Can I Make a Dairy-Free Green Bean Casserole?

I don't know if it's the cool weather creeping up on me or what, but lately I have been seriously craving green bean casserole.

The thing is though, I'm not a big fan of the condensed canned soups. Have you ever noticed that slurping sound they make when they slide out of the can? Even if I were a fan, my youngest has a dairy allergy.

I have a recipe for mushroom sauce, and I figured with some tweaking, I could use it in place of the soup. This is what I came up with. And boy was it yummy! This will be appearing in my kitchen again!

DAIRY-FREE GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

1 lb fresh or frozen green beans, or 2 14 oz cans, drained

1 c mushroom sauce (see recipe below)

1 c french fried mushrooms (I tried, and LOVED, the new Alexia baked onions for this!)

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F. If using fresh or frozen green beans, trim to desired size. Steam in 2-3 TBSP of water until tender. Drain well. Pour into a greased casserole. Add mushroom sauce and 1/2 of the fried onions. Salt and pepper to taste. Top with the remaining fried onions. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes until the onions on top are golden brown.

MUSHROOM SAUCE

1/2 c sliced mushrooms

3 TBSP butter

3 TBSP flour

1 tsp basil

1 c broth

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms and saute until soft. Add basil, salt, and pepper. Stir in flour. Mix well to combine. Slowly stir broth into the flour mixture to remove any lumps. Bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute to thicken.

For a thinner sauce to use with pasta, potatoes, or meat, use 1 TBSP butter and 1 TBSP flour.