Healthier Holiday Recipe — Green Bean Casserole

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Healthier Holiday Recipe — Green Bean Casserole

Recipe from Eatingwell.comGreen Bean Cassarole

The holidays are here, and, if you celebrate this season like most Americans, you’ll be eating lots of food! It’s tempting to just put your healthy eating habits on hold for most of December, but you can actually make a few simple changes to your favorite holiday recipes to cut calories and increase nutritional value for you and your family. We decided to pass along this Green Bean Casserole revision, since this dish seems to be a favorite for many families — same familiar flavor, but less sodium and fat!

Serving Size: 6, about 3/4 cup each

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
  • 1 medium sweet onion, (half diced, half thinly sliced), divided
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1 cup low-fat milk
  • 3 tablespoons dry sherry, (see Ingredient Note)
  • 1 pound frozen French-cut green beans, (about 4 cups)
  • 1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons buttermilk powder, (see Ingredient Note)
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 2 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and slightly translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, onion powder, 1 teaspoon salt, thyme and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the mushroom juices are almost evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour over the vegetables; stir to coat. Add milk and sherry and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Stir in green beans and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in sour cream and buttermilk powder. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
  3. Whisk the remaining 1/3 cup flour, paprika, garlic powder and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish. Add sliced onion; toss to coat. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion along with any remaining flour mixture and cook, turning once or twice, until golden and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Spread the onion topping over the casserole.
  4. Bake the casserole until bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Tips & Notes

  • Ingredient notes:
  • Don’t use the high-sodium “cooking sherry” sold in many supermarkets. Instead, purchase dry sherry sold with other fortified wines.
  • Look for buttermilk powder, such as Saco Buttermilk Blend, in the baking section or with the powdered milk in most supermarkets.

Nutrition

Per serving: 212 calories; 10 g fat ( 2 g sat , 5 g mono ); 10 mg cholesterol; 23 g carbohydrates; 7 g protein; 3 g fiber; 533 mg sodium; 259 mg potassium.

From mashed potatoes to cranberry sauce, Eatingwell.com and other healthy websites have many more healthy adaptations for your holiday favorites. Go online and see which ones look good!  Remember the little things add up, making just a few healthy changes could save you thousands of calories this holiday season.