Legumes & Beans

Flageolet Bean

Small, pale-green French bean harvested young; delicate and creamy with a tender skin, traditionally simmered with herbs to accompany roast lamb.

The flageolet is a small, kidney-shaped dried bean — a cultivar of the common bean — prized in French cooking for a quality most legumes never achieve: a tender, almost silken skin wrapped around a creamy, faintly buttery interior. Unlike mature white beans that dry hard and chalky, flageolets are harvested at full size but before true maturity, then dried slowly so the seed retains its chlorophyll. That pale, almost jade-green color is the bean's signature — a visible sign of careful handling, and the reason French cooks sometimes call it the caviar of beans. In the kitchen, the flageolet behaves more like a fresh shelling bean than a starchy pantry staple: it holds its shape, absorbs herbal aromatics cleanly, and finishes with a delicate, grassy sweetness that larger white beans can never quite match.

Because the skin is thin, the flageolet is less forgiving than a cannellini or navy bean. A hard boil, an early salting, or even a few minutes too long on the heat will split the skins and turn the cooking liquid cloudy. Cooked with patience — a gentle simmer, aromatics added alongside, salt introduced only near the end — the bean yields to the tooth without falling apart, and the starchy cooking liquid becomes a flavorful base for soups, potages, and light pan sauces.

Measured in: g
Storage: Store Dried Beans Airtight In A Cool, Dry Pantry.

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Legumes & BeansCanned Goods

Suits

VeganVegetarian

Types & varieties

Flageolet vert

The classic pale-green bean; the color signals it was dried at immature maturity, preserving chlorophyll.

Flageolet blanc

A whiter variant of the same type; slightly starchier and less prized, but cooks identically.

Chevrier

The most famous named cultivar, developed in the 19th century in Artois by Gabriel Chevrier; small, slender, and pale green — the one to seek out.

Choosing, storing, and the meaning of green

When buying dried flageolets, color is the first thing to assess. A pale, jade-tinged green means the beans were harvested at full size but before the seed fully matured, then dried slowly in cool air to hold onto chlorophyll. Creamy white beans are simply flageolets left to mature further on the plant; they will cook the same way but the visual signature of the dish — that soft, herbaceous green against a confit leg or a piece of grilled fish — will be lost. The Chevrier cultivar is the most reliable source of true green color, and many French producers now package under that name.

Stored in an airtight container away from light and heat, dried flageolets keep for up to a year. Beyond that, they cook unevenly and lose their delicate flavor. Cooked beans keep 3–4 days refrigerated in their cooking liquid, and freeze well for up to six months; freeze them just barely covered in liquid to prevent drying out at the edges.

Cooking method, the traditional way

The French method treats flageolets almost like a court bouillon. A cold-water soak of 6–8 hours is followed by a gentle simmer — never a boil — in fresh water with a peeled onion studded with a clove, a bouquet garni of thyme, bay, and parsley stems, and a smashed garlic clove. Salt goes in only in the last five to ten minutes. The beans are done when a pressed seed yields to the finger but the skin remains whole.

Soak 6–8 hours in cool water; drain and rinse.
Cover with 2 inches of fresh water; add onion, garlic, and bouquet garni.
Bring to a bare shiver, then reduce to a gentle simmer — no bubbles breaking the surface.
Cook 30–45 minutes, until tender; salt the water in the last 5–10 minutes.
Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, and dress while warm.

Common uses

Classic French accompaniment to roast leg of lamb (gigot d'agneau) and navarin printanier.Warmed and tossed with olive oil, finely chopped shallots, and flat-leaf parsley as a simple side.In warm bistro salads with duck confit, frisée, and bacon lardons.As a lighter, more refined alternative to white beans in a cassoulet-style bake.Lightly mashed or roughly crushed as a bed for grilled fish or seared scallops.Added to vegetable soups and pistou for body and a creamy, grassy note.In a Niçoise-style salad with tuna, olives, and hard-boiled eggs.

Tips & pitfalls

Salt the cooking water only in the last 5–10 minutes — adding salt early toughens the skins and lengthens cooking time noticeably.
Simmer gently rather than boil; a rolling boil will split the thin skins and turn the pot cloudy with starch.
For a traditional French result, cook with a whole peeled onion studded with a clove, a bouquet garni (thyme, bay, parsley stems), and a smashed garlic clove.
An overnight cold-water soak yields more even cooking than a quick boil-soak; if you must use the quick method, watch carefully for split skins.
Save the cooking liquid — it carries flavor and starch, and makes an excellent base for soups or a quick potage.
If using canned, drain and rinse only if the recipe demands it; the canning liquid carries a lot of the characteristic flavor and body.
Do not overcook — the bean should hold its shape and have a soft, almost creamy bite, not collapse into purée.

Nutrition

31kcal

Energy

130 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 20%Carbs 75%Fat 5%

Protein

1.8g

4% DV

Carbs

3% DV

Fat

0.2g

0% DV

Fiber

2.7g

10% DV

Sugars

3.3g

of which

Sodium

6mg

0% DV

Notable micronutrients

Vitamin K36% DV

Vitamin C14% DV

Riboflavin (B2)8% DV

Vitamin B68% DV

Folate8% DV

Thiamin (B1)7% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · Beans, snap, green, raw

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In the shops

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Good to know

Type: Dried legume, a cultivar of Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean)
Color: Pale green to creamy white; the green hue is preserved by drying the immature, fully formed seeds
Size: Small and kidney-shaped, roughly 1 cm long — larger than a navy bean but smaller than a cannellini
Flavor: Delicate, mild, slightly nutty and grassy; less starchy than navy or cannellini
Texture: Tender thin skin with a creamy, almost buttery interior when properly cooked
Origin: Brought to Europe from the Americas; cultivated in France since at least the 19th century
Main growing region: Northern France — Picardy, Artois, and the Beauce; also grown in Italy and the Americas
Cook time: 30–45 minutes simmering after soaking; 50–60 minutes unsoaked
Yield: About 1 cup dried yields roughly 2 to 2½ cups cooked

Substitutes

Cannellini beans — The closest in size and texture; slightly starchier and more neutral, but excellent when flageolets are unavailable.
Navy beans (haricots blancs) — Small and creamy, closer in scale to flageolets than cannellini, with a similarly mild flavor.
Great Northern beans — Mild and tender; work in salads and warm sides, though the skins are slightly thicker and the flavor less grassy.
Baby lima (butter) beans — A different family, but the buttery texture works in warm salads; not appropriate where you want flageolet's herbaceous note.

Pairs with

Roast lambThyme, bay leaf, parsleyShallotsDuck confitBacon and lardonsOlive oil and lemonGarlic TomatoesMushrooms

Also called

flageolet · flageolet vert · green kidney bean