Healthy Green Bean Casserole – gluten free, paleo, vegan, AIP, Whole30
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This Healthy Green Bean Casserole is a clean eating version of traditional Holiday fare, but it’s great anytime of year. It’s not only gluten free, but works for many different special diets, and it’s super tasty too!
Today I’m so thrilled to bring you a recipe for one of my FAVORITE Holiday recipes–healthy green bean casserole.
One of my FAVORITE Holiday foods is green bean casserole. I mean, I love the turkey (well, I really don’t love it unless there are other fixins with it) and sweet potatoes (not the casserole, but plain), and cranberry sauce–and of COURSE pumpkin pie….but really, I just LOVE green bean casserole.
This a seriously good recipe for a paleo green bean casserole, and it’s loaded with all kinds of healthy ingredients.
Note–this is not your typical so-called “healthy recipe” that is low carb, or low fat. This healthy green bean casserole really is healthy.
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Great for Any Special Diet
- It can easily be a Vegan Green Bean Casserole. So if you need to avoid dairy and eggs, this totally fits the bill.
- It can also be a Paleo Green Bean Casserole. If you’re avoiding grains and such, it works for you.
- It’s a Gluten-free Green Bean Casserole. So all of you gluten-free folk can enjoy it too!
And even if you’re avoiding nuts, you could substitute sunflower seed or another seed flour for the almond flour in the topping.
Ingredients You WON’T Find in This Casserole
The 2 biggest “healthy eating” offenders in a typical green bean casserole recipe are–the cream of mushroom soup and the french fried onions.
So let’s check out the totally not-so-healthy ingredients in those babies, shall we?
Typical Cream of Mushroom Soup Ingredients
INGREDIENTS: WATER, MUSHROOMS, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, COTTONSEED, CANOLA, AND/OR SOYBEAN), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, DEHYDRATED CREAM (CREAM [MILK], SOY LECITHIN), YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING, DEHYDRATED GARLIC.
Ummm–no. Just no.
No to:
- canola oil (almost for SURE GMO)
- soybean oil (ditto)
- corn oil (ditto again!)
- soy protein concentrate (quadruple ditto)
- monosodium glutamate?!?! (ummmm-no need to talk about this one)
- soy lecithin (again the GMO thing)
- flavoring (this could be benign, but considering the heinous status of the rest of the ingredients, I’m betting that it isn’t)
Typical French Fried Onion Ingredients
Onions, Palm Oil, Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Soy Flour, Salt and Dextrose.
I was pretty shocked to see that ingredient list–at least ONIONS is the first ingredient there!
These aren’t as bad as I thought but I’m a flat out “no” on the soy flour since it’s likely GMO, and for anyone with a gluten issue, these just aren’t going to work.
And the folic acid can potentially be a trouble for those with MTHFR issues (though granted, there isn’t much in here).
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
- AIP: For AIP, use organic tiger nut flour instead of the almond flour.
- Cream of Mushroom Soup: If you would prefer to buy Cream of Mushroom soup, here is a healthy option, but it might not meet your dietary needs.
- Finely-Ground Nuts: You can substitute finely-ground soaked nuts for the almond flour.
- Homemade Garlic Powder: My Homemade Garlic Powder is a good option if you would like to make your own garlic powder.
- Palm Shortening: You can use palm shortening instead of butter for a dairy-free option.
- THM: If you follow the Trim Healthy Mama plan, this recipe fits in as an “S.”
- Vegan: Use coconut oil in place of butter and vegetable broth for the Chicken Broth in the Cream of Mushroom Soup. This Broth Powder is a great option for this purpose.
Healthy Green Bean Casserole – gluten free, paleo, vegan, AIP
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans
- 1 cup cream of mushroom soup (this Healthy Mushroom Soup is a great alternative–follow directions in the post)
- 3/4 cup finely-ground almond flour
- 1/2 cup onion (thinly sliced)
- 2 tablespoons butter (melted–see vegan alternative in Recipes Notes)
- 1 teaspoon salt (divided)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine butter, almond flour, and ½ teaspoon salt and stir.
- Toss the onion slices in the mixture to coat them.
- Place the green beans, garlic powder, remaining salt, and cream of mushroom soup in an 8×8 baking dish and stir.
- Top green beans with onion mixture, then cover and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the cover and bake for 20-30 minutes longer, until almond flour becomes brown and slightly crispy.
Notes
- AIP: For AIP, use organic tiger nut flour instead of the almond flour.
- Cream of Mushroom Soup: If you would prefer to buy Cream of Mushroom soup, here is a healthy option, but it might not meet your dietary needs.
- Finely-Ground Nuts: You can substitute finely-ground soaked nuts for the almond flour.
- Homemade Garlic Powder: My Homemade Garlic Powder is a good option if you would like to make your own garlic powder.
- Palm Shortening: You can use palm shortening instead of butter for a dairy-free option.
- THM: If you follow the Trim Healthy Mama plan, this recipe fits in as an “S.”
- Vegan: Use coconut oil in place of butter and vegetable broth for the Chicken Broth in the Cream of Mushroom Soup. This Broth Powder is a great option for this purpose
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
What’s your favorite Holiday food?
Will you add this Gluten-free Green Bean Casserole to your holiday table?
Sorry auto-correct… “I have a glut of green beans”!
I have a gluten of green beans and am looking forward to making this but …
At what point do you add the garlic powder please?
And what weight is a cup (metric or imperial)?
Hi there! Yay for a glut (or gluten, LOL) of green beans! I just updated the post for you – hope you like it!
Cup weights vary by ingredient. You can likely get the information online that should be pretty reliable. I hope that helps.
Do you think this would freeze ok? I’m considering making the cream of mushroom soup, mixing with the beans, and freezing, then completing with the topping and baking later. I’m just worried about it turning watery after thawing. What do you think? Have you done this? Thank you!
Hi there. I haven’t done it but I would think it would work. Is there a reason you think it would turn watery? I’m not the best w/ freezing dish knowledge but I know that people freeze regular green bean casseroles.
Every holiday with my in-laws always included green bean casserole, so I was pretty sure this recipe would not please my picky husband. It did! He raved about how delicious it was-three times! The leftovers today were just as good and again he said how much he liked it, even more than the “regular” green bean casserole. A real winner for sure. But it does not serve 6-8 in our house. My husband and I ate 3/4ths of it right out of the oven. Yummy!!
So great!! I am soooo glad you liked it! Happy New Year!