This low carb HEALTHY GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE is made from scratch with all kinds of goodness! This is the perfect Thanksgiving side dish, but it’s easy enough to make any night of the week. We swapped a homemade sauce for the can of cream soup.
I grew up side-eyeing the green bean casserole.
Let’s be real – it’s not the prettiest dish and also, as a kid, green beans were the devil.
Luckily, my kiddos did not inherit the hatred of green beans that I had as a kid. They LOVE them and now I do too.
Normally I just make my all time favorite canned green beans with bacon, but as the holiday season approaches, I knew I had to dream up a low carb green bean casserole.
I’m calling this a ‘healthy green bean casserole’ but I know I’m going to get some flack for it. Healthy is such a relative term – if you’re low carb though, this fits the bill. If you’re trying to eat low calorie or low fat, you might want to look elsewhere. 😉
This isn’t going to taste quite the same as a traditional green bean casserole, but if you ask me, it tastes better and you won’t go into a carb coma afterwards.
Other holiday favorites include Creamy Brussels Sprouts, cauliflower stuffing, and turnips au gratin.
Ingredient Notes:
Green Beans – Just like the classic, we’re using canned green beans. Frozen work well too!
Bacon – A must for any good green bean casserole.
Cream Cheese – No cans of soup here! This cheesy green bean casserole doesn’t need any canned soup because the cream cheese will do the job of coating the beans and adding lots of great flavor.
Pork Rinds – Instead of fried onions, you’ll top this casserole with crushed pork rinds and minced onion. All the flavor without the carbs!
“This is so AMAZING! This is a dish that I would totally make for myself and probably keep for myself. My grandmother used to make something similar when I was a little girl.” – Rose M
How To:
- Fry the Bacon – All great recipes start with bacon, right? Start frying up some bacon in a skillet until it’s begun to brown and then add in the diced onions and the garlic. Cook until soft. You’ll need to drain the grease but be sure to reserve about a tablespoon of it in the skillet. Bacon flavored green beans are the best!
- Prepare the Cheese Sauce – We’re going to make a cheesy sauce that’ll coat the green beans in flavor! Add the cream cheese and the chicken broth to the skillet with the bacon, onions, garlic, and remaining bacon grease. Stir the cream cheese as it heats up and melts in the broth with the bacon until you’ve got a smooth and creamy cheese sauce. Finally, you can season it with a bit of salt and pepper!
- Mix the Green Beans – Once the cheese sauce is ready add the green beans to a mixing bowl and then pour all the cheesy bacon sauce over the top. Stir everything up so that the sauce is fully coating the green beans and then transfer it all to a baking dish. This recipe will work with canned green beans or frozen green beans. If you’re using fresh, you’ll probably need to steam them a bit first before baking.
- Top & Bake – When you’ve added the green beans and cheese sauce mixture to the baking dish you are almost ready to bake! Everyone loves the crunchy goodness of the fried onions that traditionally top a green bean casserole, but they’re full of carbs so we’re getting creative while still keeping things simple. Crush up some pork rinds and sprinkle those over the top along with a little dried minced onion. Flavor + crunch! Doesn’t get better than that! Bake the green bean casserole for 30 minutes and serve immediately.
FAQs:
It should be okay to make a day ahead of time and bake later, though you’ll probably want to wait to add the pork rinds until just before baking.
I’ve only ever used canned or frozen green beans in this recipe. You can use fresh but you’ll probably need to steam them a bit first or they won’t fully cook through when baking.
Nope, if you are using frozen green beans no need to thaw them first!
More low carb holiday side dishes:
Healthy Green Bean Casserole
Low carb green bean casserole made from scratch! This is the perfect side for any holiday dinner!
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- ¼ cup diced onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 30 ounces canned green beans
- ½ cup crushed pork rinds
- 1 teaspoon dried onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the bacon to a medium skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until bacon is beginning to brown.
- Add the onion and garlic to the bacon and continue cooking and stirring until bacon is crisp and onion is soft.
- Drain all but 1 tablespoon of grease from the skillet.
- Add the cream cheese and chicken broth to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the cream cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the green beans to a large mixing bowl and pour the cream cheese sauce over the top. Stir well to coat.
