Vegan Green Bean Casserole features fresh green beans, a creamy mushroom sauce and plenty of crispy fried onions. A classic holiday dish! It’s easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time.
Green Bean Casserole is a must-have Thanksgiving side dish, along with Sweet Potato Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy and Stuffing.
But you don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving to make green bean casserole, it’s good any time of year! It’s great alongside Vegan Meatloaf, Lentil Loaf or even Vegan Chicken. It’s the only recipe for Vegan Green Bean Casserole you’ll need!
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Green beans – Fresh or frozen. If using fresh, trim the ends and chop if desired.
- Olive oil
- Mushrooms – I used cremini. White button mushrooms are fine as well.
- Garlic
- Vegetable broth – I always use Better than Bouillon, but any vegetable broth works.
- Flour – I use all purpose flour, but use a gluten free mix if needed.
- Vegan creamer – There are so many brands these days, use a completely unsweetened and unflavored one. I used an almond/coconut mix.
- Non-dairy milk – I used soy, but you can use almond or cashew as well. Just make sure its unsweetened and unflavored so it doesn’t ruin the dish!
- Salt
- French fried onions – Yes, I’m using those delicious french fried onions, and plenty of them! If gluten free, try these gluten free french fried onions.
How to make Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then cook the green beans for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large cast iron skillet (at least 10 inches), warm the olive oil and then add the mushrooms and garlic, cooking for 3-5 minutes until the mushrooms have softened. Sprinkle the flour on top of the mushrooms, then slowly add the broth, stirring constantly. Add the creamer and milk. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes until thick and creamy. Add salt to taste.
To the skillet, add the green beans and 1/3 cup of the french fried onions. Stir to combine.
Add the rest of the onions and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately!
Don’t have a cast iron skillet?
No problem. You can use a large casserole dish instead. Once the mushroom sauce is done, transfer it to a greased casserole dish, along with the cooked green beans, 1/3 cup of onions and mix, then add the rest of the onions and bake.
Can I make this vegan green bean casserole ahead of time?
Sure! Just follow the instructions up until the point you add it to the casserole dish. Once you have it in the dish (or simply leave it in the pan), cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Keep the french fried onions separate, except for the 1/3 cup you add in the bowl. You could do this one day in advance.
When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and cook for about 30 minutes (it will take a little longer since it will be cold straight from the fridge). Top with the french fried onions and cook 5-10 more minutes.
More incredible Thanksgiving recipes
- Vegan Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball
- Vegan Pot Pie
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
- Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- Vegan Pumpkin Roll
Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh or frozen green beans
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened vegan creamer (I used coconut/almond)
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened, unflavored soy, almond or cashew milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 6 ounces french fried onions (French's or Trader Joes)
Instructions
- Cook the Beans: Trim the ends, if using fresh beans. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the beans and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. If you don't have a 10 inch cast iron skillet, lightly grease a large casserole dish and set aside.
- Warm the oil in a large cast iron skillet (10 inches) over medium-high heat. Now add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes until the mushrooms are soft.
- Sprinkle the flour on top of the mushrooms, then slowly add the vegetable broth and stir until the mixture thickens. Add the vegan creamer, then the non-dairy milk, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes until thick and creamy. Add salt to taste. Remove from heat.
- To the skillet, add the green beans and 1/3 cup of the french fried onions. (If you don't have a cast iron skillet, add all ingredients to the casserole dish instead.)
- Top with the rest of the french fried onions, place the cast iron skillet (or casserole dish) in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the onions are crispy but not burnt. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Gluten free: Substitute gluten free flour for the all purpose flour and try these Gluten Free French Fried Onions .
- For the milk/creamer: Make sure to use unsweetened and unflavored creamer and milk. I used a coconut/almond creamer and unsweetened soy milk. Check the ingredients for sugar, or vanilla, as those would ruin the dish.
- Prepare green bean casserole ahead of time: Follow the recipe as written, except do not preheat the oven. Once the green beans, mushroom mixture and 1/3 cup french fried onions are mixed and added to a casserole dish, simply cover with foil or wrap and place in the refrigerator until ready to cook. This can be done a day in advance. When ready to serve, remove foil or wrap and bake for 30 minutes (until warm in the middle). Top with french fried onions and cook for 5 more minutes and serve.
Nutrition
*This recipe was first published November 2018 and has been republished with new photos and an improved recipe.
It doesn’t say how much of each ingredient to use! How much vegetable broth? How much creamer? How many mushrooms and green beans? How much flour? Etc.
Detailed instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. There is a ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top that will take you there quickly.
Is your creamer powdered? It looks like it is in your video. I’m hoping to make this next week for Thanksgiving and all I’ve been able to find in store is heavy whipping cream, no powdered unflavored, unsweetened vegan creamer powders. What could be used in place for the powdered creamer?
I actually usually use non-powdered creamer, but both will work. Heavy whipping cream (vegan) should work well as long as it’s unsweetened, so check for sugar. You could also use full fat coconut milk if you can’t find any vegan creamer that’s unsweetened. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for commenting back and clarifying! I’m throwing an all vegan Thanksgiving (with many of your recipes) for my non-vegan family and really want to knock it out of the park! Your recipes are always a hit in our house!
