This gluten-free green bean casserole is a classic holiday side dish that everyone can enjoy!

My #1 tip for this gluten-free version make an extra crisp, buttery topping with gluten-free French fried onions and gluten-free breadcrumbs!

Gluten-free green bean casserole on a plate


 

Traditional green bean casserole may bring to mind cans of green beans and cream of mushroom soup. But this homemade, gluten free green bean casserole is a whole different ball game!

Made with fresh green beans, a homemade mushroom sauce, and delicious French fried onions, this is sure to be one of the favorite side dishes at your holiday meal.

I’ve always been a huge fan of green bean casserole, and my version takes the dish to the next level of flavor and deliciousness.

I love the combination of creamy sauce, crisp green beans, and crunchy topping. It’s savory, salty perfection!

Fortunately, you can enjoy this popular holiday classic even if you have a gluten intolerance or Celiac disease. This version uses gluten-free flour to thicken the sauce, making it the perfect gluten-free side dish!

Table of Contents

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

  • Made with fresh ingredients
  • Creamy, savory, and crispy
  • Homemade cream sauce
  • Extra crispy topping
  • Perfect for Thanksgiving dinner

For more gluten-free thanksgiving side dishes, try this gluten-free stuffing, gluten-free cornbread stuffing, gluten-free gravy, thanksgiving fruit salad and gluten-free scalloped potatoes.

Check out this full collection of gluten-free thanksgiving recipes! It’s also delicious alongside gluten-free ham.

Ingredients You’ll Need

For the Green Beans Mixture

Here’s what you’ll need to make this classic Thanksgiving dish:

Green bean casserole ingredients in a baking dish
  • Green beans: Fresh green beans are essential for this classic green bean casserole! You can save time by buying washed and trimmed green beans. (I like the ones sold at Trader Joe’s.) Canned green beans do NOT compare to fresh!
  • Shallots: Shallots are a milder, sweeter version of onions that works great for this green bean casserole recipe.
  • Mushrooms: I like to use Baby Bella mushrooms or cremini mushrooms. Any brown mushrooms will work!
  • Gluten-free flour: Be sure to use gluten-free flour for thickening the sauce — it’s what makes this dish gluten-free! I like to use a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. This is my favorite brand
  • Chicken stock: I like to use low-sodium chicken stock or chicken broth for this recipe, since I add salt and other seasonings as well.

Make It Dairy-Free

To make this dairy-free substitute the heavy cream with a dairy-free alternative like Country Crock Plant Cream. You can also vegan butter in place of the butter and unsweetened dairy-free milk of choice (I recommend Elmhurst cashew milk) in place of the milk.

For the Topping

overhead shot of ingredients for green bean casserole topping
  • Gluten-Free French Fried Onions: There are many store-bought brands of gluten-free french fried onions available. Some of them are available seasonally. I buy this brand on Amazon year-round!
  • Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs: I like to use Ian’s Gluten-Free Panko in this recipe. Any kind of gluten-free breadcrumbs will work! You can also make homemade gluten-free breadcrumbs.

You also might like this sweet potato casserole with canned yams.

How to Make Gluten-Free Green Bean Casserole

  • Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. 
Topping ingredients in a bowl, and green beans in a glass bowl
  • Mix together the ingredients for the topping. Set aside.
  • Place the green beans in a large microwave safe bowl and along with ½ cup water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 6-8 minutes until slightly tender. (They will continue to cook in the oven.)
Mushrooms and shallots in a skillet, and garlic and spices added to the skillet
  • In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and chopped mushrooms and cook for 7-10 minutes until the mushrooms have released their liquid and started to soften. 
  • Add the garlic, salt, pepper and thyme and cook for another minute. 
Gluten-free flour added to the skillet, and chicken stock added to the skillet
  • Sprinkle in the gluten-free flour and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly. 
  • While whisking, slowly pour in the chicken stock. Whisk until the flour is smoothly incorporated. 
Milk and cream added to a skillet, and simmering green bean sauce in a skillet
  • Pour in the milk and cream and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Green beans in the baking dish, and cream sauce poured on top
  • Drain the steamed green beans and pour into the prepared baking dish. Pour the sauce over the green beans and mix to combine. 
Sauce and green beans in a casserole dish, and toppings in the green bean dish
  • Bake for the green bean mixture for 20-25 minutes, until the green beans are mostly tender. Remove from the oven and sprinkle over the topping. Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. 
  • Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

You also might like this thanksgiving green salad or arugula pear goat cheese salad.

Storage/Make-Ahead Instructions

To make ahead: Make the green bean sauce and microwave the green beans, then store and set aside until ready to make. Reheat the sauce for a few minute in the microwave, then continue following the recipe to assemble and bake the casserole.

