Hello beautiful!
I don't know about you but I never really enjoyed green bean casserole as a kid... there was just something about canned green beans and canned cream of mushroom soup and funions that just didn't jive with me.
It wasn't until I met my husband back in 2008 that I started to play around with making a healthier version of green bean casserole and then a couple years ago I found a really incredible recipe for a healthy, gluten free, dairy free recipe on TheRoastedRoot.com (original recipe here). Now if you can eat garlic and onions I HIGHLY recommend giving the original recipe a try! She has you make caramelized onions for the topper instead of the old gross FunYuns that are full of chemicals!
However, having a sensitive gut I cannot eat garlic, onions or fresh mushrooms. So I had to modify it to make it work best for me and my body. As I urge you to listen to YOUR body and do what makes your body feel good ALWAYS! So the following recipe follows a lot of her recipe with some tweaks! I do not use garlic or onion but I do incorporate those flavors in other ways and let me tell you... I have served this recipe at Friendsgiving the last 2 years in a row and everyone LOVED it and had no idea it was "healthy" or that it was missing anything! BONUS!
How I make swaps for this recipe: My favorite way to add the garlic flavor is to used Garlic Infused Olive Oil this one is my personal favorite. Adding the green part of the green onion is an excellent way to add onion flavor. And as for the mushrooms I thought I would die before I ate a canned mushroom... but the only way to remove the FODMAPS from a mushroom is to brine it. This Native Forest Crimini Mushrooms are my favorite and there are only 3 ingredients! Mushrooms, water and salt! Perfect and after they are cooked in bacon grease... well they taste pretty darn good!
PRO TIP: To save time on Thanksgiving I like to prepare this dish ahead of time. I make everything and put it together and then let it cool on the counter before I put it in the fridge to store for the night. Then I do the final bake on the day of Thanksgiving! It works great!
INGREDIENTS:
> 2 lbs fresh green beans trimmed and chopped into 2-inch pieces
> 4 slices sugar free/nitrate free bacon
> 8 ounce Native Forest Crimini Canned Mushrooms
> 1 Bunch of green onions chopped (GREEN PART ONLY FOR SENSITIVE GUT!)
> 1 15-oz can full-fat coconut milk
> 2 tsp Italian Seasoning (this one doesn't have garlic or onion in it!)
> 1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg
> 1 TBSP Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
> 1 TBSP Garlic Infused Olive Oil
> 2 TBSP Almond Flour
> Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
> Slivered Almonds
DIRECTIONS:
1.START THE GREEN BEANS: 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.
2.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.
3.Drain the canned mushrooms then add the mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have turned golden-brown about 3 to 5 minutes.
4.Add the coconut milk, Italian seasoning, 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.
5.Assemble the Casserole: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. (If you are cooking the casserole same day! If you are prepping this ahead of time skip this step!)
6.Transfer the cooked and dried green beans to a large (13” x 9”) casserole dish and drizzle with garlic infused oil and sea salt. Use your hands to toss everything together until all of the beans are coated with oil.
7.Transfer the sauce mixture to the casserole dish and stir well until the beans are well-coated in sauce.
8.Chop green onions and bacon in small pieces then evenly distribute the green onions, bacon and almond over the top of the casserole.
9.Bake casserole in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the casserole is fragrant.
10.Serve with your main course and enjoy!
This is a crowd favorite so you may want to double up! I hope your friends and family love it as much as mine do!