I’ve made this a few times and we really enjoy it. I added some salt, pepper and hot sauce to it.
Any chance you could add a button to halve your recipes? I’m usually just cooking for two or three and it would be very convenient. Thanks for all your great recipes!
Hi, if you choose the print option it brings up a PDF where you can change the serving size options :). I just say this.
Great flavor! I messed up with the broth and flour. Mine came out soupy. ?
Hey Nora, I made this for Christmas dinner and it turned out lovely! It made LOTS and it’s just my husband and I. Thoughts on halfing the recipe to make a smaller portion? I’ve been using fried plantain crisps vs. french friend onions as a gluten free substitute and it’s worked out well twice now.
I made this for dinner today, Christmas day. Even my non-vegan family loved it.
It turned out delicious.
Thank you for sharing your great review! I’m glad the casserole was a hit!
Made 3 Nora recipes for Thanksgiving and they were all amazing!!! This casserole is easy and off the charts delicious.
I”m so glad your Thanksgiving food turned out amazing! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and comments! Glad you loved the casserole!
what can i do instead of mushrooms. Also, the liquid was very sparse. Is that ok? How could I transport it to a dinner that is an 1 1/2 away. I can only put it in the oven there. No room to make it on the stove. Any help is appreciated.
Hi Nora! What would you recommend to make this a low carb recipe?
And keeping it vegan too? I know It may be hard with the friend crispy onion replacement.
When I went to add in the flour it stayed all chunky in my sauce. Is this okay? Is there a way to fix this? What did I do wrong?
I’m not sure why that happened but you can whisk it until it’s smooth again.
This was perfect! I’ve been searching for a vegan cream of mushroom for all of my old recipes & after trying this, I will definitely use it again!!!
Hi Karen. I’m so glad this worked for you! Thank you!
Help I’m out of oven space. May I cook this in a crock pot (green bean casserole) for several hours then add the topping during the last 30 minutes. Oven space is reserved for your ham loaf and scalloped potatoes recipes. It all sounds so yummy!
I haven’t tested it but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! The topping won’t get crispy in a crock pot, but that’s not the end of the world. I’m making very similar things for Christmas Eve, and it does sound delicious! Hope you enjoy everything.
Found this recipe thanks to my cousin Kryssi and made this for my vegan girlfriend who hasn’t been able to enjoy her favorite Thanksgiving dish since her dietary changes and her and I both LOVED it! So much better than the original dish. We are going to have to make this more than just once a year.
I made this for Thanksgiving 2020. Super delicious! Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome!
This is so good!!
I didn’t have some ingredients so I made some subs and it worked great. I used half cremini and half fresh shitakes, tofutti sour cream instead of creamer, and toasted bread crumbs instead of onion rings.
Highly recommend this recipe if you want a rich and indulgent holiday side.
In step 6 do you mean bake the cast iron skillet? The instructions mention preheating the oven and then cooking over medium heat on the stove. Then step 6 just says “cook 15-20 minutes “. So does this mean to put the skillet in the overnight and bake? Just want to be clear.
Correct, if you want to just use a cast iron skillet to bake it as well. Or transfer to another dish and bake. Hope that helps clarify!
I made this last year for my nonvegan family. They loved it so much I am making it again this year. Couldn’t find unsweetened vegan half and half last year but I found it this year!
Hi, do you think this recipe would work if I used coconut cream in place of creamer?
Yes, or even just full fat coconut milk. Thanks!
Do you think the creamer is absolutely necessary? Or could I just use more milk?
You could just use more milk, it will be a bit less creamy and rich, but that’s okay!
Hi Nora,
This green bean casserole looks amazing! Just checking but can I use half & half for the creamer, & if I use frozen cut green beans then should I not boil them for 5 min but just defrost them & then follow your directions to the end? Thanks again for all your wonderful recipes! 🙂
Even if I use frozen green beans, I cook them first. I don’t see why using half and half would matter (other than it won’t be vegan anymore). Hope that helps!
Thank you for this simple and tasty recipe. I’ve been looking for a vegan green bean casserole recipe for awhile, and this is perfect 🙂
Do you think the mushroom sauce would hold up if I made it ahead of time and kept separate? Then assemble day of?
Yes, I think it would hold up made ahead of time, no problem. Thanks!
Did you change the recipe? I seem to recall that it used a can of coconut milk instead of the plant milk and creamer the last time I made it.
Thanks ??
I did change it slightly, but that’s the only change. You can use a can of coconut milk instead, I just found the whole thing needed a bit more liquid when I was retesting it, and I preferred the no coconut flavor here, but it’s fine to simply use a can of full fat coconut milk and no creamer/milk. Sorry about that!
Do you think this recipe could be made ahead and frozen?
I don’t think it would do so well to freeze, no. This is one that really needs to be served hot and fresh or the green beans will get super mushy.
I always use this recipe for this casserole! My family loves it!!
That’s so great to hear!!
This looks delicious-thank you for the recipe!! I’ve seen GF crispy onions at Sprouts also. 🙂
You’re welcome! 🙂 Oh, good to know!
Gorgeous recipe! Can’t wait to make it for the holidays!