Green beans still routine

Funyans and GF cream of mushroom soup
put green bean casserole back on the table. 

Green bean casserole is about as pedestrian as a recipe can be. For sure, there is nothing classy about it. But a few years back, the casserole was about the only way I could poke anything resembling a green vegetable down my children’s throats—and my family still loves it. The classic dish, I must admit, has long been a staple of our Thanksgiving table.

After celiac disease became a factor in my cooking style, I tried making the old standard using gluten-free cream of mushroom soup and without the gluten-laden Durkee or French's French Fried Onions. Meh! “Bland” is the word I’d use to describe the result.

At HyVee’s Gluten-Free Holiday Tasting Fair a few weeks ago, the chef served samples of several gluten-free Thanksgiving dishes, including a green bean casserole, which was pretty delicious. The secret is using Frito-Lay Funyuns in place of the French fried onions.

They shared this recipe, which I made just last evening, with the fair-goers:

Classic Green Bean Casserole (Serves 6)

• 1 can Health Valley or Gluten-Free Café Cream of Mushroom Soup (or General Mills Progresso cream of mushroom soup)*
• 1 tsp. San J or gluten-free Kikkoman soy sauce
• Dash ground black pepper
• 4 cups cooked fresh or canned green beans (I used 4 cans of French style beans)
• 1 1/3 cups of crushed Funyuns

Stir the soup, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup of onions in a 1 ½-quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining onions. Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

*I actually made this with Pacific brand, which is my personal favorite, because it has a similar consistency to the now-banned Campbell’s brand. Pacific also has a nice GF cream of chicken soup, which works perfectly in my casseroles calling for cream of chicken soup. The Pacific soups come in little boxes rather than cans, but they are thicker and have better color than some of the other gluten-free brands.

Before I discovered using Funyans, I’d pretty much despaired of making green bean casserole ever again. This Thanksgiving I’m thankful that the beans are back in the holiday routine!