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This sautéed garlic scapes recipe makes a simple, flavorful side dish and is one of the best ways to enjoy this short-season vegetable. Prized by garlic lovers for their sweet, mild flavor, garlic scapes are a welcome sight in home gardens and at farmers markets during late spring and early summer. We look forward to harvesting them every year, and this quick sauté with butter and sea salt is our favorite way to cook them!

For more vegetable Side Dishes, be sure to check out my Sautéed Morels And Asparagus Recipe, How To Cook Winter Squash The Easy Way, and Simple Oven Roasted Asparagus Recipe!

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Many people have never heard of garlic scapes since they aren’t sold in most grocery stores. They have a very short harvest window, and are usually only found at farmers markets or specialty stores for a few weeks in late spring to early summer—typically around mid-June where we live.

 If you love garlic but have never tried them, you are in for a real treat! They have a sweet mild garlic taste, and make a great addition to all sorts of recipes. An easy way to cook them is to just sauté in butter or olive oil, and that’s usually what we do. We’ve been growing garlic for a long time, and garlic scape season is one of our favorite times on the homestead!

What Are Garlic Scapes Anyway?

Garlic scapes are the tender, edible stems of hardneck garlic varieties and are commonly used in pestos, stir-fries, and other simple vegetable side dishes. They are whimsical little things, curling up to a point where the flower bulb eventually forms. They are a bright green color, have a mild garlic flavor, and are often likened to the texture of green beans or asparagus. They usually appear on the green stems of garlic plants about 3-4 weeks before maturity. It’s a good idea to harvest them in order to promote growth of the garlic bulbs instead of allowing the plant to put energy into forming a flower pod with seeds. This ensures that the harvested cloves of garlic are the maximum size.

Why You’ll Love Sautéed Garlic Scapes

  • Mild Garlic Flavor: Garlic scapes have a mild sweet flavor compared to cloves, and are perfect for adding a hint of garlic to recipes without being overpowering.
  • Quick Side Dish: These cook up in just a few minutes, and are a perfect option when you want to add a quick vegetable to the menu.
  • Versatile: You can add garlic scapes raw to salads or pestos, use them in place of onions or garlic cloves in recipes, or cook them all on their own as a standalone side dish.
  • Seasonal Ingredients: If your goal is to eat seasonally, then these definitely need to be added to your late spring and early summer menu!

Ingredients you’ll need to make Sautéed Garlic Scapes:

  • Garlic Scapes: Fresh garlic scapes from the garden or farmers market
  • Butter or Olive Oil: Either works great
  • Sea Salt: Contains beneficial trace minerals
  • Black Pepper: Freshly ground for best flavor

Ingredient Notes

Do I need to cut off the flower bulbs?

No, it’s not necessary to cut them off before cooking, especially if they are still small. If they are bigger and more developed, you might want to discard them along with the pointy tips since they can get tough.

Do I have to use butter?

Any cooking oil will work! Butter, a little olive oil, or coconut oil all cook well.

Tools

  • Cutting board
  • Knife
  • Large skillet and lid
  • Tongs

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For a quick, printable version of the ingredients and instructions, see the recipe card below.

How to make Sautéed Garlic Scapes (Step-by-Step)

  1. Gather and rinse garlic scapes.
  2. You can leave them whole, chop into pieces, or just trim the tips and bulbs if desired.
  3. Heat the pan over medium-high heat, then add the butter and let it melt.
  4. Add the garlic scapes to the pan, season with salt and pepper, cover with a lid, and reduce the heat slightly.
  5. Sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes, then stir, season again, and cook for 5 more minutes. (The total cooking time will vary depending on whether you want very tender garlic scapes or if you like them more firm. Total cook time is usually 10–20 minutes, depending on thickness and preferred tenderness.)
  6. If you’re like us and prefer them quite tender (and a bit charred), then continue cooking and stirring every 3-5 minutes until they reach desired tenderness. If they begin to stick to the pan then add a little more butter or oil.
  7. Remove from heat, dish up, and enjoy your sautéed scapes!
  • garlic scapes on a cutting board
    Chop and trim
  • adding garlic scapes to a pan to sauté
    Add to pan & season
  • putting lid on pan to sauté garlic scapes
    Cover with lid
  • steaming sautéed garlic scapes
    Remove lid & stir
  • Turning sautéed garlic scapes in pan with tongs
    Continue cooking until done
  • sautéed garlic scapes on a white plate
    Dish up & enjoy!

