How to Dice an Onion (with Video)
Dice onions like a pro with our easy, step-by-step guide on how to dice an onion, with a video to follow along!
Equipment
- Chef's knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 1 onion medium to large
Instructions
- Place a clean, sturdy cutting board on a flat surface and ensure your knife is sharp, clean, and ready for dicing. We recommend sharpening your knife if it's a little dull.
- Place the onion on the cutting board and carefully trim off the stem end. Leave the root end intact, as it helps hold the onion together while you cut into it.1 onion
- Slice the onion in half from the root end of the onion to the stem end. Remember, your knife must be sharp to prevent crushing or tearing the onion layers.
- Peel the papery skin off of both onion halves, and discard it.
- Place both onion halves flat-side down on the cutting board. This creates a stable surface for dicing the onion, preventing it from rolling around.
- Lay one half of the onion flat side down on the cutting board. Make a horizontal cut parallel to the cutting board, starting from the cut end and working towards the root end. Do not cut through the root. The thickness of the cuts will determine the size of your diced onion. For a fine dice, make more cuts closer together; for a larger dice, make one cut through the center of the onion or, for a very large onion, make multiple cuts farther apart. Be careful not to cut all the way through the root end, as this will help hold the onion together.
- Hold the onion together tightly. Make vertical cuts perpendicular to the previous horizontal cut. As with the horizontal cuts, the distance between the vertical cuts will determine the size of your diced onion.
- Finally, dice the onion by slicing through the cuts you made as if you are slicing the onion, resulting in evenly sized diced pieces. Continue dicing until you reach the root end, then discard the root.
- Repeat with remaining half of onion.
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Notes
- Keep your fingertips tucked safely away from the blade, and use smooth, steady motions to dice the onion.
- The thickness of your cuts will determine the size of your diced onion. For a fine dice, make the cuts closer together. For a larger dice, make one cut through the center of the onion, or, for a very large onion, make multiple cuts further apart.
- Remember not to wipe your eyes with your onion-hands.
- If you need sliced onion, not slices, see our guide on How to Slice an Onion
Nutrition
Serving: 1onionCalories: 44kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 1gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.02gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 4mgPotassium: 161mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 2IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 0.2mg