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

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

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

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

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

Tuesday calls for something fresh and fiber-rich: sautéed kale and Swiss chard.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2025

He sautéed onions and garlic in olive oil for marinara sauce.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

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

It has a smoke point between 375 and 410°F, which is more than sufficient for most cooking methods, including sautéing, roasting and grilling.

From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2025

Try roasting, stewing, sautéing and serving over ice cream, or adding it to apple sauce recipes.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 6, 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

Frying and sautéing, when applied to vegetables, usually produce a delicious flavor, but often render the vegetables decidedly indigestible.

From Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume 2: Milk, Butter and Cheese; Eggs; Vegetables by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences