French green beans create a delicate, tender vegetable that anyone can make, with just a little patience and effort. Learn how to French cut green beans to take your green bean side dishes to the next level!
Green beans are my favorite vegetable to eat. Besides their flavor, I love that they make such a pretty presentation and add a pop of color on any plate.
They are easy enough to cook for a weeknight meal and still elegant enough to serve on a holiday table. My Firehouse Green Bean recipe is a reader favorite!
French cut green beans are going to make cooking your favorite green bean recipes so easy and beautiful.
Cooking time is cut in half when you use French green beans. And bonus? They look so pretty and natural, when mounded on top of each other as a side dish.
You can easily turn whole green beans into this fancy version in just a few minutes. It’s so worth it to get beautiful, flavorful, and fast green beans.
What is a French Cut Green Bean?
French cut green beans are basically julienned, or thinly sliced green beans. They begin with whole green beans and are sliced horizontally to produce thin strands of beans. These are different than French green beans (haricots verts), which are the more slender variety of whole green beans.
Canned and frozen green beans are usually packaged as Cut Green Beans or French Cut Green Beans. Cut beans are just regular green beans cut into bite sized pieces. French cut green beans are sliced horizontally as mentioned above.
Why You’ll Love Them
- They cook faster
- Delicate and tender
- They soak in more flavor from sauces and seasonings
- They make a beautiful mealtime presentation
Ingredients
Green Beans – Use fresh, vibrant green beans that are firm. Don’t use beans that are discolored, soft, or have big bulging pods inside.
Variations
- Julienne the green beans by hand with a sharp knife. This, of course, will take quite a while.
- Use a household green bean frencher, which can only do one to a few beans at a time.
How to Make French Cut Green Beans in Just 2 Easy Steps
- Cut your washed green beans in half so that they’ll fit horizontally into the feed tube of your food processor.
- Take a handful of beans at a time and place the green beans horizontally into your feed tube and pulse a couple of times. Repeat until finished.
Watch the video where Julie will walk you through each step of this easy tutorial. You will find a collection of recipe videos right here on our website with corresponding recipes.
Serving Suggestions
- Salad – Steam until tender crisp and sprinkle on a salad.
- Sides – Use French cut green beans in Green Beans in Shallot Butter and Seasoned Green Beans, reducing cooking time listed in recipe because French cut beans don’t take as long to cook.
- Soups – Throw a handful of beans into a soup near the end of cooking time.
Tips
- Wash and cut all of your beans before beginning. With all of them ready to go, it should only take a couple of minutes to French cut a pile of green beans.
- Use fresh, bright green beans. Dispose of any that don’t look good. For example, if they are wilted, moldy, brown, or really spotted you should throw those out.
Make Ahead
Wash and cut your beans in half so they are ready to French cut later. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
How to Store
- At Room Temperature – Your fresh green beans can sit out at room temperature for a couple of hours. This gives you time to clean, cut, and process them. Then package them up and move them to the refrigerator.
- Refrigerate – Once your beans have been French cut, put them in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 7 days before cooking them.
- Freeze – If you want to freeze your green beans, then the best practice is to blanch the beans. Boil them for about 2 minutes – this will keep their tender texture and vibrant color when you’re ready to cook them. Remove immediately from boiling water and immerse in ice water. Spread on pan to dry, patting dry to speed up drying time. Package cooled beans in an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Dietary Considerations
- Vegan
- Gluten Free
- Dairy Free
- Nut Free
Frequently Asked Questions
French beans cook pretty quickly already, so they don’t necessarily need to be French cut. However, you could still put them in the food processor following this method and it would slice them as well.
Yes, there are green bean frenchers. One variety allows you to pull one bean a time through little blades. Another variety can clamp to your counter and move a handful of beans through it. I prefer to use an appliance that I already have on hand. It produces fast and great results!
More Side Dish Inspiration
French Cut Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans fresh, trimmed
Instructions
- Cut green beans in half or so that they'll fit horizontally through the feed tube.
- Add a handful of green beans at a time. Put the pusher on and quickly pulse 1-2 times.
- Repeat.
Julie’s Tips
Serving Suggestions
- Salad – Steam until tender crisp and sprinkle on a salad.
- Sides – Use French cut green beans in Green Beans in Shallot Butter and Seasoned Green Beans, reducing cooking time listed in recipe because French cut beans don’t take as long to cook.
- Soups – Throw a handful of beans into a soup near the end of cooking time.
Video
Estimated nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed.
I can’t find the video either. Could you please provide the specific link to it? Thanks!
Hi! It’s in the recipe card. Enjoy!
Has anyone else been able to find the video??
Hey Matt, it’s toward the top of the post. Let me know if you need anything. Enjoy!
You keep useing the word “horizontal” well there are two directions you can lay the beans so how about “longitudinal, lengthwise”
I am also looking for the video. If your answer to Todd Ross means clicking on the picture below the heading, “How to Make . . .” there is no link to a video. There are two more pictures in that section and below them are the words, “Watch the video” . . . in italics, but still no link to a video.
Hi Ann,
The video is up at the top of the post. Right under the title “How to Make Amazing French Cut Green Beans”. I hope that helps, enjoy!
Julie
Where’s the video@
Hi! It’s where it says “How to Make…” Enjoy!