Plant-Based Basics: How To Chop An Onion + Chopper & Storage Tips!

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You know we love a good series here at Krocks In The Kitchen, and today we have a new one that we are super excited to share. Welcome to the first episode of our “Plant-Based Basics” series! In this series, we will help you learn about some basic topics and skills that will help you as you start out (or continue) your plant-based lifestyle.

For today’s video, we are digging into one of our most requested topics, which is simply: how to chop an onion. Watch here or read below as we go through a few different methods and also share some helpful tips and tricks along the way!

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Brian’s Method: Knife

Brian’s preferred method of chopping is using a knife. He likes to use his fancy KYOKU Chef Knife for this particular task, but whatever knife you use, just make sure it is a good sharp one. Using a dull knife can actually be quite dangerous since it is more likely to slip.

You’ll need to learn how to properly grip a knife. Brian demonstrated his technique in the video, but you basically want to pinch the base of the blade between your thumb and index finger and use your remaining three fingers to grip the handle. This will give you a lot more control over your cuts.

The first step is cutting off the stem end of your onion, keeping the ROOT end in tact.

Next you’ll place the onion on your cutting board with the cut side down and cut it in half (through the root). At this point, it should be pretty easy to remove the outer skin.

TIP: Placing the halves CUT side down on the cutting board as much as possible throughout this process will minimize some of those tear-forming fumes!

After you remove the outer skin, place your halves on the cutting board with the larger cut sides down. Make several evenly spaced lengthwise cuts, with the tip of your blade pointed towards the root end of the onion. You’ll want to leave the root end intact, so be careful not to cut too far.

For this part, there are two options. You can cut straight down, and you’ll end up with something like this:

Or, if you feel comfortable with the knife, you can angle your cuts as you go.

And you’ll end up with something a bit more fancy like this:

Either way you choose, you have one more option. First up, you can simply go ahead and make your cross-wise cuts (like below). Be extra careful and try to curl your finger tips in to avoid cutting yourself!

Or, if you are feeling comfortable with the knife, you can make a few inward cuts as well. For an average sized onion, you can usually get in about two of these cuts, but again, be very careful.

After you make the inward cuts (cutting towards the root), you can simply make your cross-wise cuts as we did above.

Either way you slice it (pun DEFINITELY intended), you should end up with some nicely diced onions in the end.

Jessica’s Method: Chopper

I don’t really trust myself with knives, so my preferred method for quick & easy chopping is to use my chopper!

NOTE: The blades on these things are really sharp, so be carefully when handling them! The onion chopper you have seen in a lot of our previous videos was actually recalled last year. We were able to get a new (safe) replacement from the company and have included details on the recall below.

For this method, you’ll need to start by prepping your onions for the chopper. Using a sharp knife, cut off both the stem and root end of the onion.

I’m sure this is probably bad knife “etiquette,” but next I like to CAREFULLY slice just through the first layer of the onion to make the skin easier to remove. Again, I have a really sharp knife, but be warned… this task might be pretty dangerous with a dull knife if it slips.

Then you can simply peel off the outer skin and you’ll be left with a nice, shiny onion!

TIP: Another way to avoid tearing up is to invest in some onion goggles. If you wear glasses like we do, this might not be the best option. Also, the goggles Peef is wearing have to be pressed up REALLY tight against your face to work. I think standard goggles with a strap might work better, but I haven’t tested it!

Carefully cut your onion into rings of your desired width.

When it comes to the chopper, onion size does matter! The openings on some of these choppers can be pretty small, and for a while there, I would always just pick the smallest onions I could find, but then I came up with a pretty good solution, so continue reading for that!

NOTE: For the end pieces, I find that placing the larger end down towards the blades of the chopper usually works better.

My first onion was really small, but for this next one, you’ll see that it’s going to be a little bit too big for the chopper.

If your onion slice doesn’t fit on the chopper, do NOT attempt to smash it down. Trust me… it doesn’t end pretty.

Instead, simple remove a few of the outer rings and set them aside. This will leave you with a small enough piece to chop in the chopper.

After you finish, gather the extra rings and chop them in half. Then you can place them on the chopper and chop away!

I love that everything gets chopped up so uniformly and stays contained within the chopper!

Storage Tips

We store chopped onions in our refrigerator for several days. We like to have them on hand to toss into salads or make a quick last minute dish. The only downside is that they can really stink up your refrigerator! I like to store our chopped onions in glass Pyrex containers and then seal them in a gallon size Ziploc bag. This really helps keep any odors from taking over your fridge!

The End!

Whether you decide to use a knife or a chopper, we hope this video and blog post has helped you get a better handle on chopping those pesky onions!

Be sure to watch the video here, and leave a comment to let us know what other topics you’d like to see us cover in our “Plant-Based Basics” series!

Featured Products:

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Check out our Amazon Page to see more of our favorite products!

IMPORTANT NOTE: The onion chopper we used in the video is an UPDATED version of the Mueller Austria Onion Chopper Pro. The older model was recalled, and we were able to get an updated replacement from the company for no charge. If you own a Mueller chopper, check out this link to see if yours has been recalled and find information on getting a replacement. The replacement version they sent us is NOT currently available for purchase on Amazon, but we included a link to a similar product below. You can also use this link to check out similar products on Amazon. As always, we recommend reading the reviews to find one that will work best for your needs!

Mueller Pro-Series 8 Blade Onion Chopper
KYOKU Daimyo Series – Japanese VG10 Steel Core Hammered 8″ Chef Knife
Onion Goggles Tear Free Purple
Pyrex Disney Star Wars The Child Decorated Glass Set Food Storage, 8 Piece
Pyrex Storage 4-Cup Round Dish, Clear with Blue Lids, Pack of 4
Ziploc Storage Bags, Gallon Size, 75 Count

More Information On A WFPB Diet

Check out these links for more information on a whole food plant based diet:

15 Minute Recap: Exactly How We Lost 335+ Pounds On A Plant-Based Diet
Back To Basics: Weight Loss 101
How We Lost 270 Pounds: Our Whole Food Plant Based Weight Loss Journey
Top Ten Tips For Switching To A Whole Food, Plant-Based Vegan Diet