Wield Your Knife Like a Pro with 8 Steps to Dice an Onion
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Cue the tears! Dicing an onion – it’s one of the most valuable skills to have in your kitchen arsenal as it’s the first step to cooking a voluminous number of recipes, from soups and stews to sautés and slow-cooked classics.
While there’s no guaranteed way to avoid shedding a tear or two after cutting into a strong onion, there are surefire strategies to achieving that perfect small dice. Grab a sharp knife, a cutting board and your produce for this all-important lesson in kitchen craftsmanship.
- Place the onion on its side then slice off the stem end with the root end still intact to help hold together the onion while you dice.
- Rotate the onion so the cut (flat) end is facing down and the root end is facing up. Slice vertically down the middle to halve.
- Peel the skin off both halves. Trim any bruised areas from the onion.
- Lay one half flat side down with the root end facing away from you then make vertical cuts (directly away from you) almost to the root end. Remember, don’t cut all the way through the root end as it’s helping hold the onion together.
- Rotate the onion so the root end is facing left. (Or reverse and face the root end right if you’re cutting with your left hand.)
- Cut horizontally with the knife parallel to the cutting board, making cuts 1/8-1/4 inch apart, depending on how fine a dice you’re hoping to achieve. Again, avoid cutting all the way through the root end.
- For the final cuts, slice vertically (downward) to create evenly diced pieces.
- Repeat with other half of onion.
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