Recipe Tips

I like to season them a few times throughout the cooking process to make sure they’re evenly coated.

Covering the pan with a lid steams the garlic scapes and helps them to cook faster.

Decrease the cooking time if you prefer a crisp texture over a softer one.

Garlic scapes are done cooking when they deepen in color and can be easily pierced with a fork.

Storage and Reheating

  • Garlic scapes are best eaten fresh, but you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
  • Try not to overcook when reheating.
  • You can freeze raw garlic scapes up to 6 months by just tossing them in a freezer bag, no special prep required. To prevent freezer burn make sure the bag is airtight or use a vacuum sealer.

Additions, Substitutions, and Variations

  • Add a squeeze of lemon juice or lemon zest before serving.
  • Chop and sprinkle your favorite fresh or dried herbs during cooking.
  • Shred parmesan cheese over them before or after cooking.
  • Use chopped garlic scapes in place of green onions.
  • Garlic scape pesto would be delicious!

FAQ

Yes, you can absolutely eat them raw or put them in salads or pestos.

Compared to regular garlic cloves, the scapes have a much milder flavor. Use them in recipes where you don’t want a strong garlic taste.

The pointy ends tend to be tough so it’s a good idea to cut those off, but the flower bulbs soften while cooking and we usually leave those. It really comes down to personal preference and texture! 

Yes, the end result will have a more mild flavor.

They were probably harvested too late or not cooked long enough.

No, the scapes are the flowering stem and green garlic is just the immature garlic clove.

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sautéed garlic scapes on a white plate
5 from 3 votes

Sautéed Garlic Scapes With Butter and Sea Salt

This sautéed garlic scapes recipe uses butter and sea salt for a quick, flavorful side dish that highlights this seasonal vegetable.

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Prep Time:5 minutes
Cook Time:15 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Keyword: garlic, garlic scapes, vegetable, spring, summer
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients 

  • 2 cups Garlic scapes
  • 1 Tablespoon Butter (or olive oil)
  • Sea salt
  • Black pepper

Instructions

  1. Gather and rinse garlic scapes.
  2. You can leave them whole, chop into pieces, or just trim the tips and bulbs if desired.
  3. Heat the pan over medium-high heat, then add the butter and let it melt.
  4. Add the garlic scapes to the pan, season with salt and pepper, cover with a lid, and reduce the heat slightly.
  5. Sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes, then stir, season again, and cook for 5 more minutes. (The total cooking time will vary depending on whether you want very tender garlic scapes or if you like them more firm. Total cook time is usually 10–20 minutes, depending on thickness and preferred tenderness.)
  6. If you’re like us and prefer them quite tender (and a bit charred), then continue cooking and stirring every 3-5 minutes until they reach desired tenderness. If they begin to stick to the pan then add a little more butter or oil.
  7. Remove from heat, dish up, and enjoy your sautéed scapes!

Notes

It’s not necessary to cut off the flower bulbs before cooking, but you might want to discard them along with the pointy tips since they can get tough.
Season them a few times throughout the cooking process to make sure they’re evenly coated.
Covering the pan with a lid steams the garlic scapes and helps them to cook faster.
Decrease the cooking time if you prefer a crisp texture over a softer one.
Garlic scapes are done cooking when they deepen in color and can be easily pierced with a fork.

Thank you for sharing!

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Recipe Rating




16 Comments

  3. 5 stars
    These look great! I’ve never tried them before, but this recipe definitely has me excited to give them a try!

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    I’m so jealous! We can’t grow hard necks in my area so I’ve never tried garlic scapes before but they look wonderful!

    Reply

  6. Oh wow, this sounds amazing. My neighbor grows garlic every year and shares scapes with us, I would love to try this.

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    Oohh! I’m excited to try these! I’ve never thought of sautéing garlic scapes! Thank you for sharing the recipe!

    Reply

  8. Yum! I’ve always heard of people eating the scapes, but have never saved mine (usually our ducks and chickens will eat them!) But I need to be saving them for us this year!

    Reply