Never having been a fan of traditional green bean casserole, I was intrigued by a new-to-me concept… green beans and sauce cooked separately, and then combined as desired/if desired by each individual person. In this format, each person can decide their own ratio of sauce to green beans.
Easy AND yummy? Yes, please!
A THM S side dish that’s a fun spin on a traditional holiday favorite, this green bean “casserole” is practically guilt-free and can be enjoyed year-round… not just when you want to indulge a bit.
Optional Green Bean “Casserole” Steps and Ingredients
Although freshly cooked bacon is definitely preferred for this recipe (added plus is you get to sauté your onions and mushrooms in a small amount bacon fat), you could definitely buy pre-cooked, pre-crumbled bacon pieces and use those instead. Just substitute salted butter for the bacon fat.
Fresh green beans are best for this recipe, but you could use canned or frozen (I’d recommend the steam-in-bag variety of frozen if going this route).
Mushrooms are NOT required (but oh so good and good for you).. and definitely add a lot of flavor and texture to this side dish.
Oat fiber and oat flour are not the same thing, and are not interchangeable in this dish.
You could substitute a cheap off-dry white wine for the rice wine vinegar, if desired.
The thinly sliced air fried onions are optional, but definitely nice. You *might* also be able to “air fry” the onions in an toaster oven or traditional oven set low (or maybe even the broiler?) but I have NOT tried this and would definitely use an air fryer if you have one. PLEASE keep a close eye on these, they burn quickly.
Assembly
After plating the desired amount of green beans, simply spoon sauce over them (as much or as little as you would reasonably like), and top with reserved Parmesan cheese and air fried onions (if using).
Please note that you could also leave the bacon out of the sauce (step 11) and use it as a topping, to help keep it crispy… it’s good either way I was just trying to minimize the steps before you get to actually enjoy these delicious green beans.
Not Quite Green Bean Casserole
Equipment
- air fryer optional, for cooking the onions
Ingredients
- 1 lb bacon
- 1 lb green beans fresh
- 3 tbsp bacon fat (reserved) or butter, salted
- 6 baby bella, white or button mushrooms sliced
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp oat fiber NOT interchangeable with oat flour
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 c beef broth
- 1 c sour cream
- 1 c Parmesan cheese finely grated
- Parmesan cheese, for topping optional
- thinly sliced onions, air fried until crispy optional
- coconut oil spray if air frying onions
Instructions
- Cook bacon in oven until very crispy but not burned, according to package directions (or personal doneness preference).
- Meanwhile, remove both ends of the fresh green beans, and without cutting the beans smaller, steam or boil the beans in water until they are your preferred doneness. I like mine soft, but not falling apart. This took me roughly 5-10 minutes of boiling.
- Check your bacon if using the oven. Do NOT drain the bacon grease unless using butter.
- Once you have the green beans and bacon situated (or while cooking them if you are more multi-talented than I am), heat your butter or bacon fat in a medium skillet for sautéing.
- Stir the sliced mushrooms into the heated butter or bacon fat. Stir frequently.
- When the mushrooms have shrunk, add the Italian seasoning and minced garlic. Mix well.
- There should be a little bit of liquid in the skillet at this point. Sprinkle in your oat FIBER, and stir until there are no lumps.
- Add the rice wine vinegar, and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Add the beef broth and sour cream. Stir well.
- Once small bubbles start rising in the mixture, add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Stir in bacon.
- Remove from heat, but put a lid or tray over the skillet to keep it warm if air frying the onions.
- Using very thinly sliced onions (consider using a mandoline slicer) spread the onions out in the air fryer and lightly spray with oil. Air fry for a few minutes, stopping and stirring frequently to check for doneness. Remove when browned and crispy, but not burnt.
To Serve
- Plate desired helping of cooked green beans. Top with desired amount of sauce from the skillet, and then with extra Parmesan and air fried onions, if desired.
- Enjoy!!
Notes
- Personally, I like to cook my bacon in the oven so it can be mostly hands off while I work on the other components of the recipe. You could also purchased pre-cooked bacon, and skip this step entirely.
- Instead of rice wine vinegar, I have also used a cheap off-dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio.
- As noted in the recipe, oat FIBER and oat FLOUR are NOT the same thing, and are not (usually) interchangeable.
This recipe is delicious paired with a simple main dish such as my THM S tangy BBQ chicken salad, or even an easy low carb, low fat vanilla chai tea latte for dessert. No need to dive into crossover territory!
Did you try this recipe? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
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