sauté

American  

[soh-tay, saw-] / soʊˈteɪ, sɔ- /

adjective

1. cooked or browned in a pan containing a small quantity of butter, oil, or other fat.

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verb (used with object)

sautéed, sautéing

1. to cook in a small amount of fat; pan-fry.

noun

1. a dish of sautéed food.

sauté British  

/ ˈsəʊteɪ /

verb

1. to fry (food) quickly in a little fat

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noun

1. a dish of sautéed food, esp meat that is browned and then cooked in a sauce

adjective

1. sautéed until lightly brown

   sauté potatoes

Etymology

Origin of sauté

1805–15; < French, past participle of sauter to jump (causative: to toss) < Latin saltāre, frequentative of salīre to jump

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Explanation

To saute is to cook food over high heat, usually in butter or oil. Many recipes begin by instructing you to saute onions and garlic in olive oil. You can saute vegetables, meat, fish, or tofu. The quick, hot method of cooking browns the outer layer of food and keeps the inside flavorful. Sometimes saute is used as an adjective — you might buy your friend who loves to cook a fancy saute pan for his birthday. In French, the word sauté means "jumped" or "bounced," which also describes the way food jumps around the pan when you saute it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sauté sautéed sautéing

If I’m really feeling it, I’ll sauté spinach and kale and put it in there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Instead of selling a suite of diverse products, millennial brands focused on the “only” T-shirt, mattress or sauté pan you’ll ever need.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026

While that’s going, sauté thinly sliced onion in a pan until it softens, then add black beans, salt, pepper, paprika, and cumin.

From Salon ● May 5, 2026

But with you, it’s, ‘Well, can I sauté it in brown butter?’

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2024

Wanda stood up without a word and walked over to the kitchen, joining Ekemeni as she began to sauté greens in bacon fat.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

She made a feast of steamed mussels with coconut cream sauce, rib-eye, chicken, rice and sautéed mushrooms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Inspired by traditional Indian cooking and Southeast Asian flavors, this Food52 recipe bathes and simmers sautéed heads of romaine in a delicious mixture of gingery coconut milk, fresh lime juice and fish sauce.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

My favorite meal is gambas à guilho: shrimp sautéed in garlic and olive oil.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

The base layer is texture: sourdough breadcrumbs, torn small and sautéed slowly in olive oil with whatever herbs you have on hand until deeply golden and crisp at the edges.

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2025

In the morning, Eunjoo heated the barley tea and poured it into bowls of yesterday’s cold rice and served it with roasted seaweed, sautéed anchovies, and kimchee.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

Having dishes prepared in the same kitchen sections slows things down, so the options needed to vary between broiling, sautéing and frying shrimp, and options with or without pasta.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

My favorite way to cook frozen peas is sautéing them in a hot pan alongside butter, minced garlic, finely chopped onions and lemon juice.

From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2025

We give grilled cheese a tasty — and somewhat healthful! — update by sautéing kale by the handful with caramelized onions to make the bulk of the filling for the sandwich.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 2, 2023

Most of us think of just stir-frying or sautéing bok choy, gai lin and their many associates.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2023

These, together with the tenderloin, the small piece of lean, tender meat lying under the bones of the loin and seldom weighing more than a pound, are especially suitable for sautéing or broiling.

From Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume 3: Soup; Meat; Poultry and Game; Fish and Shell Fish by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

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