Healthy Green Bean Casserole (Mushroom Free)
Salty bacon, crunchy green beans, caramelized onions, and a thick, gravy-like cream sauce. Did I mention there's bacon in there?!
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!