The short answer: Haricot verts are a French variety of green beans, literally translating to “green beans” from French—sometimes you’ll even see them sold as “French green beans”.
To let their light, fresh crispness shine, they’re especially delicious when prepared simply.
The bag of beans you’ve got in the back of your freezer for stir-fries, the canned beans from Kindergarten lunch time, the steam-in-a-bag green beans in the produce aisle—probably not haricot verts.
Or give green beans palya a try: This South Asian-style dish made by chopping fresh green beans up into small, quarter inch-sized pieces requires a bit of time to prep, but they cook up fast , stay crisp and tender, and allow for maximum surface area to take on sauces and spices.
So, can you use them in place of each other? You technically can, but remember that haricot verts will have a much shorter cook time, and are a little more delicate.
You’ll likely find lots of heirloom varieties at the farmers market, and sometimes familiar types will go by different names depending on how they’re grown , and how they’re harvested.
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