Healthy Green Bean Casserole (Mushroom Free)
A made-from-scratch, savory, creamy, and hearty side that you need on your dinner table. Green Bean Casserole is a classic holiday dish, but I personally love it any time of year! This recipe uses Greek yogurt to make it extra creamy, and as a bonus, it keeps the dish lower in fat and higher in protein.
Not many flavors blend together more perfectly than sweet, caramelized onions and freshly cooked green beans. I also made this recipe mushroom free for those picky eaters in your household, and better yet… there’s BACON in it. Need I say more?!
My take on this classic side is made with whole ingredients rather than the canned, processed stuff. And let me tell you, it makes a huge difference in flavors of the dish! Using fresh green beans and making the creamy sauce from scratch also makes this healthier green bean casserole lower in sodium, higher in protein, and lower in fat than the classic recipe using canned goods.
Just blanch the fresh green beans (instructions are in my recipe), cook the bacon and caramelize the onions, make the sauce, layer it all together and bake! Don’t forget that signature crunchy coating on top – it adds such an appealing, cheesy crunch!
You won’t miss the canned stuff, trust me.
Healthy Green Bean Casserole (Mushroom Free)
Equipment
- 2 quart baking dish
Ingredients
- ½ cup whole wheat Panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
- 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 – 2 ½ lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed
- 5 strips thick-sliced bacon
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup 2% plain Greek yogurt, I like Fage
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to broil. Lightly grease a 2-quart oven-safe baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl, stir together the panko, parmesan, parsley and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath (large bowl full of water and ice) and set out a clean kitchen towel. Boil green beans until just slightly tender, about 3-4 minutes. Place directly into the ice bath to stop the cooking process, then transfer to the kitchen towel. Pat dry.
- Place 5 bacon in a large, rimmed saucepan. Turn heat to medium and let cook until slightly crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan, let cool, and chop into large pieces. Drain some of the bacon fat.
- In the same pan, add diced onions and cook until slightly caramelized, about 8-10 minutes. Stir often. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle the flour over top and continue stirring. Cook for 1-2 more minutes, just until all of the flour turns golden brown.
- Slowly add the milk a few splashes at a time, stirring between each addition. Once all the milk has been added, increase heat to medium high. Stir in salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Continue cooking and stirring with a wooden spoon for 8-10 minutes, until sauce thickens and is a gravy-consistency. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan often to prevent any burnt bits. Remove from heat and stir in Greek yogurt.
- Transfer half of the green beans and bacon to the baking dish. Spread half the sauce over top, and repeat. Finally, top with breadcrumb mixture.
- Finally, just broil for 1-2 minutes (Watch CLOSELY, it cooks fast! I learned the hard way). Garnish with more fresh parsley to serve.
Notes
- If you want to make it dairy-free:
- replace 2% milk with unsweetened coconut milk
- use nondairy Greek yogurt
- replace the parmesan with a couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast plus a 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice
- If you want to make it gluten-free:
- use an 1:1 gluten-free flour in place of the all purpose flour
- use gluten-free crumbs for the topping
- Leave bacon out to make this recipe vegetarian!