Green bean casserole is probably my favorite Thanksgiving dish of all time. Unfortunately, cream-of-mystery-franken-foods-soup is not healthy, nor are the deep fried onions that typically grace the top of this casserole. (Note: real onions do not turn crispy when fried by themselves … I tried … they burn)
This was one of my most requested recipes, and I’m happy to share the healthy version. I think I actually prefer this one to the processed version, though it has been so long, I don’t completely remember how that one tasted. Either way, this one is good! It is also free of mystery ingredients!
It is a little time intensive to make, but is worth the effort. It can be made ahead and re-heated to make prep-time faster on Thanksgiving.
A Faster Option:
Since originally writing this recipe, I discovered an easier way to make cream of mushroom soup at home and it reduces the time needed to make this recipe. If you opt for this version, just use the homemade cream of mushroom soup in place of the canned versions in whatever recipe you use (though no need to dilute half and half with water like the canned versions).
Healthy Green Bean Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
Onion Topping
- 2-3 medium onions
- 2 eggs
- 3 TBSP heavy cream or coconut milk
- 2-3 TBSP coconut flour
- ½ cup coconut oil or tallow for frying
Healthy Cream of Mushroom Sauce
- ½ cup butter
- 8-10 mushrooms finely diced
- ½ cup cream or coconut milk
- 4-5 egg yolks you should have these left over if you are making the sweet potato casserole
- coconut milk or water to thin
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/3 of onion topping from above
Other
- 5 cans of cut or french style green beans OR 2 lbs fresh steamed to remove extra liquid OR 2-3 bags of frozen
Instructions
For Onion Topping
- Thinly slice all the onions, separate, and put into a medium bowl.
- Add the eggs and the heavy cream and mix well until evenly incorporated.
- Add coconut flour and mix by hand until evenly coated.
- Put tallow in large skillet and turn on medium high heat.
- When hot, add the coated onions and evenly brown, turning occasionally.
- When browned, remove from heat and set aside.
For Mushroom Sauce
- In medium sauce pan, melt butter.
- Add the diced mushrooms and saute until starting to brown.
- Add cream or coconut milk.
- Whisk in egg yolks and spices and about 1/3 of the onion topping mixture and continue stirring until the yolks begin to cook and the mixture thickens.
- Add extra milk or water if needed to thin.
Assemble
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Drain green beans and pour into a 9x13 baking dish.
- Pour the cream mixture over and mix until incorporated.
- Top with the remaining onion mixture and heat in oven until topping starts to crisp (but not burn!) and green beans are heated.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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How do you make green beans? What’s your favorite casserole? Share!
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I am a green bean casserole junkie and I am excited to give this non-processed version a try. And if I’m the only one who likes it, more for me! (Though I highly doubt I will be). Thank you so much for this recipe!!
I made this dish for Thanksgiving but I made one crucial error; I did not temper the egg yolks with a little bit of the warm sauce from the pan before adding them and the result was more like scrambled eggs than a cream sauce – WOOPS! I’m trying again on Sunday for Christmas dinner. Wish me luck and THANK YOU for this recipe!
Oh boy. I think I just made this same mistake. But I’m sure it will still taste good!
Hello Wellness Mama, Where can I find Tallow oil and what is the difference in that and the coconut oil? I’m trying this receipe for Thanksgiving.
Thanks
Gina
Tallow is basically just beef fat but butter or coconut oil would also work well
Do you think you could prepare this the night before and then just bake it Thanksgiving day?
I would think so… the leftovers reheated great the next day, so making it ahead of time should be fine!
about how many pounds of fresh greenbeans would you use to replace the cans? I REALLY don’t like canned greenbeans.
I’d guess about 2 pounds, though I’ve canned all the ones from our garden this year, so I haven’t used fresh in a while.
thank you!
Thank you for these Thanksgiving recipes. I thought I was going to have to search everywhere for my Thanksgiving recipes, but knowing I can find them all here is soooo helpful! My mom will still be making her version of things…but at least I’ll have things to eat and maybe I can convert a few family members when they give these delicious foods a taste!
How many servings is this recipe? It sounds delicious
It should serve about 8-10, depending on the serving size and how many other foods there are.
Is am so excited to try this. I am going to a pre-Thanksgiving dinner tonight and I know most of the stuff won’t be primal so it will be awesome to be able to bring my own primal recipe. I love eating like this. 🙂 Thanks for the post.
This recipe looks great! We are hosting this year, and its gonna be a crowd. I’m sure this one will be a real crowd pleaser!
Cool! What a great idea and recipe! I love the healthy Thanksgiving recipes you are posting! Thank you!