French beans, also known as filet beans or haricots verts (meaning “green beans” in French), are a long, very thin, and stringless cultivar of common green bean. French beans are typically harvested around 6 to 8 inches long with the tips left on for an elegant appearance. The entire pod is consumed. They are more tender with a grassier, more delicate flavor than common garden green beans. They can be eaten raw, but are primarily cooked.

All beans are native to South and Central America and have been used by native population in those regions for thousands of years. During the era of European colonization, beans were spread throughout the globe. Snap beans, or beans bred to be consumed whole in their pod, were developed later on in Europe and North America. The first stringless beans were bred in New York during the 1800s. French filet beans were eventually bred from those strains, becoming popular in French haute cuisine during the 1900s.