Vegan Green Bean Casserole excerpted from The Friendly Vegan Cookbook by Michelle Cehn and Toni Okamoto
From Michelle: I know, green beans aren’t for everyone. Toni is in that camp, but I personally love them—especially in green bean casseroles at Thanksgiving. But in my eyes, the ultimate green bean casserole strikes a balance between too-soft and too-crisp green beans, creating a nice amount of creamy filling.
Yield: 8 servings
Prep time: 25 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes
You’ll need: a high-powered blender
2 pounds fresh green beans
3 cups vegetable broth (or equivalent amount of vegetable bouillon and water), divided
½ cup raw cashews
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup vegan butter
1 small onion, diced
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced or diced
4 medium cloves garlic, roughly chopped
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups crispy fried onions (we use store-bought)
- To prepare the green beans, wash them, trim the stem ends, cut them in half, place them in a steamer basket, and steam for 7 minutes. Remove the green beans from the steamer, rinse them with ice-cold water to preserve the green color, and set aside.
- In a high-powered blender, combine 1 cup of the vegetable broth and the cashews and blend on high until smooth. Blend in the remaining 2 cups of vegetable broth, salt, and pepper and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt the vegan butter. Add the onion, mushrooms, and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the flour and whisk to create a roux. Continue to whisk the thickened roux constantly for 3 minutes. Add the broth and cashew mixture and whisk continuously for 2 to 3 minutes, until thickened (thickening will happen fast and suddenly, so be sure to turn off the heat just as the mixture gets thick enough).
- Spoon the green beans and the creamy mixture into a 9 × 13-inch baking dish and mix until well combined. Top with an even layer of fried onions and bake for 20 minutes.
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