Creamy Fresh Green Bean Casserole is made with fresh green beans and NO cream of mushroom canned soup! It just happens to be Keto friendly and gluten-free. It will be your favorite side dish recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas whether you are on the those diets or not! The crunchy topping is genius (if I say so myself).
Your family will gobble up my creamy version of the iconic vegetable side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas or even in the summer.
How is this recipe different from the traditional one?
I've changed several things from the Campbell's soup "old faithful" recipe.
- Fresh green beans for canned
- Cream cheese and fresh mushrooms for cream of mushroom soup
- Crispy crunchy pork rinds crushed on top in place of buttery crackers.
I am not on the Keto diet, nor do I have anyone in my family that needs gluten-free recipes, but I know many of my readers are and I want everyone to be able to make and eat side dishes for the holidays that they traditionally grew up eating. And besides that, it's just that good!
Why use fresh green beans?
It doesn't matter how fancy I get with my side dishes at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, my kids always want Green Bean Casserole.
It's tradition more than taste in my opinion but I'm not a huge fan of canned green beans-unless my mom canned them and they come out of her Mason jars! Fresh green beans are not hard to find during the holidays and many grocery stores have them already trimmed.
What's the shortcut?
- Cooking the green beans in the microwave to steam them shortens the cooking time at least in half.
- Cutting the bacon into small pieces before cooking them shortens cooking time, no babysitting the slices, and cooks evenly unlike slices of bacon cooked in the skillet.
Cooking fresh green beans is a "snap" (see what I did there) when you steam them in a microwave-safe dish with only ¼ cup of water.
Can I steam green beans on the stovetop?
Yes. You can also steam them on the stovetop with 1 cup of water 10 to 15 minutes or until desired tenderness.
You can leave them whole but I like to at least cut them in half. You can also cut them into 1-inch pieces. It makes it easier to serve up the casserole.
Can I use canned green beans?
Yes. Just drain 2 cans of French-style green beans or cut green beans and stir them in where the recipe says to stir in steamed green beans.
Quick & easy way to fry bacon
This way, it ends up "crumbled" without getting your fingers messy...except for the pieces I sample...quality control demands it, of course.
A quick and easy way to fry bacon is to cut it up first. It is so much quicker to stir chopped bacon than to flip whole slices of bacon back and forth then crumble it.
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Drain the chopped cooked bacon on paper towels. Remove the bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon because you want to reserve some of the bacon drippings in the skillet to cook the mushrooms.
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the detailed, printable recipe. Pictures below will help guide you as you read the recipe.
Cooking the mushrooms in the bacon drippings adds flavor and saves an ingredient to add butter or oil. There is no substitute for fresh mushrooms.
Canned mushrooms are just like little pieces of rubber to me. If you don't like mushrooms, you can just leave them out!
Stir the cream cheese into the hot mushrooms and stir until the cream cheese melts. This is a clever substitute for cream of mushroom soup and is Keto friendly and gluten free.
Thin it out just a little with chicken broth and the 2 tablespoons water from steaming the green beans for a creamy sauce. Don't forget to stir in the cooked chopped bacon!
For Keto and Gluten-Free Green Bean Casserole, cream cheese and fresh mushrooms replace the cream of mushroom soup. Coconut Aminos are gluten-free to replace soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce.
Fresh green beans are used instead of the canned French style beans-they have more texture. I like to be able to bite into the beans and not just "swish and swallow". lol
I'd love to hear from you if you make this or any of my Southern shortcut recipes.
Other holiday sides you may enjoy:
Candied Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Cranberry Apple Jalapeno Salsa (instead of traditional cranberry sauce)
Instant Pot Pepper Jelly Bone-In Ham
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Keto and Gluten-Free Fresh Green Bean Casserole
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Ingredients
- 4 pieces uncooked bacon
- 1 pound fresh green beans
- 1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
- 6 ounces cream cheese ¾ of an 8 oz package
- ⅓ cup chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce coconut aminos for gluten-free
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- ½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup coarsely crushed pork rinds about ½ of a 3.25 oz bag
Instructions
- Chop bacon and cook in a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat 8 minutes, stirring often, until crisp. Meanwhile, cut off stem end of green beans. Cut beans into 1-inch pieces or French them by cutting them in half lengthwise. Place them in a large microwave-safe bowl with ¼ cup water; cover them with a lid or microwave-safe plate and microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes. Drain all but 2 tablespoons liquid. Reserve it for the sauce.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Drain bacon on paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings in the skillet.
- Cook mushrooms in drippings over medium-high heat until browned. Add cream cheese, breaking it up into pieces with a wooden spoon. Heat over medium heat, stirring until cheese is melted. Gradually stir in chicken broth-it works best with a whisk. Stir in soy sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add green beans (with 2 tablespoons liquid) and cooked bacon; gently stir until coated.Spoon green bean mixture into a greased 8x8-inch or 9x9 square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese, then crushed pork rinds. Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly.
Nutrition
Nutrition analysis on GritsAndGouda.com recipes are mostly calculated on an online nutrition calculator. I am not a dietitian and nutritional information is an estimate and can vary based on products used.
Updated 10/9/2020
Kathy
This is so creamy and delicious!!!
gritsandgouda
Thank you! I love using fresh vegetables from the garden whenever I can. I'm so glad you loved it!
Michael
What are the nutritional information
gritsandgouda
Hi! I'm so glad you are interested in trying my fresh green bean casserole! My blog focuses on Southern shortcut recipes but does include a few recipes that are Keto and Gluten-free. For this reason, I don't usually list the nutrition details for the recipes but I can see where that is of great value for my recipes for these two diets. I'll look into finding a way to incorporate the nutrition information for these in the future. In the meantime, I've figured the nutrition information here for you from My Fitness Pal. Check it out. It's free to use! Thank you for visiting the blog and I hope you will let me know what you think of this creamy green bean casserole if you make it!
Grams per serving: Calories: 199, Carbs: 8, Fat: 15, Protein: 9, Sodium: 384, Sugar: 3
Corina | Frump Fighters
Making this for a Christmas party! So clever to use cream cheese as a cream of mushroom soup substitute! And so easy!
gritsandgouda
So glad you like the idea! My keto and GF friends love it!
Jeanna
What is the net carb amount per serving?
gritsandgouda
Hi! So glad you found my site! I do not have the net carbs for my recipes since my focus is Southern shortcut recipes. This recipe just happens to be Keto friendly. But I asked a friend of mine who is a dietitian and she told me Cronometer.com is a free site that figures the net carbs for recipes and individual foods! This will be a valuable resource for you to calculate any recipe you come across for net carbs!
Trisha
Can you make this up a day ahead of time and keep in the fridge and then bake?
gritsandgouda
Yes you can. I do recommend that you go ahead and bake it without the pork rinds on top, then just top with them before reheating in the oven. To reheat, bake at 350 degrees in center rack for about 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated. The reason for baking and reheating, the cream cheese base tends to separate a little from the water that comes out from the green beans overnight in fridge. Baking it first prevents this. Let me know how it turns out!
NanaSharon
Can this be made ahead and frozen uncooked?
gritsandgouda
Yes, it is possible, but it will change the texture some. Since cream cheese is the base for this casserole, the texture will be a little less creamy when frozen, thawed and baked than if you go straight to your oven. I haven't frozen it myself but cream cheese tends to be a little crumbly after freezing. If you have time to experiment by making it once before Thanksgiving, that would be best. Maybe add a little more broth to help the creaminess. Let me know if you freeze it. I'd love to hear the results!