Why Game-Changer Good Green Been Bake, you ask?
Green bean bake is a Thanksgiving classic on a lot of Thanksgiving tables, ours included. And while I’m okay with it, some of those at our table demand it. It’s an easy recipe. Because everything gets dumped into a bowl and baked in the oven. Done. What’s not to love about that?
Then we decided to make it a vegan Thanksgiving forevermore. Now there was a problem creating the ever-popular green bean bake. There would be much trial and error. Those were the lean green bean bake years. This year I have found and am making what I like to call, the Game-Changer Green Bean Bake.
Green Bean Bake, in the beginning.
It was such a simple side. Just two cans of green beans, one can of condensed mushroom soup, some milk, soy sauce, and french-fried onions. Wikipedia states that Dorcas Reilly invented it for Campbell’s Soup Company in 1955. And it’s said she considered corn or lima beans before settling on green beans. In 2002, the original recipe was placed in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio. Interesting!
The trial and error part.
So, the search began in earnest to find a comparable replacement for the original recipe so beloved in our home. It was frustrating, to say the least. I made a lot of losers and duds, to be honest. And through it all, my family gritted their teeth and swallowed those bad beginner recipes followed by too many unconvincing “no, it’s fine” comments, when I knew it wasn’t. I kept the faith that one day I would be victorious. And the fact that I only had to make this dish once a year counted as one of my top 5 Thanksgiving Blessings.
The Game-Changer Green Bean Bake, (finally)
↓Game Changer Green Bean Bake
I must also count Chef Skye Michael Conroy (also known as the gentle chef) as one of my blessings now. His green bean casserole recipe is our favorite. But he has so many other inspirational recipes in his many recipe books, too! So please check his recipes out!
We were last using Martha Stewart’s recipe that I veganized, and it is very good, but much more tedious and time-consuming. However, Chef Skye Michael’s is very good AND very easy! Perfection for our Thanksgiving table again!
I’d like to vote Chef Skye Michael Conroy into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame for not only the new and improved green bean casserole but for all of his many wonderful vegan creations.
And I’ve gotta make this when my Chelsea (the green bean bake demander, I mean, the green bean bake requester) of the family comes home again, to keep her happy! Love you, my Chels! ;
A peek in the oven
HAPPY HOLIDAYS WITH HAPPY VEGAN FOOD!
P.S. It goes well with the Celestial Celeriac Mashed Potatoes:
celestial celeriac mashed potatoes
Game-Changer Good Green Bean Bake
Ingredients
- 2 cans, 14 ounces each green beans or 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, steamed or boiled until tender.
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 cups soymilk
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter DIVIDED
- 1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
- 1 1/2 cups french-fried onions or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon vegan Worchestershire sauce optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a casserole dish. Add the drained green beans. Mix soymilk with soy sauce and Worchestershire sauce if using and set aside. In a skillet, saute mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of the butter until they release their liquids and start to dry out again. Add mushrooms to green beans in a casserole dish. Melt the remaining butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour, onion powder, and garlic powder. Cook for about 1 minute then slowly add the milk/soy sauce mixture. Stir continuously, bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Gently toss into the green bean/mushroom mixture with 2/3 of the french fried onions. Bake for 25 minutes until bubbling around the edges. Stir and top with remaining french fried onions (adding more for more crunchiness if desired). Bake for about 5 minutes more until the onions are golden.