Gluten-Free Green Bean Casserole Recipe

A few years ago, when one of my readers asked me to create a gluten-free version of Campbell's green bean casserole, I was excited. Until then, I had never eaten the classic Thanksgiving side. After perfecting the recipe, a funny thing happened: several of my friends revealed themselves to be secret green bean casserole lovers. Now I make this for Thanksgiving every year. Another huge part of the tradition is munching on the freshly fried onion strips.

Created by Campbell's in 1955, the original recipe uses canned green beans and canned cream of mushroom soup. While de-glutening the recipe, I replaced the canned green beans with frozen because I prefer the texture. (And if fresh green beans had looked good at the market, I would have used those. That said, if you love canned green beans in this dish because that's how you've always made it, use them!)

The canned soup had to go, of course, because it isn't gluten-free. It's replaced with an easy-to-make white sauce and chopped mushrooms. During recipe development I wanted to stay true to the original and not tinker with the flavors too much. Since cream of mushroom soup isn't aggressively mushroom flavored, I used white button mushrooms in the sauce. They do a great job of letting you know they're there but not shouting at your tastebuds. (If you'd like to use a more flavorful mushroom, go for it. This dish welcomes interpretation.)

The last canned good to go was the canned french fried onions. (Which I noticed this year are no longer in a can but rather in a plastic tub.) This is my favorite part of the casserole (anyone else?). I usually double (cough, triple it, cough) because I we eat so many before topping the casserole.

To make Thanksgiving prep a little easier, you can make the casserole the night before. (Don't top it with the fried onions the night before or they'll get soggy.) About 30 minutes before you are ready to serve, heat the casserole in the oven and then top with the freshly fried onions.