Sautéed Garlic Scapes (2024)

These delicious garlic scapes are sautéed with a little olive oil, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar. It's an easy and quick side dish that highlights the flavors of the scapes.

Garlic scapes are the tender stems of the hardneck garlic plant. They're longer vegetables, but they can be cut and cooked like green beans or asparagus.

They have a lovely light, garlicky flavor and taste a little like a chive.

What are garlic scapes?

Garlic scapes are the tender stems cut off the hardneck garlic plant to encourage the larger growth of the garlic bulb.

Scapes can be found at farmer's markets and some specialty grocery stores.

When are garlic scapes in season?

Garlic scapes are in season from late spring to early summer.

The tenderest scapes will be cut earlier in the season and will be slightly curled. These can be used like green beans or asparagus and are delicious when sautéed, roasted, or fried.

Scapes that have curled fully are tougher but can still be used! Roast them and use them in pesto or pasta sauce.

Ingredients

You don't need much to make these scapes taste great! Here's what to get.

• Garlic scapes - you'll need 8 ounces of tender garlic scapes. Look for ones that are green with no dried tips and that haven't fully curled into a circle.
• Olive Oil - after the scapes have browned in the pan, you'll add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
• Soy Sauce - you'll add ½ tablespoon of soy sauce after the oil.
• Rice Wine Vinegar - after removing the scapes from the heat, you'll finish the dish with 1 teaspoon of rice wine vinegar.

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the scapes and allow to cook, tossing occasionally, for about 4 minutes or until they begin to brown.

Reduce the heat to medium and add olive oil. Toss to coat the scapes. Cook for an additional minute.

Add the soy sauce and toss to coat for 30 seconds. Be careful as the pan will be hot and might spit.

Turn off the heat and add the rice wine vinegar. Toss to combine and allow to rest in the pan for 30 seconds before serving.

More Great Side Dish Recipes

Love a fresh vegetable side dish? Try some of our other favorite easy side dishes.

• - a fabulous veggie side dish with lots of flavor
• Daikon Radish Cucumber Salad - a fantastic salad combo with a soy-sesame dressing
• Grilled Asparagus Recipe - easy grilled asparagus livened up with sumac
• Grilled Baby Bok Choy Recipe - a fantastic bok choy recipe with a soy glaze

Tips for Making this Recipe

Cooking Tips - Use a heavy-bottomed skillet for this recipe, if you have one. It will distribute the heat more evenly. I don't recommend using a cast iron skillet for this, though as there's acid (vinegar) in this recipe.

Storage

Uncooked scapes will keep for up to 2 weeks in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. You can store the cooked scapes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat them in a skillet (not a microwave) to keep them a little crunchy.

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