Thanksgiving dinner in my family always includes classic Green Bean Casserole. The canned green beans, the canned mushroom soup and way too many crispy onions! It’s one of my family’s favorites side dishes. In fact, last year, when I told my Dad that would be incorporating Paleo dishes into our Thanksgiving dinner he said ‘please don’t ruin Thanksgiving. Please make regular green bean casserole.’ So I did.
But this year…he’s getting an upgrade that I really hope he loves despite it being Whole30 and Paleo. And since he doesn’t read my blog, he’ll never know! So, please don’t tell him. 🙂
So, how did I go about making a ‘classic’ even better AND Whole30/Paleo??? Like this:
- Instead of canned green beans, my version uses fresh green beans.
- Instead of canned mushroom soup, my version uses my very own, homemade Creamy Mushroom Soup !
- Instead of crispy onions, I use rendered bacon fat and crispy bacon bits.Â
Not only is this modified casserole version healthier than the original, its also dairy-free, gluten-free and sugar-free!
Sorry, but I forgot to take ‘process pictures’ but the recipe is quite easy to make follow. And the final result looks very similar to the original, just a bit darker and topped with bacon.
Really hope you give this one a try!
- ¼ Lb sugar free bacon, diced
- ½ Tbs ghee
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced
- Small package shitake mushrooms, sliced
- 8 Oz cremini/button/baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- ¼ Tsp salt
- ¼ Tsp pepper
- 1 cup of vegetable stock
- ½ cup of full fat, unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 Lb fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
- Pre-heat the oven to 400F.
- Microwave or blanch the green beans for 3 minutes. (If blanching, add the green beans to a pot of boiling water for 3 mins. Remove the green beans and place them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Once cool, drain the green beans and set them aside.)
- Heat a high sided pan to medium heat and then add the bacon and cook it, stirring frequently until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and set the bacon aside on a paper towel lined plate. Be sure to leave the rendered bacon fat in the pan.
- Keeping the pan at medium heat, add the ghee, garlic, onions, mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper and saute until the mushrooms release most of their liquid (about 10-12 minutes)
- Add the stock and coconut milk, stir until combined.
- Blend the contents of the pan with an immersion blender, standard blender or food processor until smooth.
- Grease an 8x8 baking pan and add the green beans and top with the blended mushroom mixture.
- Bake covered for 15 minutes and then bake uncovered for 15 more minutes.
- Top with the reserved bacon prior to serving!
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