- Add green beans to a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle the top with the pork rinds and dried minced onion.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Frozen green beans may be subbed for canned.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 253Total Fat: 17gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 594mgCarbohydrates: 8gNet Carbohydrates: 5gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 15g
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Nicola Naibert says
Hi Karly, is this recipe freezer safe? It’s just me and I will have to half the ingredients if I can’t freeze some of it. Thanks
Karly Campbell says
Hi Nicola! I haven’t tried freezing this one. I think it’d do okay, but I can’t say for sure.
Rubi Kaur says
Looks delicious ! I was wondering if you could post recipes for school lunches? I’m trying to eat healthier while trying to balance out homework and exercise and I would like some simple, quick and healthy lunch recipes. Thanks
Karly Campbell says
Hi Rubi! I’m hoping to create some quick, pantry staple recipes in the coming weeks, but please bear with me while the grocery situation sorts itself out around here. 🙂
Rose Martine says
This so AMAZING! This is a dish that I would totally make for myself and probably keep for myself. My grandmother used to make something similar when I was a little girl.
Karly Campbell says
So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Alisha Ross says
Wow that looks delicious. I love spaghetti squash. I know what you mean about exploding spaghetti squashes — I cooked one in my microwave and it exploded, blew the door open, and just missed my baby in the high chair! I had poked the skin, but don’t think I stabbed it deep enough. I had to get a new microwave – it was totally destroyed. So I always cut them in half now…
Mickey says
Looks like you used French green beans. LOVE that idea! Will try it this Thanksgiving.
Lori Greef says
I am now curious of the green beans with tomatoes and onions? Help
Karly Campbell says
It’s on my calendar to share next Tuesday! You can subscribe to emails so that you don’t miss it, if you like. 🙂 You can sign up here: https://buns-in-my-oven.ck.page/e12ae3d77e
Lisa Paten says
I think it’s ok to call this recipe low carb, but healthy is a push….with bacon, cream cheese and pork rinds.
Khan Singh says
Those of us living a low carb lifestyle know the actual science show no health issues from saturated fat. Sugar is the enemy.
Christine says
Well said and right to the point!
Thelma Ramirez says
Can I use can green beans and do I cook them first?
Karly Campbell says
Canned green beans should work fine. No need to cook them first.
Alison Hall says
Can this be made a day ahead?
Karly Campbell says
Yes, I think so! 🙂
Robert says
Has anyone made this in advance,for the next day I am prepping dishes for tomorrow dinners
Karly Campbell says
I haven’t, but should work fine. 🙂
Lynda says
I am making this two days ahead. Should I wait to add the pork rind until I’m ready to bake?
Karly Campbell says
Yes, I would.
Susie Kirkland says
I experimented with this last week in prep for Thanksgiving. I liked it better than the regular! I sauteed fresh mushrooms separately (since they produce so much water I was afraid of messing up the cream cheese sauce) and added it to the mix and it was DELICIOUS! I can’t wait to introduce this to my family this week! Thanks so much!
Karly Campbell says
Yay! Hope it’s a hit with the family too!
Alison says
Can you make this ahead and put in fridge for cooking latter in the day?
Karly Campbell says
Yes, that should be fine!
David says
I dehydrated some mushrooms and made a powder out of them. Think I will add a bit of the powder to this.
Karly Campbell says
Yum!
Shyla says
If I was to use fresh green beans with a pre-cook them or just mix it all together raw?
Karly Campbell says
I haven’t tried this with fresh green beans, so I can’t say.
Faye Libler says
I have not made this particular recipe but I have made a different one with fresh beans, definitely precook the beans.
Jamie says
Whats the serving size? 1/2 cup 1 cup?
Karly Campbell says
I calculated the nutrition based on this serving 8 people. I didn’t measure the serving size by volume.
Victoria says
Do you thaw the frozen green beans first?
Karly Campbell says
Nope, I don’t. 🙂
Maggie Martin says
OOOOOOO, yeah. Green bean orama! I open a can of green bean and dump them in my salad, then eat the heck out of them while I’m fixing the rest of dinner. I LOVE green bean. Pick them off the vine and eat them still warm from the sun. Cooked, raw delish!
Thanks Karly, this one is a winner too.
Bryan says
I definitely have trouble getting in my greens throughout the day. This is the kind of recipe I need!