To store: Store leftover green bean casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

Gluten-free green bean casserole in a baking dish

FAQs

Does green bean casserole contain gluten?

Yes, traditional green bean casserole uses wheat flour, which contains gluten. However, you can make a gluten-free version by using gluten-free flour to thicken your cream sauce.

What can I use instead of French fried onions on green bean casserole?

You can use homemade onion rings instead of crispy fried onions from the grocery store, or You can make caramelized onions.

How do you keep green bean casserole from being runny?

You can avoid runny green bean casserole by using the right amount of gluten-free flour when thickening the cream sauce.

Expert Tips & Tricks

  • Make it dairy-free: You can make this recipe dairy-free by using vegan butter, coconut milk, and unsweetened almond milk. You could also make the recipe vegan by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
  • Make your own fried onions: Want to take the recipe up another notch? Make your own fried onions by coating onions in gluten-free flour, then frying in oil.
  • Buy gluten-free toppings: Don’t forget to buy gluten-free Panko and gluten-free fried onions, too!
Gluten-free green bean casserole in a dish

MORE GLUTEN-FREE THANKSGIVING RECIPES

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you try this green bean casserole, be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!

Green bean casserole scooped onto a plate
5 from 7 votes

Gluten-Free Green Bean Casserole (From Scratch!)

Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings 8 servings
This homemade gluten-free green bean casserole is a holiday dinner classic!
This gluten-free version has an extra crisp, buttery topping made with gluten-free French fried onions and gluten-free panko!

Ingredients

For the Topping

For the Green Bean Casserole

  • 2 pounds fresh green beans trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons butter or vegan butter
  • 2 shallots finely chopped
  • 1 pound cremini or baby bella mushrooms chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 3 tablespoons gluten-free flour
  • 1 ½ cups chicken stock I use low-sodium
  • ¾ cup heavy cream or coconut milk
  • ¾ cup milk 1%, 2% or whole, or unsweetened almond milk

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
  • Mix together the ingredients for the topping. Set aside.
  • Place the green beans in a large microwave safe bowl and along with ½ cup water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 6-8 minutes until slightly tender. (They will continue to cook in the oven.)
  • In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and mushrooms and cook for 7-10 minutes until the mushrooms have released their liquid and started to soften.
  • Add the garlic, salt, pepper and thyme and cook for another minute.
  • Sprinkle in the gluten-free flour and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • While whisking, slowly pour in the chicken stock. Whisk until the flour is smoothly incorporated.
  • Pour in the milk and cream and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Drain the steamed green beans and pour into the prepared baking dish. Pour the sauce over the green beans and mix to combine.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes until the green beans are mostly tender. Remove from the oven and sprinkle over the topping. Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until bubbly and golden.
  • Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

MAKE IT DAIRY-FREE: Feel free to substitute heavy cream with coconut cream, if you prefer. You can also vegan butter in place of the butter and unsweetened almond milk in place of the milk.
INGREDIENT NOTES
  • Gluten-free flour: Be sure to use gluten-free flour for thickening the sauce — it’s what makes this dish gluten-free! I like to use a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. This is my favorite brand. 
  • Gluten-Free French Fried Onions: There are many store-bought brands of gluten-free french fried onions available. Some of them are available seasonally. I buy this brand on Amazon year-round!

Nutrition

Calories: 259kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 474mg | Potassium: 370mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1370IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 2mg

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Hi, I’m Erin!

BS Food Science,

MS Nutrition

I believe you can make amazing, gluten-free food with everyday ingredients that everyone will enjoy. I’m here to share my tried-and-true recipes with you!

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Comments

  1. Can I use arrowroot or cornstarch instead of gluten free flour? I have a family member who can’t eat rice.

  2. 5 stars
    Thank you very much for sharing. I didn’t follow everything in your recipe, but I definitely used it to make the cream mushroom sauce. We are dairy, gluten, soy, and canola oil free household…lol, so it is very hard to buy anything premade, so we cook from scratch.

  3. 5 stars
    I love this green bean casserole recipe. It is so simple and easy to make. It turned out to be crispy and delicious. Thanks Erin for this must-try recipe, I’ll surely make this on repeat!

  4. 5 stars
    Very tasty and full of flavor! Super highly recommend this green bean casserole recipe! Loved it and will surely have this again!

      1. 5 stars
        I cooked this yesterday. I was worried about it because it was gluten free and dairy free. The rest of my family is not. I told my husband it was a lot of work and I was not sure about it. During dinner he told me it was bad news because it was the best green bean casserole he has ever eaten. I will be making it again. Yay! Thank you!

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