Healthier Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

Green beans

• 1 1/2 lb (680g) fresh green beans, trimmed and halved

Mushroom cream sauce

• 2 Tbs (28g) unsalted butter
• 8 oz (225g) cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves (7g) garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 Tbs (16g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (120g) low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 cup (240g) whole milk
• 1/4 cup (60g) heavy cream
• 1 tsp (5g) soy sauce
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Topping

• 1 1/3 cups (75g) packaged crispy fried onions

Instructions

1. Blanch the beans. Boil the beans in a large pot of salted water for 4 minutes, until bright green and still crisp. Drain, rinse under cold water or plunge into ice water, and dry well on a towel so they don’t water down the sauce.
2. Brown the mushrooms. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 7–8 minutes, until browned and dry. Stir in the garlic and thyme for 30 seconds.
3. Make the sauce. Lower the heat to medium. Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and stir for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the broth, stirring and scraping up the browned bits, then stir in the milk and cream. Simmer gently for 4–5 minutes, stirring often, until it coats a spoon. Stir in the soy sauce, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, then taste and adjust.
4. Assemble. Toss the beans with the sauce and spread them in a 2-quart baking dish.
5. Bake. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, until bubbling at the edges. Scatter the crispy onions over the top and bake for another 3–5 minutes, watching closely so they don’t burn. Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

• Nutrition: Per 1/8 of the dish, estimated from typical ingredient values. Crispy onion brands vary, so check your label. Net carbs are about 12g per serving. Salted blanching water will add a little sodium.
• Why it’s diabetes-friendly: Most of the dish is green beans and mushrooms, and the homemade sauce uses just 2 Tbs of flour, which is about 1.5g of carbs per serving. The crispy onions have refined flour in them, but the topping adds only about 4g of carbs per serving. Using 1 cup instead of 1 1/3 cups trims that a little and still covers the top.
• Check the onion label: Crispy fried onions contain wheat, and ingredients vary by brand. If you’re cooking for someone with an allergy, check the allergen statement for shared-facility warnings too.
• Homemade crispy shallots: Replace the packaged onions with 5 large (250g) shallots, thinly sliced into rings. Toss them with 2 Tbs (20g) white rice flour and 1/8 tsp salt, and shake off the extra. Heat 3 Tbs (42g) avocado or olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in 2 batches, cook for 6–8 minutes per batch, stirring often, until golden, then drain on a paper towel. They crisp up as they cool, and they go from golden to burnt quickly, so turn the heat down as they darken. Rice flour usually fries up crisper than wheat flour. Make them before the mushrooms, and pour off any oil left in the pan. They add about 20 calories and 3g of carbs per serving compared with packaged onions, plus about 1g of fiber.
• Why soy sauce: It’s in the classic version too. It adds savory depth rather than a soy flavor, so you won’t taste it directly.
• If the sauce is too thick or thin: It should be a little looser than canned soup, since it thickens more in the oven. Add a splash of milk to thin it, or simmer it a few minutes longer to thicken it.
• Lighter sauce: Replace the heavy cream with more whole milk. That cuts about 2.5g of fat per serving, but the sauce won’t be quite as rich.
• Make it ahead: Assemble through step 4 and refrigerate, covered, for up to 1 day. Bake cold from the fridge for about 30 minutes before adding the topping.
• Gluten-free: Use sweet rice flour in the sauce, tamari in place of the soy sauce, and the homemade shallots with rice flour for the topping.
• Frozen beans: Thaw 1 1/2 lb frozen cut green beans and pat them very dry. Skip the blanching.
• Refrigerate leftovers up to 3 days. The topping softens, so reheat in the oven if you can.