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Wondering how to mince garlic? Here’s a step by step guide and video that shows you how to cut garlic, including sliced and minced garlic.

Video: How to mince garlic

Want to know how to mince garlic? This was one of the first knife skills we mastered in the kitchen and we use it almost every day. It’s essential for basic recipes like tomato sauce, pizza sauce, and tons of soup recipes. Garlic makes the world go round in our kitchen, so we hope this method gives you confidence to use it often in yours! Here’s our step by step guide for how to mince garlic.

How to mince garlic step by step

Step 1

How to mince garlic | Cut off root end
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Using a large chef’s knife, cut off the root end of the garlic.

Step 2

How to mince garlic | Tap gently with a jar

To peel the garlic, gently tap the garlic clove with a jar or glass until the peel splits.

Step 3

How to mince garlic | Remove peel

Remove the peel with your fingers.

Step 4

How to mince garlic | Cut vertical slices

With a firm grip on the base of the chef’s knife, use the tip of the knife to cut thin vertical slices into the garlic clove, leaving it attached at the root end.

Step 5

How to mince garlic | Cut a horizontal slice

Carefully turn the knife and make a horizontal slice through the center of the garlic clove, leaving it attached at the root end.

Step 6

How to mince garlic | Cut thin slices crosswise to mince

Make thin slices crosswise to mince the garlic into small pieces. Continue chopping back and forth through the garlic until you have the size of minced garlic that you need.

And there you have it: how to mince garlic in 6 easy steps! Let us know if you try our method for how to mince garlic, and tell us how it goes in the comments below.

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More garlic recipes

Now that you know how to mince garlic, here are some of our favorite garlic recipes for you to try:

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How to Mince Garlic

How to mince garlic
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Wondering how to mince garlic? Here’s a step by step guide and video that shows you how to cut garlic, including sliced and minced garlic.

  • Author: Sonja
  • Prep Time: 2 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 minutes
  • Yield: 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1x
  • Category: Knife Skills
  • Method: Cutting
  • Cuisine: N/A

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 garlic clove

Instructions

  1. Using a large chef’s knife, cut off the root end of the garlic.
  2. To peel the garlic, gently tap the garlic clove with a jar or glass until the peel splits.
  3. Remove the peel with your fingers.
  4. With a firm grip on the base of the chef’s knife, use the tip of the knife to cut thin vertical slices into the garlic clove, leaving it attached at the root end.
  5. Carefully turn the knife and make a horizontal slice through the center of the garlic clove, leaving it attached at the root end.
  6. Make thin slices crosswise to mince the garlic into small pieces. Continue chopping back and forth through the garlic until you have the size of minced garlic that you need.

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About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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1 Comment

  1. Terry says:

    Thanks