The creamy baked classic with its iconic crispy french-fried onion topping - veganified (but not weird)! Everyone - vegans and non-vegans alike - will love this take on the traditional holiday side.
Ingredients
1 and 1/2poundsfresh green beansabout 6 cups, trimmed and cut into 3-4 inch pieces
4 + 1tablespoonsvegan butter, dividedI love Miyokos unsalted butter for this recipe
1/2smallyellow onion, diced smallabout 1/2 cup
1/2poundcrimini mushrooms, diced smallabout 2 cups / I go with a 1/2-inch dice or smaller
1/2teaspoondried thyme
1/2teaspoonkosher salt + more to taste
1/4teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper + more to taste
2tablespoonsdry sherry
3tablespoonsall-purpose flour
1cuplow-sodium vegetable broth
1/2cupunsweetened plain almond milk
2teaspoonssoy sauce
1 and 1/2cupscrispy fried onions*
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cook the green beans
Set a large pot 1/2 full of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add a couple of generous pinches of salt and then the trimmed and cut green beans. Return to a boil and cook until tender, 5 minutes for beans with a bit of a bite, 6 minutes for beans that are more cooked. If you're cooking the casserole right away, you can strain the beans into a colander and set aside. If the beans are going to be sitting for a while and/or you're prepping for a make-ahead situation, dunk the beans into an ice bath first to stop them from overcooking. Fill a large bowl full of cold water and add a handful of ice cubes. Transfer beans to the bowl and let sit for a minute or two until cold. Drain water.
Make the sauce
Set a large saute pan or a stock pot over medium-low heat. Add 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of the vegan butter. When melted, add the onion, mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions and mushrooms are tender and much of the liquid from the mushrooms has cooked off, about 5 minutes.
Add the sherry and cook, stirring constantly, until evaporated, about 1 minute.
Add the flour and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. If the flour begins to really stick to the bottom of the pan, add a splash of the vegetable broth to help loosen it and keep it from burning.
Slowly pour in the vegetable broth and then the almond milk and soy sauce, stirring constantly, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thickened and bubbling. Remove the sauce from the heat.
Assemble the casserole
Stir the green beans into the sauce, tossing until coated. Taste green bean mixture and add more salt and pepper, if desired.
Pour the green bean and sauce mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle crispy onions evenly over the top. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegan butter then drizzle over the top of the onions.
Bake the casserole
Cover with foil and bake until bubbling, 20-25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the crispy onions are toasty and golden, about 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and serve!
Notes
* I like plain ol' French's for the crispy onions. Be sure and check your label for non-vegan ingredients.