The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole

A zesty variation of Green Bean Casserole

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 1/2 cup

Ingredients

• Beans

• 2  quarts water
• 1  tablespoon table salt
• 1 1⁄2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces

• Sauce

• 10  ounces  regular button and shiitake mushrooms
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  pinch cayenne pepper (had to add it for the New Orleans)
• 1  pinch salt, to taste
• 1  pinch fresh pepper, to taste
• 2  teaspoons flour
• 3⁄4 cup vegetable broth (Imagine No Chicken)
• 1  tablespoon dry sherry
• 3⁄4 cup  milk substitute soy creamer or full-fat unsweetened soy milk

• Topping

• 1 1⁄2 slices  whole grain bread
• 1  tablespoon  Earth Balance margarine
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄16 teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (3 ounce) can  fried onions, french's fried onions

Directions

1. Beans:
2. Bring the water to boil in a large pot. While it’s heating, cut up the beans. Add the salt and beans to the boiling water. Cover and cook for 6 minutes. Drain beans in a colander, and then spray for a minute with cold water to stop the cooking. Let them drain in the colander, shaking every now and then to get off all the water.
3. Sauce.
4. Trim and discard the mushroom stems and chop the mushrooms into pieces. Spray a non-stick pan with canola oil and heat it. Add the mushrooms, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are very soft and exude their juices. Whisk the flour into the vegetable broth and add to the mushrooms along with the sherry. Simmer, stirring, until mixture thickens. Add the soy creamer and simmer until thick, about 5 to 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings and stir in the beans.
5. Topping.
6. Put the bread, margarine, salt, and pepper into a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Pour into a bowl and add the onions. Stir to combine.
7. To Assemble.
8. Put the green beans into an oiled casserole dish and top with the onion mixture. Bake at 425 F for about 15 minutes. If you are not serving this right away, refrigerate the topping separately; bring to room temperature before sprinkling the topping on the casserole and baking for about 20 minutes or until hot throughout.