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

See Examples For:

sauté sautéed sautéing

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

Reach for a rotisserie chicken or sauté fresh cubes in your skillet so you get those savory browned bits that make a cream sauce sing.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 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

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

There’s kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, spinach and mustard greens — a medley of leafy green vegetables that are best enjoyed massaged in olive oil, slow-cooked or sautéed.

From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026

An even older icon awaits at Phnom Penh, a 40-year-old Vietnamese-Cambodian restaurant where crowds eagerly wait their turn to try nearly-raw marinated butter beef and lotus root sautéed with chilies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 27, 2025

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

I’d also have some scrambled eggs, sautéed spinach and some fruit on the side.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2025

It was that perfect, perfect smell that would always take me back to the specific feeling of being a child: the scent of onions being sautéed in olive oil.

From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi

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

If you’re seeking spiciness, include a chopped jalapeño or two when sautéing the poblano and onion.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 14, 2023

The chopping, sautéing and seasoning we see on this cooking-competition show might be more impressive than usual this year.

From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2023

Add the celery and garlic, sautéing another 3 minutes, stirring often.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2023

There are numerous ways of cooking food, but the principal processes are boiling, stewing, steaming, dry steaming, braizing, fricasseeing, roasting, baking, broiling, pan broiling, frying, and sautéing.

From Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume 1: Essentials of Cookery; Cereals; Bread; Hot Breads by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences