Easy Fried Sage Leaves Recipe

These crispy fried sage leaves are a gorgeous garnish for pastas, salads, meats, fish, cheese boards and more! They’re also a delicious snack all on their own. They have a wonderfully mild, herbal flavor with a crunchy texture. I’ll show you how easy they are to make, and you only need three ingredients!

Ingredients:

• Fresh sage leaves: You can use as many sage leaves as you’d like in this easy recipe. While fresh sage leaves have a strong flavor, when fried they turn mellow and nutty.
• Oil: I prefer to use vegetable oil, such as grapeseed or safflower oil, which imparts a neutral, clean flavor. However, you can use olive oil if you prefer.
• Salt: The crunchy fried leaves are seasoned with salt (I prefer to use kosher salt or fine sea salt). 

How to make crispy fried sage leaves:

• Pour ¼-inch of neutral vegetable oil into the bottom of a skillet and place it over medium-high heat. Let the oil pre-heat until it's shimmering. To test if the oil is hot enough, dip a corner of a sage leaf into the oil—it should start to bubble immediately.

• Add the sage leaves to the hot oil in a single layer, there should be a bit of space between each. Cook, stirring and flipping with tongs, until the leaves shrink down and turn a dark green color, about 1-2 minutes total—you’ll know they’re ready when the oil stops bubbling and quiets down.

• Using tongs or a slotted spoon, immediately transfer the leaves to a paper towel-lined plate, and season them with a generous pinch of salt. The leaves will crisp up as they cool.

Serving suggestions

These crunchy sage leaves are delicious all on their own as a pre-dinner nibble with a glass of wine or cold beer. For an easy but elegant appetizer, serve them with cheeses, nuts and fig jam. The leaves are also the perfect topping for a variety of dishes, lending color and crunch. Try them on:

• Butternut Squash Salad with Apples and Goat Cheese
• Savory Squash Galette
• Pork Tenderloin Medallions
• Butternut Squash Pasta (one of my favorite fall dishes, pictured below)

Recipe tips:

• This is more of a technique than a strict recipe. You can fry as many or as few sage leaves as you desire. Just be sure to use a pan that's large enough, and pour in enough oil so that's it's ¼-inch deep.
• Larger sage leaves will be easier to fry (save smaller leaves for seasoning your dishes).
• Tongs make it easy to flip the sage leaves in the oil.
• You can re-use the cooking oil! Pour it through a strainer into a jar and store it at room temperature. Use the oil to fry sage leaves again, or to sauté meats, fish and vegetables.

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Crispy Fried Sage Leaves

These crispy fried sage leaves are delicious all on their own (I pair them with roasted nuts, cheese and Fig Jam for an appetizer!), but they’re also a gorgeous garnish to salads, pasta, meat dishes, stews and more. Try them on Butternut Squash Pasta, Butternut Squash Salad, Pork Tenderloin Medallions and a Savory Squash Galette. This is more of a technique than a recipe—you can fry as many sage leaves as you need. If you’re using them as a garnish, an 8-inch skillet works great. For larger batches use a 10- to 12-inch skillet. You can reuse the cooking oil (strain it into a jar and store it at room temperature).

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Total Time5 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crispy sage leaves, fried sage leaves

Author: Nicki Sizemore

Ingredients

• Neutral vegetable oil (such as grapeseed or safflower)
• Fresh sage leaves
• Salt

Instructions

• Heat ¼-inch of neutral vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until shimmering. To test if the oil is hot enough, dip a corner of a sage leaf into the oil—it should start to bubble immediately. Add the sage leaves in a single layer, there should be a bit of space between each.
• Cook, stirring and flipping with tongs, until the leaves shrink down and turn a dark green color, about 1-2 minutes total—you’ll know they’re ready when the oil stops bubbling and quiets down. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, immediately transfer the leaves to a paper towel-lined plate, and season them with salt. The leaves will crisp up as they cool.

Notes

Do Ahead: Store the crispy fried sage leaves at room temperature, uncovered, for up to 3 hours.

Tips:

• This is more of a technique than a strict recipe. You can fry as many or as few sage leaves as you desire. Just be sure to use a pan that's large enough, and pour in enough oil so that's it's ¼-inch deep.
• Larger sage leaves will be easier to fry (save smaller leaves for seasoning your dishes).
• Tongs make it easy to flip the sage leaves in the oil.
• You can re-use the cooking oil! Pour it through a strainer into a jar and store it at room temperature. Use the oil to fry sage leaves again, or to sauté meats, fish and vegetables.