Friday, November 23, 2012

Dining In - The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole

vegocracy green bean casserole
The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole - Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen

Since I transitioned to a vegan diet in March of this year I had never experienced a "cruelty-free" Thanksgiving until now, but becoming vegan didn't stop me from enjoying some of my favorite dishes of the season. Check out my Thanksgiving post (coming soon) for details on my vegan meal! 

Green bean casserole is a staple at our Thanksgiving meal and I was excited to try this dairy-free version. The name convinced me. I'm not a big fan of mushrooms, but I still very much enjoyed the flavors of this dish, especially the bread topping. My family dug right in and gobbled it all up! This is another recipe that I must give credit to two different sources - the original version and the vegan version. The vegan version I found on Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen blog, despite the name this is sadly not fat-free. The original version came from A Veggie Venture. 

Green Beans:
2 quarts of water
1 tablespoon salt (or a little less, if this is too much for you)
1 1/2 lbs. fresh green beans, trim ends and cut into 1 inch pieces

Sauce:
10 oz. button mushrooms, trimmed and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon dry sherry
3/4 cup soy creamer (I used Silk brand)

Topping:
1 1/2 slices of multi-grain bread
1 tablespoon Earth Balance margarine
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pinch of black pepper

3 oz. (1 can) French's French fried onions

Boil salt and water in a large pot and add in green beans. Cook for about 6-8 minutes then drain, rinse with cool water, drain again. Set aside.

Spray a large skillet with canola oil and heat on medium-high. Add in mushrooms, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are soft, reduce heat to low-medium. 

In a small bowl, mix together vegetable broth and flour. Add this mixture to skillet. Add in sherry. Simmer for a few minutes until the mixture thickens, stirring continuously. Add in soy creamer and continue cooking for about 5-10 minutes, until mixture thickens more. 

In an oiled casserole dish mix together the sauce and the cooked green beans. 

For the topping, use a food processor and blend together the bread slices, margarine, salt and pepper until crumbly. Pour into a small bowl and mix in French fried onions (without snacking on them!). 

Cover the green beans with the bread and onion topping. Preheat oven at 425 degrees and cook for about 15-20 minutes. 


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