Try this gluten-free green bean casserole
While the world around me continues to change with each passing year, I can always rely on green bean casserole with crunchy fried onions to take me back to my childhood each Thanksgiving.
It tastes like the house I grew up in, like standing at the counter with my younger brother and sneaking bites of the fried onions before they went into the green bean mixture. It reminds me of my old cat, Roxxi, who liked to meow and beg for leftovers — a job now passed on to her feline successor, Noodle.
The perfect green bean casserole is not too crunchy or too soft, with just the right amount of salty and savory flavor served warm out of the oven. In my family's case, it also has to be gluten-free.
When I was diagnosed with Celiac disease and went gluten-free seven years ago, I remember that one of the things I thought I would miss the most was Thanksgiving dinner. I was still in high school and was saddened by the thought of sitting on the sidelines of family tradition for the foreseeable future.
But my family took the cooking challenge and turned it into a new tradition.
Nana started our new tradition with a gluten-free pumpkin pie
My mom was the first person in my family to go gluten-free in 2010. Like any mama bear, her babies always ate before she did, so it wasn't as important to her to take part in eating pie or stuffing. She
swore she was happy to bring her own separate Tupperware container of turkey to the family dinner while the rest of us feasted.
But my Nana did not like seeing her daughter missing out on the fun, so she got to work, starting with the pie.
The most difficult part of baking a gluten-free pumpkin pie, according to my Nana, is finding a good crust.
If you're unfamiliar with what gluten is, it is a protein found in wheat, malt, barley and rye, as well as some oats — although you can find special glutenfree oats and oatmeal (just look for the
gluten-free product label). Common substitutes for wheat are corn and rice flour.
The gluten protein holds things together, for lack of a better word — that's why the stereotype exists that glutenfree bread and pastries crumble apart. But after you've been cooking and baking without gluten for a while, like my family has, you learn the tricks to keep this from happening.
My Nana finally found that the best gluten-free pumpkin pie crust can just be purchased from Sprouts. She buys the shell and makes the filling herself.
As more members of the family have eliminated gluten from their diets, she now makes two pies each year.
From pie to an entire gluten-free feast
When I was little, I remember visiting my extended family's house on Thanksgiving and enjoying their cooking while spending time with the loved ones I only got to see a few times a year. But once my mom and — soon thereafter the rest of the family — were diagnosed with celiac disease, our household became responsible for cooking the majority of the annual meal.
The internet was an immense help in figuring out proper gluten-free substitutes for beloved Thanksgiving dishes.
For stuffing, we learned that the trick is to use a good brand of gluten-free bread. Udi's and Canyon Bakehouse are my family's favorites.
The green bean casserole recipe that I have grown so emotionally attached to originated from Betty Crocker, but we had to play with it. I still remember the first Thanksgiving with my stepdad, and how he figured out where to tweak the cooking times to improve the already delicious casserole.
Now, we have an entirely gluten-free Thanksgiving feast with turkey, stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, rolls, loaded mashed potatoes and of course, green bean casserole. And what started as a challenge has become the tradition that has led to some of my most cherished Thanksgiving memories.
If it's your first year cooking for yourself or a family member with a dietary restriction, I encourage you to embrace it. Sometimes the results are even better than the original, and there's no greater gift you can give than rising to a culinary challenge for someone you love.
Gluten-free green bean casserole with fried onions
The key to this dish is the crispy fried onions. These homemade ones are way better than store-bought French's and totally worth the effort.
Ingredients
For fried onions: vegetable oil for frying
2 large onions, cut in half and thinly sliced into half moons (3 cups)
1 1⁄2 cups milk or buttermilk
3⁄4 cup Bisquick Gluten Free mix
3⁄4 teaspoon salt
3⁄4 teaspoon pepper
Ingredients for green beans
1 can (18 oz) creamy mushroom soup (check the label to ensure the soup selected is gluten-free)
2 teaspoons gluten-free soy sauce
1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
2 bags (12 oz each) of frozen cut green beans, cooked
Steps
1 Preheat oven to 350 F.
2 Place onions and milk in a medium bowl and set aside.
3 In a deep fryer or 4-quart Dutch oven, heat 2 inches of oil to 375 F.
4 In a resealable plastic food storage bag, mix Bisquick, salt and pepper. Drain onions and add them to the bag. Shake vigorously to coat.
5 Remove onions from bag, shaking off excess and gently place half of the onions in oil, being careful not to crowd the pan. Fry for 2 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. (My family suggests doing a "test run" with a single piece of onion to get the cooking time just right. My stepdad has found optimum crispiness happens around four minutes, or sometimes even longer.)
6 Removed fried onions with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining onions.
7 In an ungreased 3-quart casserole dish, mix soup, soy sauce, pepper, cooked green beans and half of the fried onions.
8 Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Add remaining onions and cook for 5 minutes more. Serve immediately.
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