This vegan green bean casserole is a creamy, plant-based twist on a Thanksgiving classic, made with cashew mushroom sauce and crispy fried onions.
It’s a comforting and delicious side dish that’s a must for your holiday menu.
Of all the standard holiday side dishes, green bean casserole has always been my favorite.
It was the first Thanksgiving recipe I ever cooked as a kid. So easy to make with canned green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup, and store-bought French fried onions.
Once I went vegan, I tried many times to make a plant-based green bean casserole, but it never quite measured up to the kitschy nostalgia of my memories.
None of them really gave me the experience I craved with soft green beans and a velvety sauce that didn’t scream, “This is the healthy version!”
Finally, this year I decided I was going to crack the code.
A few tries later, and the end result was everything I’ve been missing – tender green beans in a creamy mushroom sauce, topped with crunchy store-bought fried onions.
I hope it satisfies your holiday longings too!
In this post:
Ingredients for vegan green bean casserole
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.
Raw cashews: Use unroasted, unsalted cashews. Look for them with other nuts in the grocery store. (Raw cashew pieces work well here, and they’re usually cheaper than whole.)
Green beans: Choose plump fresh green beans, not skinny ones. They should be bright green, firm, whole, and without brown spots.
Before cooking, remove the stem ends from the fresh green beans. Then halve the beans if they’re on the long side. (I recommend roughly 3-inch pieces for easy heating and eating.)
Oil: Avocado oil is my preferred option, but any neutral-flavored, high heat cooking oil will work.
Cremini mushrooms: Choose firm, plump mushrooms that have a dry, smooth surface. Avoid any that are slimy or wrinkled.
Salt: Helps to amplify the flavors of the sauce and soften the mushrooms.
Vegan butter: Any non-dairy butter will work (like Miyoko's).
Garlic: Choose firm garlic that doesn’t have dark spots.
Red wine vinegar: This adds a bit of acid and tang.
All-purpose flour: Regular flour helps the mushroom sauce to thicken.
Better Than Bouillon: Better Than Bouillon no chicken base works beautifully here for flavor.
Pepper: Freshly ground is preferred for the best flavor.
Tamari: This Japanese soy sauce adds richness, salt, and umami.
French fried onions: Any store-bought crispy fried onions work here. French’s is a popular name brand. Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and Whole Foods have their own options as well.
Step by step instructions
This section shows how to make this recipe at a glance with process photos of the steps. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.
1. Steam trimmed and halved green beans until bright and tender. Then run the green beans under cool water and transfer to a clean kitchen towel to dry.
2. Saute sliced mushrooms in a skillet with oil and salt until the mushrooms are tender and have released their liquid. Add vegan butter and garlic, saute until fragrant. Then top with red wine vinegar.
3. Add flour to the mushrooms, and use a spatula to combine and slightly cook the flour for about a minute.
Then add water, bouillon, and pepper. Allow the sauce to reduce and thicken, while stirring frequently with a spatula. Once the sauce has the consistency of gravy, stir in tamari.
4. Pour cashew sauce (made with raw cashews and water) into the skillet. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat and stir frequently, until the sauce is quite thick.
Remove from the heat, and stir in the green beans and half of the French fried onions.
5. Transfer the green bean casserole to an 8×8 casserole dish, and top evenly with the remaining French fried onions.
Bake until the sauce is bubbly around the edges and the onions are nicely browned. (See exact time and temperature in recipe card below.)
Make it your own: Substitutions
You can make this Thanksgiving side dish your own by varying the ingredients and amounts.
Instead of cremini mushrooms try a different type like white button mushrooms or oyster mushrooms.
Instead of tamari use your preferred soy sauce or soy sauce alternative.
Instead of Better Than Bouillon use your preferred bouillon. Or use a cup of flavorful vegetable broth or veggie stock instead of water + bouillon.
Instead of French fried onions use fried shallots.
Serving suggestions for Thanksgiving
Creamy vegan green bean casserole goes beautifully with any of these Thanksgiving recipes:
- Crispy vegan schnitzel
- Vegetable pot pie with chickpeas
- Cheesy vegan scalloped potatoes
- Roasted Brussels sprouts with apples
- Dairy-free mashed potatoes and vegan turkey gravy
- Orange cranberry sauce
(For more side dish ideas, see this complete round-up of vegan Thanksgiving side dishes.)
