If you are anything like me, you grew up having Green Bean Casserole without fail every Thanksgiving. Not only did you have Green Bean Casserole, but you had the version with the condensed cream of mushroom soup, and those horrid French Fried Onions. As an adult I never once made Green Bean Casserole with the canned soup, but I do believe I have been guilty of using those cursed canned fried onions. Now that I am gluten free I have come up with a much healthier version of Green Bean Casserole Gluten Free. So, do not fear you can indeed have this childhood classic in a much healthier and gluten free version.
Green Bean Casserole 
Serves 4-6
1 pound fresh organic green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
1 quart homemade chicken stock + 1 cup (preferable homemade)
2 tablespoons cultured butter
12 ounces mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste
Nutmeg freshly grated
1 tablespoon arrowroot
1 cup cream, preferably raw (not homogenized or ultra-pasteurized)
Onion Topping (recipe follows)
Directions:
1. Bring the quart of chicken stock to a boil, add green beans and cook until tender 10 minutes.
2. Melt butter in a cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook until tender and they begin to give off some of their liquid. 8-10 minutes.
3. Add garlic and nutmeg and cook for a few more minutes.
4. Sprinkle the arrowroot over the mixture and stir to combine, cook one more minute.
5. Add 1 cup of chicken stock and bring to a simmer, for 1 minute stirring well.
6. Add cream and cook until mixture thickens about 6-8 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and stir in the green beans and 1/4 of the onion topping. Top with remaining onion topping, place in a 400 degree oven and bake until bubbly about 15 minutes.
8. You can make this in advance and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before baking, add the onion topping right before placing in the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
Onion Topping
2 medium onions, thinly sliced, use a mandoline if you have one to insure even thin slices
1/3 cup of arrowroot, plus more as needed
sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the onions, arrowroot, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss well. Add more arrowroot as needed, if the onions are not covered. (though too much arrowroot can cause the onions to kind of ‘gum’ together)
3. Butter 2 baking sheets, or line it with parchment paper and spread onions evenly over the pan being careful not to overlap too much.
4. Place the pans in the middle 2 racks of the oven and bake until golden brown approxemately 20 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Be careful not to burn. It is better to undercook a bit, since they will crisp up some more when you bake the casserole. These will not all be evenly crispy like the canned variety – just FYI.
*Additionally, these can be made in a dehydrator if you have one.
(These can be made in advance – however you may want to re-crisp them a bit before topping the casserole, by toasting them on 350 for a few minutes.)
This recipe comes from my Thanksgiving Issue of Divine Living. A recipe e-book, chock full of classic Thanksgiving recipes remade with more nourishing ingredients and gluten free options as well as non-gluten free alternatives, in the vein of Nourishing Traditions style properly prepared foods. Each copy is only $5, includes 18 recipes, and many basic recipes for things such as coconut whipped cream, and candied walnuts.
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Yummy! I will be giving this a try! Thank you ♥
Moira – yes go ahead and try any other GF flour that you can tolerate, it’s just to help give it that crispiness. Deep frying with any fat is really not a good idea, as consuming fats improperly can add to the inflammation you are already experiencing. Try gluten free and GMO free cornstarch if you like. And yes go ahead and try coconut oil, though you may be able to tolerate ghee or clarified butter.
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