I Tried This TikTok Hack for Slicing Onions—It’s Life Changing

This is a game changer, especially when you want thinly sliced onions quickly. Chefs, look away!

By
Julie & Amy Luxemberg
Vibing Vegans
Julie & Amy Luxemberg
Sisters Julie & Amy Luxemberg are self-taught vegan chefs, recipe developers, and content creators.
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Published March 17, 2023
Vibing Vegans
Sliced Onions, Garlic, and Bay Leaves in a Pan on a Portable Stove and Next to a Blue Kitchen Towel for French Onion Meatballs

Simply Recipes / Frank Tiu

On most nights, we are going to be chopping an onion. This is just a fact for two people that cook at home. Whether it’s dicing red onions for Greek salads, slicing white onions for soups and stir fries, or chopping shallots for pasta, tears are always shed and time ticks away as we methodically slice and dice.

Sometimes, it’s quite nice to get in the zone and chop. However, most times, we’re hoping for a quicker and easier way. Enter TikTok, where we came across a simple tip for slicing onions quickly. The video now has over 5.3 million likes and over 22,000 comments. The top comment accurately summarizes our reaction, “This. Is. LIFE CHANGING.” 

All you need to slice onions easily and quickly is a fork and a common kitchen tool: the vegetable peeler. Use the fork to hold a whole peeled onion in place on your cutting board. With your other hand, use the vegetable peeler to shave slices swiftly and efficiently off the onion. That’s it! This is perfect for when you want very thin slices—arguably the hardest to cut with a knife. Try it and never look back! 

We’ve used this smart trick with red onions, white onions, yellow onions, and even shallots, our least favorite allium to chop. You'll get super thin slices—as if you sliced the onion using a mandolin—with minimal effort and no tears shed.

Slicing red onion with a peeler

TikTok / @Casa_Tips

The Best Type of Vegetable Peeler To Use

The TikTok video features a Y-peeler, but any vegetable peeler will do the trick. We've successfully used a serrated peeler, and a basic swivel peeler also works! The key is to make sure your peeler is very sharp and sturdy. 

Unsure about the condition of your peeler? Give the technique a try. As long as you can smoothly slice the onion without much force or the peeler getting stuck on the onion, you’re good to go. If you have an inexpensive peeler that is flimsy and dull, you may need to upgrade before trying this trick (for safety reasons).

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