How To Cut And Dice An Onion Plus More

Picture tutorial on how to cut and dice an onion plus more. Dicing an onion the safest and most efficient way is easy. It will save you time as well as fingers!

I’ve explained two different ways to cut and dice an onion. One is the way you’ve probably already seen demonstrated by chefs on tv and the other method to dice an onion is my own humble way. I developed it by “lack of memory”. Meaning I tried doing it the chef way and forgot exactly how they said to do it, eventually ending up with my method, which I think is easier if you only have a dull knife and it doesn’t involve slicing horizontally toward your precious fingers or palm of your hand.

Becky’s Method To Cut And Dice An Onion

I’ll start with my method of how to cut and dice an onion and then will roll into the chef way to do it.

Start by cutting off both the root and the stem end. Then stand the onion on one of the cut sides and cut the onion in half. Peel off the outside layer of skin. If you aren’t using both halves of the onion, then keep the skin on the unused portion and wrap in plastic wrap or put in a resealable baggie with the air pressed out, this will help the onion last longer.

Lay the onion down on the largest cut side. Slice along the widest part of the onion, about 1/8”-1/2” parallel slices, depending on what size dice you want. You’ll want to keep one hand with fingers on both sides of the onion to keep it intact while slicing.

Now take half of the stack you just cut, and lay the stack of onion slices on the largest cut side. Again, keep fingers on each side of the onion and then slice in one direction, turn the onion or the cutting board and slice in the other direction for dices. Repeat with other slices of onion. It’s not necessary to split the stack of sliced onion, but I think it’s easier and safer to dice an onion this way.

This may not be the chef way, but I find if you don’t have the sharpest knives that ‘Becky’s” way is safer for your fingers and doesn’t make me as nervous as the chef’s way when cutting horizontally. Read on to understand.

Chef’s Method To Cut and Dice An Onion

1) Cut the stem end off the onion, keeping the root end intact, see picture above. The root end is the end with the spikes or almost hairy looking stuff, ugly but it has a “finger saving” purpose. The root will keep the onion together as you cut.

2) Place the onion cut side down, like in the picture below. Slice the onion in half from root to stem end going right through the middle of the root, keeping each half of the root intact.

3) Lay the onion on the largest cut side down. Now peel the onion, most of the skin will come right off except down near the root end.

4A) Optional Step: I’m only including this step if you want to really cut and dice an onion like a chef. If so, then you’ll make one or two horizontal cuts like below. Slice horizontal to the cutting board in about 1/8” to ½” parallel lines toward the root end, depending how large of a dice you want. I find it’s best to keep the knife parallel to the cutting board and rock the knife back and forth until I get to about ½” away from the root end. The purpose of keeping the root end intact is to keep the onion together and easier to slice.

4B) Very important though, is that the horizontal cut really isn’t necessary. You already have the divisions from nature, you can just skip to the next step and skip the horizontal cuts, they just give you a little more uniformity to the dice. I’d rather save my fingers and my hand thank you.

5) Turn the cut root end of the onion toward you, slice perpendicular down to the cutting board from the cut stem end to about ½” away from the root end, or as close as you can get to it.

6) Turn the onion and make your last slices, once again cutting perpendicular to the cutting board, and your dices will fall right off.

After finishing dicing, there will be a little bit of the root end left. Make the most of the onion place it on it’s side and dice around the root. Toss the little bit of root end that is left.