Low-Carb Green Bean Casserole

The perfect holiday side dish, this low-carb green bean casserole is sure to please the whole family! Super easy, flavorful, and delicious!

WHAT IS GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE?

Green bean casserole is a delicious side dish that has been a staple holiday recipe for decades. Traditionally, the casserole is made with green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and French fried onions.

The dish was first created in 1955 by the Campbell Soup Company as a way to promote, market, and sell their cream of mushroom condensed soup.

It was originally created to be a quick and easy recipe based around two things most Americans always had on hand in the 1950s; green beans and Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup.

While it initially didn’t test well with focus groups, the recipe eventually earned itself the title of “ultimate comfort food.”

This recipe, like the original, uses only a handful of ingredients to create a delicious dish. The condensed soup is replaced with heavy cream and mushroom pieces, lowering the carb count and replacing added ingredients.

And last, instead of French fried onions, we add delicious, crunchy bacon for the topping!

LOW-CARB GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE INGREDIENTS

Before trying to make this recipe, make sure you have the following ingredients on hand.

• 24 oz canned green beans
• 3/4 lb bacon
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup onion, diced
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• pink Himalayan salt, to taste

After you have all of this, you’re set and ready to cook!

HOW TO MAKE GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F
2. In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, brown the bacon until crispy
3. Transfer to a plate with a paper towel to soak up excess bacon grease
4. To the skillet, add the onion and mushrooms
5. Stirring occasionally, cook for about 3 minutes until onion is slightly golden
6. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil
7. Stirring constantly, reduce the mixture to a thick, sauce-like consistency
8. Add the green beans to the sauce and stir
9. Transfer the mixture to a 8×8 inch baking dish and crumble bacon over top
10. Place into the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly
11. Remove from oven and serve
12. Enjoy!

CAN I USE CONDENSED SOUP WITH THIS RECIPE?

Simply, no, you can’t. Condensed soup is normally used in most green bean casserole recipes, but it also contains tons of added ingredients and for our purposes, carbs and sugar.

Cream of mushroom soup is the most common condensed soup called for in this type of recipe. One can of condensed soup has approximately 16g of total carbs.

If nothing else, a can of condensed mushroom soup contains all of the following ingredients. Keep in mind, when you use this soup, you’re using it for creaminess and (somewhat) of a mushroom taste.

Water, vegetable oil (corn, canola, and/or soybean), mushrooms, modified food starch, wheat flour, contains less than 2% of: salt, cream (milk), soy protein concentrate, yeast extract, dehydrated whey, flavoring, dehydrated garlic.

CHOOSING GREAT GREEN BEANS

Picking delicious green beans for this recipe is a very important step. Of course, the beans you choose will be totally dependent on your personal taste, time of year, and what is available at your local grocery store or super market.

Here are a few options for you when selecting your green beans.

FRESH GREEN BEANS

Obviously, the best option for this recipe are fresh green beans. Depending on what time of year and where you’re located, you might be able to source fresh green beans at a local farmers market. Otherwise, you might get lucky at your grocery store, depending on the quality of its produce section.

If you decide to use fresh green beans, don’t forget to wash them thoroughly and “break” and “string” them. You can find more information about how to break and string green beans.

Know if you use fresh green beans, they will be crunchier and harder than you’re used to, since they will only a small amount of cook time in the oven.

FROZEN GREEN BEANS

Frozen green beans are another option, one that is much easier than using fresh as mentioned above. Frozen beans come broken and strung, so that amount of extra work is removed from the process.

You’ll want to follow thawing instructions on the packaging before using frozen green beans in this recipe.

After the beans are properly thawed, you can use them as normal. Just don’t try to rush the process and put them in frozen. Otherwise, you’ll be adding cook time to thaw them while cooking. This will also release extra water, which can make the sauce unnecessarily runny.

CANNED GREEN BEANS

The easiest and simplest solution is canned green beans. You can pick these up at any time of year in your local stores. You might even have a few cans on hand.

Simply drain the liquid from the can and use the green beans for this recipe.

Super easy and simple!

DO I HAVE TO USE MUSHROOMS IN THIS RECIPE?

Well, no, you certainly don’t have to, but mushrooms in green bean casserole is part of the tradition!

However, if you’re not a fan of mushrooms, their taste, or their texture you can certainly leave them out of this recipe.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE LOW-CARB GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE AHEAD OF TIME?

It is. You’ll want to follow all of the cooking instructions and cook the casserole as described below.

Then, let the casserole cool on the stovetop before covering with either a lid or plastic wrap and placing it into the refrigerator.

To reheat for serving, simply remove the covering and place it into an oven that has been preheated to 350˚F. Leave in for 15 minutes before removing and checking the temperature of the casserole.

If more time is needed, heat in 5 minute increments until the desired temperature is reached.

REHEATING CASSEROLE LEFTOVERS

The easiest way to reheat your leftovers for eating again is the microwave. For this recipe, the microwave is as good of an option as any, since there aren’t any meats you have to worry about becoming tough.

Simply place however much of the casserole you’d like onto a microwave-safe dish and heat away!

WHAT TO SERVE LOW-CARB GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE WITH

A dish as old as time (figuratively), this recipe makes the perfect side dish for any number of meals. It’s most popular around Christmas and Thanksgiving, but can be made for your next dinner or family meal!

Here are a few main course ideas you might consider pairing with this recipe.

• Keto Mississippi Roast
• Keto Beef Stroganoff
• Keto Flourless Fried Chicken
• Keto Cast Iron Skillet Pork Chops
• Keto Cast Iron Skillet Meatloaf

For more ideas, you can check out our recipe index.

TOOLS TO MAKE LOW-CARB GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Click on the links to see the items used in making this recipe. You can also find these products linked in the recipe below.

• Non-Stick Skillet – A good non-stick skillet is a must for any kitchen. For this particular recipe, it makes cooking and cleanup a breeze. If you don’t have a non-stick skillet or if yours is getting some age on it and isn’t working well, there’s not time like the present to get one!

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