This tutorial will give you all the tips How to Cut an Onion in our Back to Basics Series.

A basket of red onions, and sweet onions with a rag.

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Part of an Onion

First, let’s go into detail about the parts of an onion!

  • Root– When the onion is growing in the ground, the hairy-like root is the deepest part of the onion.
  • Stem– Stem is the other end of an onion from which the leaf and flower grow.
  • Bulb– is the onion itself.

Different types of onion-

The most popular onions to cook with are yellow, white, red onion, and sweet. This method of cutting an onion will apply to the different onions. 

Onion cut into 6 different ways on a wooden cutting board.

How to cut an onion-

  • First, cut off the stem of the onion and trim the room. Cut the onion in half.
  • Cut onion in half, through the stem. Remove the skin.
  • Pedals – For pedals, place one half on the cutting board with center flat and cut along the natural lines of the onion at a diagonal across the onion. It’ll look like a v shape at the root as you are cutting.
  • Diced – Cut as you would the pedal then hold the onion tightly and dice the pedals creating small pieces. The closer you cut them together, the smaller the pieces will be.
  • Sliced – Once it is cut in half, slide starting from the stem and keep going until you get to the room. The closer together you slicer, the thinner the slices will be.
  • Chunks – Slice onion in half then quarter the half.
Step by step collage of how to cut an onion into diced pieces.

How to store sliced onions?

Once the onion is peeled, you can either keep it refrigerated or frozen.

  • Refrigerator– Store a onion in an airtight container (or zipper bag) in the refrigerator for up to a week. Keep in mind, the longer you keep the onion refrigerated the harsher the flavor will be.
  • Freeze– Sore a in the freezer for up to 3 months in a zipper bag.

You don’t have to thaw the onion when you are ready to cook it, it’ll thaw when exposed to the heat.

I hope this was helpful and onion cutting doesn’t feel so intimidating. I’d love to hear what other Basic Kitchen Tutorial you’d want to see in the comments!

Other How-To posts:

How to Cut an Onion

Author: Valentina
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5 from 1 vote
Learn how to cut an onion to proper way with this EASY tutorial! Cut an onion in to several different ways.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 onion; yellow, white, red onion or sweet onion

Instructions

  • First, cut off the stem of the onion and trim the room. Cut the onion in half.
  • Cut onion in half, through the stem. Remove the skin.
  • Pedals – For pedals, place one half on the cutting board with center flat and cut along the natural lines of the onion at a diagonal across the onion. It’ll look like a v shape at the root as you are cutting.
  • Diced – Cut as you would the pedal then hold the onion tightly and dice the pedals creating small pieces. The closer you cut them together, the smaller the pieces will be.
  • Sliced – Once the onion is cut in half, slide starting from the stem and keep going until you get to the room. The closer together you slices the thinner the slices will be.
  • Chunks – Slice onion in half then quarter the half.

Notes

Storing Options-
  • Refrigerator– Store a cut onion in an airtight container (or zipper bag) in the refrigerator for up to a week. Keep in mind, the longer you keep the onion refrigerated the harsher the flavor will be.
  • Freeze– Sore a cut onion in the freezer for up to 3 months in a zipper bag.
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American