sauté

American  

[soh-tey, 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

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

The first step is to sauté leeks and garlic in olive oil, butter and, crucially, a bit of white miso.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

That’s line-cook joy, kitchen–brigade joy — a very specific, slightly masochistic ecstasy that tends to belong to people who’ve burned off their fingerprints on sauté pans.

From Salon • Nov. 25, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 12, 2024

Cooks sauté it in olive oil, season it with onions or boil it into soup to make tasty, low-cost meals.

From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2024

All we need to do is sauté olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, chopped parsley, and tomatoes together in a pot, and prepare spaghetti to go with it.”

From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket