Green beans are one of the most versatile, widely grown, and universally beloved vegetables in the world, cultivated in home gardens and on commercial farms across every continent. Known by many names — string beans, snap beans, French beans, and haricots verts among them — green beans come in a remarkable diversity of varieties that differ in size, shape, flavor, texture, color, and growing habit.
Whether you prefer them crisp and slender, broad and meaty, climbing vigorously up a trellis, or staying compact in a container, there is a green bean variety perfectly suited to every garden, kitchen, and palate. Unlike dried beans, green beans are eaten whole—pod and all—making them a quick and convenient vegetable rich in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants.
In the kitchen, green beans are highly versatile and can be prepared in numerous ways. They are commonly steamed, boiled, sautéed, or stir-fried, often paired with ingredients like garlic, butter, or olive oil to enhance their natural flavor. Their ability to retain a slight crunch when properly cooked makes them a popular addition to salads, side dishes, and vegetable medleys.
Green beans also feature in a variety of global cuisines, from simple home-style dishes to more complex recipes. They can be incorporated into casseroles, soups, and curries, or preserved through pickling and freezing.
Varieties of Greens
Blue Lake Bush Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Blue Lake 274’)
Blue Lake Bush Bean is one of the most widely grown and highly regarded green bean varieties in North America, celebrated by home gardeners and commercial growers alike for its exceptional flavor, straight, round pods, and reliable, high-yielding performance season after season.
The pods are tender, stringless, and packed with a rich, sweet, classic green bean flavor that holds up beautifully whether the beans are eaten fresh, steamed, sautéed, canned, or frozen. Growing as a compact bush plant of about 18 to 24 inches, it requires no staking or support and produces a heavy, concentrated crop over a relatively short period, making it one of the most practical and productive choices for the home vegetable garden.
Kentucky Wonder Pole Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Kentucky Wonder’)
Kentucky Wonder is one of the oldest and most beloved heirloom green bean varieties in American gardening history, having been in continuous cultivation since the 1860s and remaining as popular today as it was over a century and a half ago.
It is a vigorous climbing pole bean that can reach 6 to 8 feet in height and produces long, slightly flattened, meaty pods with a rich, full, old-fashioned green bean flavor that many experienced gardeners consider superior to any modern variety.
The beans are best harvested young and tender before the seeds inside begin to fill out, at which point they develop a slightly fibrous texture, and the extended harvest season of pole beans like Kentucky Wonder makes them particularly productive and economical for the home garden.
Haricot Vert (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Haricot Vert’)
Haricot Vert, the classic French filet bean, is the slender, elegant aristocrat of the green bean world — a refined and delicate variety that produces extraordinarily thin, tender pods typically no more than a quarter of an inch in diameter and 4 to 6 inches in length, with a flavor that is more delicate, sweet, and nuanced than standard green bean varieties.
Long a staple of French cuisine and fine dining, Haricot Verts are best harvested very young and cooked briefly — blanched and dressed with butter, garlic, and herbs — to preserve their exceptional tenderness and flavor.
They require more frequent harvesting than standard varieties, as the pods become tough and fibrous very quickly if left on the plant too long, but the culinary reward for attentive picking is a green bean of truly outstanding quality.
Dragon Tongue Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Dragon Tongue’)
Dragon Tongue Bean is a strikingly beautiful heirloom wax bean variety from the Netherlands that produces broad, flat, creamy yellow pods dramatically streaked and splashed with vivid purple markings that make it one of the most visually distinctive and ornamental of all the green — or in this case, yellow and purple — bean varieties.
Despite its dramatic appearance, the flavor is wonderfully mild, sweet, and buttery, and the pods are best eaten fresh when young and tender, as the striking purple streaks unfortunately disappear entirely when the beans are cooked, leaving a pale yellow pod.
Growing as a vigorous bush plant of about 18 to 24 inches, Dragon Tongue is a productive, reliable, and heat-tolerant variety that is as rewarding to grow as it is beautiful to look at in the garden and on the plate.
