Clean Eating Green Bean Casserole Recipe

This easy Green Bean Casserole recipe is made 100% from scratch with lightened-up ingredients, including a delicious creamy green bean filling and crispy onion topping. It’s also easy to make ahead and always a crowd fave.

This modern homemade green bean casserole recipe is made entirely from scratch and tastes a million times better than the retro casserole full of processed ingredients. And it is my hands-down

For too many years, I always passed on the green bean casserole at Thanksgiving because it was so mushy, bland and boring. But as it turns out, when homemade green bean casserole is well-seasoned and made with better ingredients, it comes to life and tastes SO fresh and flavorful. And it’s still quite simple to make!

Healthy Green Bean Casserole (gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Instead of soggy frozen green beans, fresh green beans are the star of the show here, which are ever-so-briefly cooked in order to preserve their crisp texture and bright flavor. Instead of canned cream of mushroom soup, fresh mushrooms are sautéed and folded into a lightened-up creamy Alfredo sauce. And instead of dry, packaged, palm-oil-fried onions, fresh red onion is sautéed with crispy panko breadcrumbs, which toast to golden perfection as the casserole bakes.

Together, all of these ingredients combine to make a casserole that is legit delicious and anything but boring. I make it every Thanksgiving, and friends and family all agree that it’s the best!

Alright, so before we get to the full recipe below, let’s talk for a sec about about the best green bean casserole ingredients. The three components for this recipe include…

Green Bean Casserole From Scratch

Full instructions are included in the recipe below for how to make green bean casserole, but here are a few key tips to remember:

There are many different ways that you can customize this fresh green bean casserole recipe to your liking. For example, feel free to…

Many of you have also asked in the past for a CrockPot green bean casserole recipe. And unfortunately, I just don’t think that this one translates very well to the slow cooker. (The cream sauce needs to be cooked on the stove, and the onion topping really needs to be crisped up in the oven.)  So I vote go the traditional route with this one.

Simple Skillet Green Beans

Feel free to check out our entire section of Thanksgiving recipes for more inspiration, but here are a few of my faves that I make every year…

This easy Green Bean Casserole recipe is made from scratch with lightened-up ingredients, it’s nice and fresh and crispy, and it is full of the absolute best flavors.  Always a crowd fave!

Make-ahead instructions: Follow the recipe through the end of Step 5. Then instead of placing the baking dish in the oven, cover it tightly with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Once you are ready to bake the casserole, uncover and bake as directed.

Easy Vegan Green Bean Casserole (with Mushrooms)

Storage instructions: If you have leftovers after the casserole has already been baked, just refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. (Unfortunately the Alfredo sauce does not freeze well, so I do not recommend freezing this casserole.)This Thanksgiving, make this Healthy Green Bean Casserole from scratch and wow your guests and your tastebuds!  Let me show you how to make green bean casserole healthier by just replacing a few simple ingredients.

I asked on Facebook and Instagram recently what favorite Thanksgiving recipes you wanted me to #makeithealthy and one of the most requested recipes was a green bean casserole.

We got SO many responses and had a blast seeing everyone’s excitement about wanting to eat healthy and still enjoy a tasty Thanksgiving dinner.

Ba's Best Green Bean Casserole Recipe

I actually didn’t grow up with green bean casseroles at my Thanksgiving dinner table.  We’d have steamed green beans mostly – maybe with some parmesan – but nothing like what it seems most people enjoyed.  Then, as Dustin and I created our own Thanksgiving menu, we’ve usually make these parmesan garlic green beans (which are yummy!).

To be honest, I have always found it kinda crazy how the “crispy onion” topping came from a can and people would just open up the can and toss it on the casserole.  But, again, I didn’t grow up with it so there’s also that nostalgia around foods from your childhood.

Judging by how many of you asked me to make a healthier version of homemade green bean casserole, I think many of us know it needs a lot of help.  Let’s go over the major changes in this recipe to #makeithealthy to see how to make green bean casserole healthy.

The Best Healthy Green Bean Casserole

To make the onions crispy, I toast almond meal until it’s lightly toasted and then I mix it with the sautéed onions, parmesan, and sea salt.  In other words: immense yumminess.  This easily replaces the fried, canned, crispy onions and reduces the fat and salt immensely.

Seriously: I could slurp this sauce up just by itself.  It’s so dang good.  To make the mushroom sauce from scratch, I sautéed mushrooms and garlic and then make a cream sauce by basically combining chickpea flour and some unsweetened almond milk.  No canned cream of mushroom, here!

One of my best tips for saving time on Thanksgiving Day is to prep ahead anything that will save well in the fridge.  Lucky for us, that includes this healthy green bean casserole. 

Best Healthy Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Then, when you’re ready to enjoy this tasty goodness right here, just reheat it in the oven!  To reheat, place the green bean casserole, without the lid or plastic wrap, back into a preheated oven at 375 degrees F, and heat for 30 minutes or until heated through.  This will make the onions crispy again and will heat everything through perfectly.  

I had a blast making this #makeithealthy Healthy Green Bean Casserole and am so excited to have a new family fave for our Thanksgiving dinner table, too.  Thanks to everyone for your feedback on holiday recipe requests.  Keep ’em coming in the comments below – if we pick your idea, you’ll get a prize, too 😉

Hey there! I’m Lacey Baier and I’d like to welcome you! I’m a healthy lifestyle influencer and the creator of this clean-eating blog and YouTube channel, as well as cleanish, my clean-eating supplement brand. My recipes have been published on Food Network, Good Morning America, FoxNews, Tastemade, Fitness Magazine, and much more. I live in Austin, Texas with my husband and four kiddos. Let’s get started!

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

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Hey there! I’m Lacey Baier and I’d like to welcome you! I’m a mom of 4, cleanish lifestyle influencer, personal trainer, nutritionist, and the creator of this clean-eating blog and YouTube channel, and cleanish, my clean-eating supplement brand. My recipes have been published on Food Network, Good Morning America, FoxNews, Tastemade, Fitness Magazine, and much more. I live in Austin, Texas with my husband and four kiddos. Let’s get started!

Healthy Green Bean Casserole From Scratch

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