Onions are in more real food recipes than almost any other vegetable — so knowing how to cut them quickly and confidently is a kitchen skill worth having. In this quick tip, Krista walks you through her go-to technique for both red and white onions, whether you need slices for pickled veggies or a fine dice for soups, stir-fries, and sauces.
What You’ll Need
- A chef’s knife — sharp is key for onions!
- A cutting board
How to Cut an Onion — Two Ways
Step 1: Trim and halve
- Trim a thin slice off both ends of the onion
- Cut the onion in half from top to bottom
- Peel off the outer papery skin — trim away any rough or blemished spots
For slices (pickled veggies & salads):
- Lay each half flat on the cutting board
- Slice into half-moon shapes — halving first keeps the pieces manageable, not huge
For diced onion (cooking):
- Lay the halved onion flat and make a series of lengthwise slices, keeping it together at the root end
- Rotate 90° and make crosscuts through the slices
- Flip and repeat — you’ll end up with evenly diced onion pieces!
💡 Why Halve First?
Cutting the onion in half before slicing or dicing gives you a flat, stable surface to work from — much safer and more controlled than trying to cut a whole round onion. It also keeps your slices a manageable size instead of long unwieldy pieces.
Video Transcript
“Now, this would apply to red onions, obviously, and white onions, too. This is just the way that I like to do it. So I normally trim off the ends first, and then I normally cut it in half like this. And then I normally, depending on how rough that outer peel is, I will get that off. We have a rough spot, so I’m just going to trim that off. So then I’m going to show you what I do for slicing. So for pickled veggies and when I want slices, I will just do that because I feel like the slices are a little more manageable if you cut it in half and then you’ve got, you know, still sliced but not huge pieces. Now, let’s say I want to dice it. So what I do is I slice it all up, trying to kind of keep it all together. Then I just turn it and then go like this. And then I flip it. And then you have got chopped diced onion.”