Delicious Gluten Free Green Bean Casserole!

It’s the week of Thanksgiving and the hustle and bustle of cooking and baking has begun. As you approach this holiday, that’s centered around food, you might feel a little overwhelmed that there will be dishes you can’t enjoy. Please don’t be! This gluten free green bean casserole is the perfect side dish to share at your holiday table!

In previous years I have made my green bean casserole, gluten free with bread crumbs, however last year I decided to try my hand at homemade crispy onions for the topping and I am so glad I did! It truly tasted like the traditional green bean casserole. 

If you are someone with gluten intolerance or celiac, you may be thinking of all the foods that are shared around a Thanksgiving table. Your starting to wonder if you will be able to eat any of it?

But I am here to say you certainly can! There just may be some adjustments you need to make so that they are a gluten-free version of your favorite foods.

You may have to cook some of your favorite dishes from scratch, but they will be gluten free, and your whole family won’t even be able to tell!

Finding the right recipes for your holiday dishes, like this from scratch gluten free pumpkin pie recipe, is key to getting a good dish that you can serve to everyone. You don’t have to miss out on all your favorite recipes and you only have to make one dish that pleases the whole table!

A holiday meal should be about family and togetherness, you should not have to worry about dietary restrictions.

Adjustments to make to your traditional Thanksgiving dishes so everyone can eat it.

In my family there is more, or at least half of us, that have to eat gluten free. So it only makes sense to create a meal that everyone can eat! Here are a few adjustments we have done to make sure everyone can eat at our Thanksgiving table.

1. Stuff your turkey with fruits and veggies instead of stuffing! We have been doing this in my family since I was diagnosed at 5 years old with celiac disease. Instead of putting your stuffing in the turkey, cook your stuffing in a crockpot and stuff your turkey with onions, apples, oranges, garlic, and celery. It keeps your turkey moist and tastes just as good.
2. Use cornstarch or a gluten-free all purpose flour to thicken your gravy. Once you get all your drippings from the turkey, simply make one little adjustment to how you thicken your gravy. You can’t taste the difference and you have a delicious gluten-free gravy that everyone can enjoy!
3. If you need to make any side dishes with a cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup, try using this homemade cream of anything soup mix recipe instead or you can use the Pacific Brand that makes a gluten free option. I have found it in my local grocery store. I use my homemade cream of anything soup powder in my green bean casserole dish and serve it to everyone. No one can tell the difference!

Does it taste like classic green bean casserole?

If I am being completely honest, I have never really tasted a classic green bean casserole that I can remember. I was diagnosed with celiac at 5 years old and for so many years I just missed out on certain traditional holiday dishes.

But my husband is a huge fan of green bean casserole. It was a staple at his Thanksgiving table growing up. So I knew I had big shoes to fill when I decided to strike out and make a from scratch version that was gluten-free.

According to him, this homemade gluten-free green bean casserole tastes just as good as the classic dish, if not better. I believe that has to do with the homemade fried onions. 

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Ingredients:

• 2 cans of green beans or 4 cups of fresh green beans. 
• 1 batch of my homemade cream of mushroom soup mix or 1 can of Pacific Brand gluten free cream of mushroom soup
• splash of milk 

Gluten free homemade crispy fried onion ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour (I use my homemade blend I share in my digital cookbook)
• 2 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• black pepper to taste
• avocado oil (or any neutral tasting oil) about 2″ in a cast iron skillet

Directions to make this gluten-free green bean casserole recipe:

1. Make up a batch of your cream of anything soup mix if using it.
2. Grease a 8×8 baking dish.
3. Drain your canned green beans and pour into your prepared baking dish. Pour your gluten-free cream of mushroom soup over the top with a splash of milk if needed. Mix until all the green beans are coated. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired 

Directions to make the fried onions:

1. Slice your onion very thin. The thinner you get them, the crispier your fried onions will get. 
2. Preheat your cast iron skillet with your oil. When you sprinkle a dab of water in the oil, it should sizzle. You do not want to add your onions until your oil is hot!
3. In a small bowl, add all your dry ingredients.
4. Drop slices of onion into flour mixture and coat on all sides. Shake off any extra flour. 
5. Drop coated slices into hot oil and cook on all sides until they are golden brown. 
6. Remove from oil and place on some paper towels, or kitchen towel, to drain any extra oil off. 
7. Top your green bean mixture with your fried onions. 
8. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until bubbly. 

Store leftovers of this gluten free green bean casserole in an airtight container in the fridge. My husband will re-heat this casserole and eat it as leftovers for days!

Troubleshooting my fried onions.

If you have never fried anything from scratch there is a few things to note.

​1. What oil to use? 

This is a big one. The oil you use matters in both the health of your product, taste of your products, and how well it will fry.

First, I don’t recommend using any kind of seed oil. I do understand that these oils have higher heat points and fry well, plus are the cheapest option, however they are not good for your body. 

Most fried foods are deemed bad for you, not because the food itself is bad. But because of the oils it was fried in. 

I recommend use either coconut oil, avocado oil or beef tallow to fry your onions in. I know avocado oil is expensive to do your frying, but it is the oil that I usually use. Coconut oil and beef tallow is cheaper and will do a fine job as well.

I do not recommend using olive oil, as the heat point is too low and the taste is too powerful.

2. Oil must be hot before adding in onions

The next thing you must make sure, is that your oil is hot. I mean really hot. 

If you add your coated onions too soon, they will absorb the oil instead of start cooking right away which will result in a soggy fried onion. Not what you are looking for in a green bean casserole. 

You can use a digital thermometer and test the oil to make sure it is 320 degrees or higher, or you can wet your hand and fling a few drops of water into the oil. If it sizzles, you are ready.

If you don’t want to test with either of those options you can always drop one fried onion in. If it sinks and doesn’t sizzle, your oil is not hot enough. If it floats and starts sizzling right away, you are ready to go!

3. Slice onions super thin to get them crispy like French’s fried onions

In order to not be standing over a hot pan of oil all day, you want your onions to be sliced thin. The thicker they are the harder it is to get crispy and they just take longer to cook. 

I always cut mine as thin as I can. Of course you can cut them to your liking, but in my experience the thinner I can get them the better!

4. Make sure to watch them closely so they don’t burn.

This one should go without saying, but make sure you don’t walk away! 

If you followed all the steps above, with the right oil, making sure the oil is hot, and your onions are thin then they are going to cook really fast. You don’t want to walk away from them!

They should only take about 3 minutes each side, give or take. So the whole process should go rather quick! 

​Nobody wants burnt fried ovens on their traditional version of green bean casserole. 

Let’s go into this holiday season making the small changes to our traditional holiday meals so that everyone can enjoy them. Sitting around the table with family and friends is what’s most important and food allergies should never stand in the way of that.

I pray everyone is able to enjoy their Thanksgiving dinner this year!

Other recipes you may need for Thanksgiving:

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

Chicken Bone Broth

Gluten Free Dinner Rolls