Forego the canned soup and store-bought fried onions and make a healthy take on green bean casserole, that most tried-and-true of decadent vegetable side dishes. By making your own soup mixture with coconut milk and gluten-free almond flour and topping with quickly fried shallots, you have an irresistibly creamy and crispy casserole without the harmful additives.

This recipe yields 4-6 servings

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Place green beans into the hot water and cook for 4 minutes. 

2. Immediately transfer green beans to a bowl of ice water to blanch so they stop cooking. Begin to prepare the condensed cream of mushroom soup mixture.

3. Melt 1 tablespoon ghee or bacon grease in a Dutch oven. On medium-high heat, add mushrooms and cook until they have released their moisture and begin to wilt (approximately 5 minutes).

4. Add chicken stock, onion powder, salt, pepper and garlic powder to mushrooms and turn heat down to a simmer. 

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together coconut milk with almond flour and arrowroot powder until it is well incorporated.

6. Pour milk and flour mixture over mushrooms and stir until it thickens (about 1 minute).

7. Remove cream of mushroom soup mixture from the Dutch oven and set aside. 

8. In the same pot, melt the remainder of the ghee or bacon grease.

9. Add onions and let soften for approximately 5 minutes.

10. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes to allow the garlic to release its aroma.

11. Add green beans and cream of mushroom soup mixture to the Dutch oven and stir to incorporate.

12. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit / 190 degrees Celsius. 

13. While the green beans are baking, slice shallots into rings and fry them in cooking fat until they are brown and crispy. 

14. Remove green beans from the oven and top with a layer of crispy shallots.

TIPS

**You can make the condensed mushroom mixture and store a day or two ahead of making and assembling the green bean casserole.