Up your veggie game this holiday season! This green bean casserole with crispy pesto onions is packed with tons of delicious flavors. The crispy onion strings are way better than store-bought but did you know those usually are accidentally vegan too?! They're so good that your guests will be asking for extras! They're scrumptious on top of basically any savoury food you serve at the holiday table.
This recipe is super easy because I used a store-bought alfredo sauce and pesto! There's a few options on the market including Nona Vegan Alfredo Style Sauce, as well as the Le Grand brand I found at the time of creating this recipe. You could also make my homemade alfredo or follow this slightly different recipe for a gluten-free version of green bean casserole.
green bean casserole with cripsy pesto onions
Ingredients
crispy pesto onions
- 1 white onion
- 1 ½ C nondairy milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ C rice flour
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 C vegetable oil, for frying
green bean casserole
- 6 C green beans, cut in half
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 package Le Grand Vegan Alfredo Sauce
- 1 ½ C nondairy milk
- 2 tablespoon arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 package Le Grand Vegan Pesto (use 1 to 2 tablespoon on top of the casserole)
Instructions
- Thinly slice the onion. It works best to use a mandolin to get them even, but if you're great with a knife then try it out! They should be thin enough that you can see through them. Pour the nondairy milk into a shallow dish and whisk in the apple cider vinegar. Let the onions soak in this mixture for 15 minutes. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour with smoked paprika, sea salt, and ground black pepper.
- Heat your frying oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or deep fryer to 365°F to 375°F.
- Using a pair of tongs, take a handful of onions from the liquid and coat evenly with the flour mixture, then submerge into the oil. You can turn them over once in the frying oil to make sure they're cooking evenly. They take about 2 minutes to get crispy. Remove that batch with the tongs and lay out onto paper towel. Continue doing batches until all the onions are used up.
- Blanche the green beans in boiling water. Once they turn bright green and are only partially cooked, drain them, and submerge them in ice cold water to prevent them from continuing to cook.
- In a pot over medium heat, whisk together the alfredo sauce, nondairy milk, arrowroot powder, and onion powder until it starts to bubble. Keep whisking constantly until it starts to thicken, then remove it from the heat and set aside.
- In a pan over medium heat, sauté shallot and garlic in coconut oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the drained green beans into the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add the thickened alfredo sauce and stir to coat all the beans. Let it sit in the pan, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes as the sauce starts to thicken and the beans finish cooking through.
- Transfer this to your serving dish. Top with as many crispy onions as you like and drizzle some pesto on top of the onions, as desired. Serve immediately.
Julia
Wonderful recipe! Love the onions and beans! What restaurant have you had the best green bean casserole? Remember to add it to your Besty List! https://www.thebesty.com/hotforfood
Samantha
This looks pretty great - not only vegan, but like a million times healthier than regular green bean casserole! Which grocery store carried those products?
Samantha
Lauren Toyota
I think they're pretty much everywhere! But here's a list on the site
https://www.maisonlegrand.com/en/find-a-store
Kerri
Do you think subbing homemade cashew cream would be reasonable/fruitful? I'm trying to limit purchases, since I already have 2 whole bags of cashews lol
julianna
can I use tapioca flour instead of the arrowroot its all I have in my pantry
Lauren Toyota
yes you can!
Anne
Can you indicate the volume of alfredo sauce and pesto you need instead of referring to a specific brand name & package?
Lauren Toyota
I would use the other recipe for green bean casserole on the blog as reference or google the brands I mention to check the packages. Sorry this is an old old recipe of mine!