Romano Pole Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Romano’)
Romano Bean, also known as the Italian flat bean or fagiolino romano, is a traditional Italian heirloom variety that produces broad, flat, meaty pods with a rich, robust, almost nutty flavor that is considerably more complex and satisfying than most round-podded green bean varieties.
It is a climbing pole bean that grows vigorously to 6 to 8 feet and produces an extended harvest of wide, flat pods that are excellent eaten fresh, braised slowly in olive oil and tomatoes in the classic Italian style, or sautéed with garlic and herbs until tender and slightly caramelized.
Romano beans have a heartier texture and more pronounced flavor than slender varieties like Haricot Vert, and they hold their texture and flavor exceptionally well in long-cooked dishes where more delicate beans would become mushy and flavorless.
Purple Queen Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Purple Queen’)
Purple Queen is a stunning and highly productive bush bean variety that produces straight, round pods in a striking, deep royal purple color that makes it one of the most ornamental and visually exciting green beans you can grow in the vegetable garden.
Like Dragon Tongue, the vivid purple color unfortunately disappears when the beans are cooked, turning the pods a standard green, but it makes harvesting an absolute pleasure as the bright purple pods are instantly visible against the green foliage and are very easy to spot and pick.
The flavor is excellent — tender, sweet, and mild — and the plant is vigorous, productive, and notably more heat-tolerant than many other bean varieties, making it a particularly good choice for gardens in warmer regions with hot summers.
Rattlesnake Pole Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Rattlesnake’)
Rattlesnake Pole Bean is a beautiful and heat-tolerant heirloom variety from the American South that has been grown in home gardens and on small farms for generations, prized for its ability to continue producing prolifically through the heat of summer when many other bean varieties slow down or stop altogether.
The long, slender pods are green with distinctive purple streaks and splashes that give the variety its evocative common name, and the flavor is rich, sweet, and exceptionally good whether eaten fresh, canned, or cooked in traditional Southern-style pot beans with a piece of smoked ham.
Growing vigorously as a climbing pole bean to 6 to 8 feet, Rattlesnake is one of the most reliable, heat-hardy, and flavorful of all the heirloom pole bean varieties available to the home gardener.
Yard Long Bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis)
Yard Long Bean, also known as the asparagus bean, Chinese long bean, or snake bean, is a tropical Asian bean variety that produces extraordinarily long, slender pods that can reach 18 to 24 inches or more in length — though for the best flavor and texture they are generally harvested at around 12 to 18 inches before they become tough and fibrous.
Despite sharing the common name “bean,” it is more closely related to the Black-eyed Pea than to the common green bean, and it has a slightly different flavor — somewhat more robust, earthy, and complex — that makes it particularly well suited to stir-frying, braising, and the bold spice profiles of Asian and Southeast Asian cooking.
It is a vigorous, heat-loving climbing vine that thrives in hot, humid summers and is an outstanding productive choice for warm-climate gardeners looking for something different and productive.
Maxibel Bush Filet Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Maxibel’)
Maxibel is widely regarded as one of the finest and most productive of all the filet-style green bean varieties, producing slender, elegant pods in the classic Haricot Vert style but on a compact, easy-to-manage bush plant rather than a climbing vine, making it far more practical for many home gardeners.
The pods are exceptionally straight, uniform, and tender, with a delicate, refined flavor that is outstanding for fresh eating, lightly steamed as a side dish, or incorporated into elegant salads and composed plates.
Maxibel plants are productive over a sustained period, tolerant of heat, and relatively disease-resistant, and the consistently high quality of the pods has earned it a devoted following among market gardeners, chefs, and discerning home growers who want restaurant-quality filet beans without the complexity of managing pole vines.
Contender Bush Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Contender’)
Contender is a remarkably tough and adaptable bush bean variety that has earned a devoted following among home gardeners for its outstanding ability to tolerate both heat and cooler temperatures better than almost any other green bean variety, making it one of the most versatile and reliable choices for gardens in a wide range of climates.
The pods are round, straight, stringless, and of good length, with a solid, classic green bean flavor that is excellent for fresh eating, cooking, canning, and freezing, and the plants produce a generous and concentrated crop that makes it highly efficient for preserving large quantities.
