This Vegan Green Bean Casserole is so delicious, your family won’t miss the version made with canned soup! It has a crunchy (not fried) topping, and comes together quickly, for a perfect holiday side dish.
How to Make the Best Vegan Cream Sauce
This recipe was created as an alternative to my Healthy Green Bean Casserole , which has been a fan favorite for years. In that recipe, the creamy sauce is made from a puree of mushrooms and parsnips, but it’s a little more labor-intensive than most of my other recipes.
This Vegan Green Bean Casserole is my faster solution . The sauce is made with canned white beans, which are both convenient and protein-packed. You can whip it up in just a few minutes!
To make the sauce for this vegan green bean casserole, you’ll simply combine a can of drained white beans with water, garlic, fresh rosemary, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Blend until smooth, then pour it over the cooked green beans.
Helpful Shortcuts
To save yourself some time and effort, I recommend starting with frozen green beans . That way the beans are already trimmed and cut for you! You can freeze your own green beans, or buy them at the store.
Starting with canned beans also makes this recipe a lot faster, but you can cook them from scratch if you’d like to. I’ve tested this recipe with Great Northern Beans, and with chickpeas.
Here’s how to cook chickpeas from scratch, and how to cook chickpeas in the Instant Pot , if you have dry beans on hand.
What Can You Use Instead of Fried Onions on Top?
Instead of fried onions, I like to use crunchy walnuts on top of this green bean casserole. I pulse them in the food processor with salt, so that you get a lightly salty, crunchy topping in each bite.
Alternatively, you can use any other nut or seed you have on hand, or try my Garlic-Roasted Chickpeas for a crunchy, nut-free topping.
Make-Ahead Tips
To make this Vegan Green Bean Casserole ahead of time, you can prepare the vegetables and sauce up to 3 days in advance, and store them together in the fridge. Keep the topping separate , so it doesn’t get soggy.
When you’re ready to reheat the casserole, you can add the topping and bake the casserole at 350ºF for 35 to 45 minutes, until it’s bubbly hot all the way through. Serve warm with the rest of your meal!
More Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes
Need some more holiday meal ideas? Try one of these!
- Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes
- Vegan Meatloaf
- Baked Portobello Mushrooms
- Creamed Spinach
- Favorite Holiday Salad
- Cranberry Sauce
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (the best!)
- Vegan Gravy
I’m always adding more, so be sure to check out my Thanksgiving recipes for the latest!
IngredientsUS CustomaryMetric1x2x3x
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion , chopped (230 grams)
- 1 pound fresh or frozen green beans , cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 15 oz. can white beans , drained and rinsed (251 grams drained)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cups water
- 1 clove garlic (5 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt (8 grams)
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary (about 1 teaspoon minced)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Optional topping:
- 3/4 cup raw walnuts (or pecans, almonds, etc; 74 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (2 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Heat the olive oil in a deep sauté pan over medium heat and sauté the onion until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the frozen green beans and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir well. Cover the pan and let the vegetables cook until heated through, about 8 to 10 minutes. The beans won’t become any more tender in the oven, so make sure they are as soft as you want them to be before moving on.
- While the vegetables are cooking, combine the drained beans, 1/2 cup of water, garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, rosemary, a couple grinds of fresh black pepper, and the lemon juice into a blender. Blend until smooth. Add 1/4 cup more water for a thinner sauce. (If using chickpeas, you might even need more water, but add it only 1/4 cup at a time.)
- To prepare the topping, use a food processor or blender to pulse the walnuts and salt together, just until coarsely ground. (It’s doesn’t need to be super-fine, since you want some crunch!)
- When the green beans are tender, pour the sauce over the top and stir well. Transfer the mixture to an oven-safe casserole dish, if you need to, or you can use the same pan if it’s oven-safe. Adjust any seasoning to taste, then sprinkle the crushed walnut mixture over the top. Bake the casserole at 350ºF for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are piping hot and the topping is lightly golden.
- Allow the casserole to cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then serve warm. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite holiday side dish?
Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Equipment
- Vitamix
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion , chopped (230 grams)
- 1 pound fresh or frozen green beans , cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 15 oz. can white beans , drained and rinsed (251 grams drained)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cups water
- 1 clove garlic (5 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt (8 grams)
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary (about 1 teaspoon minced)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Optional topping:
- 3/4 cup raw walnuts (or pecans, almonds, etc; 74 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (2 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Heat the olive oil in a deep sauté pan over medium heat and sauté the onion until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the frozen green beans and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir well. Cover the pan and let the vegetables cook until heated through, about 8 to 10 minutes. The beans won’t become any more tender in the oven, so make sure they are as soft as you want them to be before moving on.
- While the vegetables are cooking, combine the drained beans, 1/2 cup of water, garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, rosemary, a couple grinds of fresh black pepper, and the lemon juice into a blender. Blend until smooth. Add 1/4 cup more water for a thinner sauce. (If using chickpeas, you might even need more water, but add it only 1/4 cup at a time.)
- To prepare the topping, use a food processor or blender to pulse the walnuts and salt together, just until coarsely ground. (It’s doesn’t need to be super-fine, since you want some crunch!)
- When the green beans are tender, pour the sauce over the top and stir well. Transfer the mixture to an oven-safe casserole dish, if you need to, or you can use the same pan if it’s oven-safe. Adjust any seasoning to taste, then sprinkle the crushed walnut mixture over the top. Bake the casserole at 350ºF for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are piping hot and the topping is lightly golden.
- Allow the casserole to cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then serve warm. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
