parmesan Cheese: Grated cheese that adds savory richness to both the topping and the sauce.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, bring a large stockpot of water to a boil, and grease a large casserole dish with olive oil and then set aside. Add the green beans to the boiling water and boil for 4-5 minutes, or until almost tender, but still slightly crisp. Drain the cooked green beans, then transfer to a bowl filled with ice water to stop them from cooking more.
Step 2: To make the crispy onion topping, start by heating olive oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the thinly sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-8 minutes or until they are tender and starting to brown. Remove the onions and place into a medium mixing bowl and set aside. In the same pan you used to cook the onions, add the almond meal. Cook, stirring very frequently, for 3-5 minutes, or until the almond meal is starts to turn lightly golden. Careful not to burn.
Step 3: Remove from heat and transfer the toasted almond meal to the bowl with the onions. Stir in the ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese and sea salt, and then toss the mixture until combined. Set aside. In the same pan, heat a little more olive oil until hot and add the mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until they are tender, stirring occasionally.
Step 4: Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute until fragrant, stirring frequently.
Sprinkle the chickpea flour over the mushrooms, and stir to combine. Slowly add the low sodium chicken broth, whisking to combine until smooth. Whisk in the almond milk, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, or until thickened.
Step 5: Stir in the remaining ⅓ cup parmesan cheese, sea salt, and pepper until the cheese is melted. Transfer the cooked, chilled green beans into the pan with the mushroom sauce and toss until combined. Pour the green bean mixture into the prepared baking dish and then top with the crispy onion topping evenly over the top.
Step 6: Place in the oven, uncovered, and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
FAQs
How To Make Ahead
One of my best tips for saving time on Thanksgiving Day is to prep ahead anything that will save well in the fridge.Lucky for us, that includes this healthy green bean casserole.
To make green bean casserole ahead, just...
Follow the directions for this recipe all the way through
Allow it to cool.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap (can last in fridge if sealed tightly for up to 5 days in the fridge).
Then, when you're ready to enjoy this tasty goodness right here, just reheat it in the oven! To reheat, place the green bean casserole, without the lid or plastic wrap, back into a preheated oven at 375 degrees F, and heat for 30 minutes or until heated through. This will make the onions crispy again and will heat everything through perfectly.
How To Make It Healthy
Judging by how many of you asked me to make a healthier version of homemade green bean casserole, I think many of us know it needs a lot of help. Let's go over the major changes in this recipe to #makeithealthy to see how to make green bean casserole healthy.
To make the onions crispy, I toast almond meal until it's lightly toasted and then I mix it with the sautéed onions, parmesan, and sea salt. In other words: immense yumminess. This easily replaces the fried, canned, crispy onions and reduces the fat and salt immensely.
OMG and then there's the mushroom sauce on the green beans.
Seriously: I could slurp this sauce up just by itself. It's so dang good. To make the mushroom sauce from scratch, I sautéed mushrooms and garlic and then make a cream sauce by basically combining chickpea flour and some unsweetened almond milk. No canned cream of mushroom, here!
This Thanksgiving, make this Healthy Green Bean Casserole from scratch and wow your guests and your taste buds!
PREP TIME
20 mins
COOK TIME
25 mins
TOTAL TIME
45 mins
COURSE
Side
CUISINE
American
SERVINGS
6 Cups
CALORIES
221 kcal
Ingredients
For the Green Beans:
2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed
For the Crispy Onion Topping:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
½ cup almond meal
¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
¼ teaspoon sea salt
For the Mushroom Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
8-10 medium cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chickpea flour
½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
⅓ cup parmesan cheese, grated
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
1
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, bring a large stockpot of water to a boil, and grease a large casserole dish with olive oil and then set aside.
2
Add the green beans to the boiling water and boil for 4-5 minutes, or until almost tender, but still slightly crisp. Drain the cooked green beans, then transfer to a bowl filled with ice water to stop them from cooking more.
3
To make the crispy onion topping, start by heating olive oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat until hot.
4
Add the thinly sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-8 minutes or until they are tender and starting to brown. Remove the onions and place into a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
5
In the same pan you used to cook the onions, add the almond meal. Cook, stirring very frequently, for 3-5 minutes, or until the almond meal is starts to turn lightly golden. Careful not to burn.
6
Remove from heat and transfer the toasted almond meal to the bowl with the onions. Stir in the ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese and sea salt, and then toss the mixture until combined. Set aside.
7
In the same pan, heat a little more olive oil until hot and add the mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until they are tender, stirring occasionally.
8
Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute until fragrant, stirring frequently.
9
Sprinkle the chickpea flour over the mushrooms, and stir to combine.
10
Slowly add the low-sodium chicken broth, whisking to combine until smooth.
11
Whisk in the almond milk, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, or until thickened.
12
Stir in the remaining ⅓ cup parmesan cheese, sea salt, and pepper until the cheese is melted.
13
Transfer the cooked, chilled green beans into the pan with the mushroom sauce and toss until combined.
14
Pour the green bean mixture into the prepared baking dish and then top with the crispy onion topping evenly over the top.
15
Place in the oven, uncovered, and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
VIDEO
NOTES
Cover tightly with plastic wrap (can last in fridge if sealed tightly for up to 5 days).
NUTRITION
Serving:
1 cup
Calories:
221 kcal
Carbohydrates:
18.3g
Protein:
10.9g
Fat:
13.1g
Saturated Fat:
2.6g
Cholesterol:
7.5mg
Sodium:
428.6mg
Potassium:
-
Fiber:
6.4g
Sugar:
7.1g
📷
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