Storage & reheating tips
Vegan green bean casserole is best when served fresh. Once refrigerated, the cashew sauce thickens, and the French fried onions get soft and break down. However, it’s still tasty, and I definitely eat all of my leftovers!
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. They will keep for 3 or 4 days.
When you’re ready to enjoy them, stir in a splash of plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk to loosen the sauce. Then reheat in the oven, air fryer, or microwave. During the last few minutes of warming, add a fresh layer of French fried onions on top to regain some crispiness.
FAQ
Yes! Although fresh green beans are best, frozen green beans also work here.
Thaw frozen green beans first and pat them dry. You can skip steaming them, but you may need to bake the casserole slightly longer to ensure the beans are tender.
Fresh is optimum, and frozen is second, but canned green beans can be used for this recipe.
You don’t need to steam them first. Simply add them into the skillet after cooking the mushrooms and reducing the cashew cream sauce. Then continue the recipe as written. (Green bean casserole with canned green beans may cook slightly faster, so keep an eye on it.)
I've only made this green bean casserole fresh, and that's when it tastes best.
However, if you'd like to do some prep in advance, you can make everything up to the point of adding the green beans to the mushroom cashew sauce. (Just don't add the fried onions yet. They'll get soggy in the fridge.)
Let the creamy green beans come to room temperature, then cover, and refrigerate.
Since cashew cream thickens as it chills, stir in a splash of plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk before baking to loosen the sauce. Then add half of the fried onions, bake until warmed through, and finish with the remaining onions on top until they're browned and crispy.
If you try this recipe and love it, let me know! Leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It truly makes my day and is such a help!
📖 Recipe
Vegan green bean casserole with cashew mushroom sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup raw cashews (unroasted and unsalted), soaked if necessary*
- 2 cups water divided, plus more for steaming beans
- 16 ounces green beans fresh, trimmed and halved
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil or your preferred neutral flavored cooking oil
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon vegan butter
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon, no chicken base
- black pepper freshly ground, to taste
- 1 teaspoon tamari
- 1 ⅓ cups French fried onions divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Put raw cashews and a cup of water into a high-speed blender.* Blend until completely smooth. (You'll know it's done when there are no cracking sounds in the blender.) Then set aside.
- Fill a pot with steamer insert with about an inch of water. Bring to a boil. Put trimmed and halved green beans into the steamer insert and cover with a lid. Steam until the green beans are bright and tender, about 5 minutes.
- To keep their bright color and stop their cooking, pour the green beans into a colander in the sink, and run cold water over them. Turn them occasionally so that all of the green beans get cool. Once the green beans are cold, pour them onto a clean kitchen towel to dry while you continue with the rest of the recipe.
- Bring a large non-stick ceramic skillet to a medium heat, and add avocado oil. Scatter the sliced mushrooms across the skillet, and top with salt. Saute about 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and have released their liquid.
- Add vegan butter and garlic. Allow the butter to melt and garlic to soften and become fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then top the mushrooms with red vinegar.
- Sprinkle flour on top of the mushrooms, and use a spatula to combine and slightly cook the flour for about a minute.
- Add 1 cup of water, Better Than Bouillon no chicken base, and pepper to the skillet. (A few twists of the pepper grinder should be just right.) Use a spatula to combine, being careful to get everything off the bottom of the skillet, while the sauce reduces and thickens.
- Once the sauce has the consistency of gravy, stir in tamari.
- Pour the reserved cashew sauce from the blender into the skillet. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat and stir frequently, until the sauce is quite thick, roughly 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Stir in the green beans and ⅔ cup French fried onions.
- Transfer the green bean casserole to an 8×8 baking dish, and top evenly with the remaining ⅔ cup of French fried onions.
- Transfer to the oven. Bake until the sauce is bubbly around the edges and the onions are nicely browned, about 10 minutes.
Notes
- Grind the dry, raw cashews first in a coffee grinder until they become a flour, and then put them in the blender with the other ingredients. (My favorite option!)
- Soak the cashews in water overnight and drain before following the recipe.
- Cover the cashews in boiling water and let them soak 10-20 minutes before draining and using.
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