Healthy Green Bean Casserole made dairy-free and gluten-free is a marvelously flavorful side dish perfect for any gathering! This healthier keto green bean casserole recipe is fun to assemble and is the ultimate crowd-pleaser. Low-carb, creamy and delicious!
Welcome to my newest obsession.
Truthfully, I was never a huge fan of green bean casserole… That is…until I made this recipe.
No lie. As it turns out, a good, fresh, health-conscious green bean casserole is actually ultra palate-pleasing! Now I feel as though I need to make up for lost time and put this beauty on repeat!
While this healthy green bean casserole is more involved than most of the recipes I post, the way I see it is we typically make a dish like this for a special occasion and special occasions call for special food.
Let me tell you, this casserole is AMAZING! It is well-worth the time and effort, is much healthier than classic green bean casserole, and will most definitely wow your guests!
There are four main parts to preparing this recipe: caramelizing the onions for the topping, cooking the green beans, preparing the sauce, and finally, making the casserole itself.
Each step is super easy! If you look at the recipe as a series of steps, it won’t seem as daunting. Pro Tip: Read the whole recipe before you begin it so that you can figure out the best way of fitting it into your day.
Great news!: This casserole saves very well, so you can prepare it up to 4 days before the holiday feast or your big event.
Ingredients for Healthy Green Bean Casserole:
Crispy Onion Topping: Onions and almond flour. We caramelize a couple of onions to perfection then toss them in almond flour for the crispy onion topping.
I will say, the topping does not turn out as crispy as the iconic crispy onions on traditional green bean casserole. Just thought I would mention that to set the expectation that the topping is more of a flavor blaster than it is a textural element.
Dairy-Free Sauce: Bacon, mushrooms, garlic, coconut milk, Italian seasoning, nutmeg, sea salt, gluten-free flour. Bacon is cooked to render fat in order to saute the mushrooms and garlic. Coconut milk is added to this, along with seasonings and flour to make a creamy dreamy dairy-free sauce. This mixture takes the place of condensed cream of mushroom soup from the traditional version.
Green Beans: Fresh green beans (you can purchase them pre-washed and pre-trimmed to save time!), avocado oil, and sea salt. Green beans are boiled so that they’re nice and tender once the casserole is out of the oven. After boiling and draining the green beans, we toss them in avocado oil and sea salt to make them extra amazing in the casserole.
Let’s bake it now!
How to Make Healthy Green Bean Casserole:
Preparing this healthy green bean casserole is simple and easy, and requires four main steps. The most time-consuming part is caramelizing the onions. The good news is, you can easily multi-task while the onions are caramelizing because they don’t require a huge amount of attention.
Make the Topping.
Begin by caramelizing the onions. Add the avocado oil to a large non-stick skillet and heat to medium-high.
Sauté the onions, stirring occasionally, until they turn translucent and have softened. Sprinkle in the sea salt. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onions are are deeply golden-brown and caramelized, about 50 to 60 minutes.
Remove caramelized onions from the heat and stir in the almond flour.
Set aside until ready to use (Note: If you perform this step ahead of time, you can transfer the onions to a bowl or even a tupperware container and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake the casserole).
Boil the Green Beans:
While onions are sautéing, prepare the rest of the recipe. Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove top and chop the green beans into 2-inch pieces. Transfer the green beans to the pot of boiling water and cook until softened, but still al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately drain the beans into a colander and set aside until ready to use.
Note: I allowed the beans to sit and cool and dry in the colander while I made the sauce so that they were easy to handle when it came time to make the casserole.
Make the Sauce:
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crispy, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a cutting board and leave the drippings in the skillet.
Add the chopped mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have turned golden-brown and are much smaller than they were when raw, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and continue cooking another 2 minutes.
Add the coconut milk, oregano, nutmeg and sea salt and bring to a full boil. Sprinkle the flour into the skillet and whisk well to combine. Continue cooking the sauce until it has thickened to a consistency similar to gravy and pulls aways from the skillet when stirred, about 5 minutes.
Assemble the Casserole:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Transfer the cooked and dried green beans to a large (13” x 9”) casserole dish and drizzle with avocado oil and sea salt. Use your hands to toss everything together until all of the beans are coated with oil.
Transfer the sauce mixture to the casserole dish and stir well until the beans are well-coated in sauce.
Evenly distribute the caramelized onions over the green beans. Transfer the casserole dish to the pre-heated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the casserole is fragrant.
Chop the bacon and sprinkle the crumbles over the casserole.
Serve and enjoy!
More Healthy Holiday Side Dishes:
- Creamy Cauliflower Casserole (Keto)
- Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
- Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
- Creamy Kabocha Squash Mash
- Herbed Coconut Milk Potatoes Au Gratin
For you and yours!
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!
If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @TheRoastedRoot on Instagram!
Ingredients
Onion Topping:
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil
- 2 large yellow onions
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 tsp sea salt to taste
Creamy Mushroom Sauce:
- 4 slices thick cut bacon
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (15-oz) can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg optional
- 1 Tbsp gluten-free all-purpose flour or tapioca flour
- 1 tsp sea salt to taste
Green Beans
- 2 lbs fresh green beans trimmed and chopped into 2-inch pieces
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
Make the Topping:
Add the avocado oil to a large non-stick skillet and heat to medium-high. Sauté the onions, stirring occasionally, until they turn translucent and have softened. Sprinkle in the sea salt. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onions are are deeply golden-brown and caramelized, about 50 to 60 minutes.
Remove caramelized onions from the heat and stir in the almond flour. Set aside until ready to use.
Boil the Green Beans:
While onions are sautéing, prepare the rest of the recipe. Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove top and chop the green beans into 2-inch pieces. Transfer the green beans to the pot of boiling water and cook until softened, but still al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately drain the beans into a colander and set aside until ready to use.
Make the Sauce:
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crispy, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a cutting board and leave the drippings in the skillet.
Add the chopped mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have turned golden-brown and are much smaller than they were when raw, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes.
Add the coconut milk, oregano, nutmeg and sea salt and bring to a full boil. Sprinkle the flour into the skillet and whisk well to combine. Continue cooking the sauce until it has thickened to a consistency similar to gravy and pulls away from the skillet when stirred, about 5 minutes.
Assemble the Casserole:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Transfer the cooked and dried green beans to a large (13” x 9”) casserole dish and drizzle with avocado oil and sea salt. Use your hands to toss everything together until all of the beans are coated with oil.
Transfer the sauce mixture to the casserole dish and stir well until the beans are well-coated in sauce.
Evenly distribute the caramelized onions over the green beans. Transfer the casserole dish to the pre-heated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the casserole is fragrant.
Chop the bacon and sprinkle the crumbles over the casserole.
