Haricots verts substitutes
Haricots verts substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Regular green beans (snap or string beans)
Same amount by weight as the haricots verts
The same species picked later and thicker, so the flavour is nearly identical and only the texture differs.
Ordinary green beans swap in 1:1 by weight, but add 2-3 minutes to the cooking time and pick the thinnest pods in the bin. Frozen whole French-style green beans are a genuinely good option, and thin asparagus works when you want the same elegant look on the plate.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- What changes —
- similar taste, different texture
- Best for —
- holiday sides
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of haricots verts | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Regular green beans (snap or string beans)holiday sides | Same amount by weightTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Frozen whole haricots verts or French-cut green beanscasseroles | Same amount by weightTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Thin asparagus spearsalmondine | Same amount by weightTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Sugar snap peas or snow peascold salads | Same amount by weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Broccoliniplated sides | Same amount by weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Yardlong beans, cut to lengthstir-fries | Same amount by weightCut into 4-inch piecesYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Regular green beans (snap or string beans)
similar taste, different texture
The same species picked later and thicker, so the flavour is nearly identical and only the texture differs.
- Best for
- holiday sides, green bean almondine, salads, green bean casserole, roasting
Thicker pods mean a tougher skin, a squeakier snap and slightly less sweetness. Blanch for 5-6 minutes instead of the 3-4 haricots verts need, and choose the skinniest beans on offer. Slitting them lengthwise, the old French-cut trick, gets you very close to the real thing.
Frozen whole haricots verts or French-cut green beans
similar taste, different texture
Picked slim, blanched and frozen at source, which suits this vegetable better than most.
- Best for
- casseroles, sauteed sides, soups, weeknight vegetables
Do not thaw them, and do not blanch them again. Go straight from the freezer into a hot buttered pan or into the casserole. They come out softer than fresh, with no snap left, but the flavour holds up well and there is no trimming to do.
Thin asparagus spears
different taste, similar texture
Similar slim shape and quick cooking, with the same ability to look smart on a plate.
- Best for
- almondine, salads, plated sides, roasting, blanching
Distinctly different flavour, grassier and faintly sulfurous rather than sweet and beany, and the tips go soft well before the stems. Cooking time is almost the same, 3-4 minutes in boiling water. Excellent in a lemon-butter-and-almond preparation, wrong in green bean casserole.
Sugar snap peas or snow peas
different taste and texture
Slim, sweet, edible pods that cook even faster than haricots verts.
- Best for
- cold salads, quick sautes, crudites, stir-fries
Noticeably sweeter and juicier, with a crunch rather than a tender bite, and they need only about two minutes. Great in a vinaigrette salad, poor in anything that simmers, where they go grey and limp.
Broccolini
different taste and texture
Long thin stems with a small floret, cooked and plated much the same way.
- Best for
- plated sides, roasting, blanch and saute, garlic and oil
Clearly a different vegetable, with a mustardy brassica bite and much more assertive flavour, but it fills the same role as a slim green side and takes 3-5 minutes. Best when the beans were going to be dressed in garlic, chilli or lemon anyway.
Yardlong beans, cut to length
different taste and texture
Very long thin pods from Asian groceries, similar in diameter to a haricot vert.
- Best for
- stir-fries, curries, blistered in a hot pan
The diameter is right but the texture is not. Yardlong beans are dry and dense and stay chewy rather than turning tender, and they need longer cooking, not less. Good in a wok, a poor swap for a butter-and-almond side dish.
Questions
5 questionsAre haricots verts the same as green beans?
They are the same species, Phaseolus vulgaris. Haricots verts are varieties bred to stay slim and picked younger, so they are more tender, sweeter and faster-cooking. Every green bean recipe works with them, and every haricots verts recipe works with green beans if you add a couple of minutes.
Can I use haricots verts in green bean casserole?
Yes, and they hold up better than you would expect, but skip any pre-blanching the recipe calls for and shorten the bake slightly. Because they are thin, they will go soft in the oven regardless, which somewhat wastes what you paid extra for.
Do I have to trim both ends of haricots verts?
No. Snap off the stem end, which is woody, and leave the pointed tail alone. It is tender and it is part of how the dish is supposed to look.
Can I just leave them out?
If they are the green vegetable on a plate, no, but any green vegetable substitutes fine, including asparagus, broccolini or plain green beans. If they are one element of a salad, you can drop them and increase the other vegetables.
Why are haricots verts more expensive than green beans?
They are picked young and mostly hand-harvested, which yields less weight per plant and costs far more labour. Whether it is worth it depends on the dish: for a simple buttered side where texture is the whole point, yes; for a casserole or a long-cooked braise, buy standard green beans.
Tips for substituting haricots verts
5 tips- Haricots verts need 3 to 4 minutes in heavily salted boiling water, not the 6 to 8 a standard green bean wants. They go from squeaky to limp in under a minute, so taste one at three minutes rather than trusting a timer.
- Shock them in ice water the moment they come out if you are not serving immediately. This is the difference between a bright, snappy holiday side and the drab beans everyone remembers from steam trays.
- You only need to trim the stem end. The wispy tail is tender and edible, and lining the beans up to cut both ends off at once, which looks tidy, wastes a surprising amount of the bean.
- If your store only has thick green beans, French-cut them: slit each bean lengthwise down the middle with a paring knife. It is tedious for a crowd, but it genuinely reproduces the slim, tender character, and it is where the phrase French-cut green beans comes from.
- Canned French-style green beans are ordinary green beans sliced thin, not haricots verts. They work in a casserole where everything softens anyway, and nowhere that texture matters.