A healthy alternative to the classic, this creamy Chicken & Green Bean Casserole is made from scratch with all fresh ingredients. A perfect easy dinner with no canned "cream of" soup or frozen beans.
Yes, No canned "cream of" soup or frozen beans!
This actually came out of a "need" and not a "want".
I had a huge bunch of green beans I bought about a week and a half ago but never put away in the fridge. Why? Coz this quarantine shopping has left me with pretty much no space to put away any more food.
So I could just see them start to go bad and needed to use them stat. But due to the lack of the good old cream of mushroom soup, I ended up making this "from scratch" version of a green bean casserole. Added some chicken in too though for a bit of protein.
What goes into this easy fresh green bean casserole?
- Fresh green beans/string beans
- Fresh mushrooms (no cream of mushroom soup)
- Fresh onions
- Chicken breast
- Chicken broth/stock (would recommend low sodium)
- Almond milk (since its lighter than normal milk)
- Butter (just a very tiny bit)
- (Whole wheat) Flour
- Basics: Olive oil, minced garlic, black pepper and nutmeg
Clearly an all-fresh ingredients only, no canned mushroom soup recipe.
How to make this healthy chicken green bean casserole from scratch?
- Cook the garlic and mushrooms in the olve oil.
- Add the chicken and cool
- Melt the butter in the pan
- Add the flour and saute till it coats the chicken and mushrooms
- Add broth, whisk and cook until thickened
- Add almond milk, pepper and nutmeg, stir, and simmer until thickened
- Turn off heat and stir in green beans
- Transfer to 5x7" baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 350°F.
No french fried onions!
Yes, you read that right. This healthy green bean casserole is made without french fried onions.
As an alternative, a spinoff from this recipe: soak some freshly cut onions in milk, drain them out, toss them in some flour and then bake/air fry those onions so they get crispy.
You can then use them to top the casserole for the last 5 minutes of the bake.
Does this healthy green bean casserole freeze well?
Unfortunately no. It really changes the whole texture of things, and won't taste nearly as good.
Can you make this ahead?
You can cook chicken and green bean mixture 1 day ahead (not more) and keep casserole in the fridge in an airtight container.
When it's time to cook, bake for 30 minutes at 350°F.
A super easy, filling, delicious and healthy dinner!
More Easy Baked Chicken Dinners?
- Baked Lemon Yogurt Greek Chicken Tenders
- Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers
- Baked Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders
Healthy Creamy Chicken & Green Bean Casserole (Fresh and No Canned)
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon Olive Oil
- 1½ teaspoon Minced Garlic, 1-2 cloves
- 1 cup Mushroom, Chopped, 140g
- 4 oz Chicken Breast, Diced, 112g
- ½ tablespoon Butter
- 3 tablespoon Flour, Whole Wheat, 23g
- ⅔ cup Chicken Broth
- ⅔ cup Almond Milk
- 2½ cup Fresh Green Beans, Chopped 1½" long, 250g
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg, Ground
"Fried" Onions:
- ⅓ medium Onion, 35g
- 2 tablespoon Milk
- 1 tablespoon Flour, Whole Wheat, 7g
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Instructions
Prep:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Trim off excess fat from chicken, cut into ¾" pieces.
- Place green beans in a bowl, add 2 tablespoon water, cover with a damp paper towel and microwave on high for 3 minutes.
Cook:
- Heat oil in a saucepan over medium, and cook garlic and mushrooms for 3-4 minutes until tender. Stir periodically to prevent from sticking to the bottom.
- Add chicken and cook 3-4 minutes.
- Melt butter on pan, add flour and sauté 1-2 minutes until flour starts to stick to the bottom.
- Add broth and whisk until flour is dissolved, and mixture thickens and gets bubbly.
- Pour in almond milk and season with pepper and nutmeg. Whisk and allow to simmer until thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in green beans.
- Pour mixture into a 5 x 7 casserole or glass baking dish
- Bake for about 20 minutes.
Make "Fried Onions":
- Chop onion into 1" long pieces and soak in milk for 5 minutes.
- Drain, add flour and toss to coat.
- Place in air-fryer basket/baking and air-fry/bake at 350°F for 5-7 minutes.
Cook again:
- Top casserole with 'fried' onions and bake another 5 minutes.
Notes
- Cook chicken and bean mixture 1 day ahead (not more) and keep in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Bake for about 30 minutes 350°F, adding fried onions for the last 5 minutes.
- Servings: 3 cups | Serving size: 1 cups
- Calories: 154kcal
- Fat: 5.1g | Saturated fat: 1.8g
- Carbohydrates: 16.7g | Fiber: 4.2g | Sugar: 4.2g
- Protein: 13.2g
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