Contender is also notably resistant to bean mosaic virus and other common bean diseases, which further enhances its reputation as one of the most dependable and trouble-free green beans available to the home gardener.
Fortex Pole Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Fortex’)
Fortex is a French-bred pole bean variety that has gained an exceptional reputation among gourmet gardeners and market growers for producing some of the longest, straightest, most tender, and most flavorful round-podded green beans available anywhere.
The pods can reach 10 to 11 inches in length and remain stringless, tender, and delicious even at larger sizes — a rare and highly valued quality that gives the gardener more flexibility in harvest timing without sacrificing eating quality.
Growing as a vigorous climbing vine to 6 to 8 feet, Fortex is a sustained and generous producer that rewards regular harvesting with continuous pod set over many weeks, and its exceptional flavor and texture have made it a perennial favorite on restaurant menus and at farmers markets where quality and culinary excellence are the highest priorities.
Royal Burgundy Bush Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Royal Burgundy’)
Royal Burgundy is a beautiful and highly productive purple-podded bush bean that stands out from the crowd with its deep, wine-purple pods and its remarkable cold tolerance, which allows it to be sown earlier in spring than most other bean varieties and germinate successfully in cooler soil temperatures that would cause other beans to rot or fail.
The pods are round, straight, stringless, and of excellent flavor — tender, sweet, and mild — and like all purple-podded beans, they turn a standard green when cooked, though they remain visually striking and easy to harvest in the garden.
The plants are compact, vigorous, and highly productive, and Royal Burgundy’s combination of early planting capability, reliable performance, and excellent eating quality makes it one of the most useful and garden-worthy of all the bush bean varieties available to temperate climate gardeners.
Tavera Bush Filet Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Tavera’)
Tavera is a widely respected French filet bean variety that produces elegant, slender, straight pods with a smooth skin and an exceptionally refined, sweet, and delicate flavor that is considered among the very finest of all the filet-style green beans for culinary use.
It grows as a compact, upright bush plant that keeps the pods clean and easy to harvest and produces a remarkably uniform and high-quality crop that has made it a favorite of market gardeners, restaurant suppliers, and gourmet home cooks across Europe and North America.
Tavera performs best in cool to moderate temperatures and benefits from consistent moisture and well-prepared soil, and while it requires attentive and frequent harvesting to catch the pods at their peak slender tenderness, the culinary quality of the result makes every visit to the garden entirely worthwhile.
Lazy Housewife Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Lazy Housewife’)
Lazy Housewife is a wonderfully named heirloom pole bean variety that dates back to at least the 1880s and earned its memorable common name from the fact that it was one of the first truly stringless green bean varieties ever developed, eliminating the tedious task of stringing beans before cooking that was a necessary chore with older varieties.
The pods are broad, flat, and of good length, with a rich, full, satisfying flavor that is excellent whether eaten fresh as a snap bean, shelled and eaten as a fresh shell bean when the seeds have swelled, or left to dry fully on the vine for use as a dry bean through the winter.
Growing as a vigorous climbing pole bean to 6 to 8 feet, Lazy Housewife is a productive, versatile, and historically significant variety that connects today’s gardeners with generations of vegetable growing history.
Provider Bush Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Provider’)
Provider Bush Bean is one of the most trusted and widely recommended green bean varieties for home gardeners seeking a reliable, early-maturing, and trouble-free crop under a wide range of growing conditions, and it has earned its reassuring common name through decades of consistently delivering exactly what gardeners need.
It is one of the earliest-maturing bush bean varieties available, reaching harvest in as few as 50 days from sowing, and it germinates and establishes successfully in cooler soils than most other varieties, making it an excellent choice for short-season gardens and early spring plantings.
The pods are round, straight, dark green, and stringless with a solid, classic flavor, and the plants are notably resistant to bean mosaic virus, powdery mildew, and several other common bean diseases, making Provider one of the most dependable and low-maintenance green bean varieties a gardener can choose.