Healthy, green bean casserole

September 28, 2013 at 8:00 pm | Posted in recipe, VeganMoFo | Leave a comment
Tags: butternut squash, caramelized onions, casserole, cauliflower, cream of mushroom soup, Earth Balance, fried onions, green bean casserole, green beans, healthy vegan green bean casserole, nutritional yeast, vegan, vegan mofo, Vegan Month of Food

Photo by Bethany Fehlinger

Previously posted on No Sweat, York

When living on a budget, splurging on ingredients for a one-time dish is a big no-no. The past few weeks I had large bags of green beans from my CSA but didn’t know what to do with them other than steaming and covering with Earth Balance.

For green bean casserole, a creamy base is needed, usually in the form of a cream of mushroom soup. This is a hard ingredient to find for a vegan and sometimes a calorie-filled substitute is needed, usually in the form of a mushroom roux using flour.

On Friday I experimented with what I had on hand — cauliflower and butternut squash. I steamed and pureed these ingredients in order to cover the green beans.

It wouldn’t be green bean casserole without the fried onions, which amazingly are already vegan. A healthy alternative can be caramelized onions, though that is more time consuming.

This green bean casserole might not taste exactly the same as a non-vegan version, but it is easy, healthy and chock-full of nutritious veggies.

Healthy, vegan green bean casserole

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped cauliflower
• 2 cups frozen, cubed butternut squash
• 1 small red onion
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon pepper (or more to taste)
• 3 pounds fresh green beans, cut into small pieces
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of fried onions

Recipe

1. Add chopped cauliflower, cubed butternut squash and water to a pot. Bring to a boil. Add a lid and lower to a simmer, steaming for 10 minutes.
2. In the meantime, wash and cut fresh green beans into small pieces, place in a pot with about 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Add a lid, lower the temperature to a simmer and cook for 6 minutes.
3. Drain green beans when they are done and place back into the pot.
4. Place butternut squash, cauliflower and water into a blender. Add garlic powder, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper to the blender and puree. If the mixture seems too thick, add a few tablespoons of water to make sure it completely blends. You might need to scrape down the sides and repeat the pureeing.
5. Add a bit of the puree to the bottom of a 9×13 dish. Add green beans and then coat with mixture. Stir until all the beans are coated.
6. Spread the fried onions over the top, and cover with foil. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 425 degrees.
7. Take out of oven, let it cool for 5 minutes and then enjoy.