How to Mince Garlic

Learn how to mince garlic, the easy way! There are several methods to make minced garlic fresh in your home kitchen, with no special tools required.

Once you know how to do this, you’ll never go back to the store bought version. There’s just something about it that adds a depth of flavor to your dishes that is truly unforgettable!

We’ve shown you how to peel garlic, and how to make garlic paste. Today, we’re focusing on the most popular version of this fabulous ingredient: minced garlic!

I love providing these cooking and baking guides for you! Our hope is that these little deep dives into various cooking methods will help both the most experienced of home chefs, and the novices among us, too.

Today, we’re going to learn how to mince garlic. It’s one of my very favorite ingredients, and minced garlic can go a long way in your cooking.

Once you’ve mastered your favorite technique, you’re going to be turning out dishes that are sizzling with flavor. No more store bought minced garlic, my friends!

These easy minced garlic techniques are going to turn you into a professional, showing off for friends and family. Choose your favorite new method by experimenting… or perhaps you’ve already got a couple of these in your back pocket.

What is Minced Garlic?

Garlic adds depth to so many dishes, and is used throughout the world for its pungent, deeply aromatic fragrance and unique flavor. There’s nothing else quite like it!

Minced garlic is referring to peeled garlic cloves that have been finely minced tiny pieces (so tiny that it can be difficult to accomplish by hand without experience).

No worries, we’re going to show you several different ways to get this fresh and fabulous ingredient into all your favorite foods.

A head of fresh garlic will store in a cool, dark place for a few months, so it is really easy to always have some of hand.

How to Mince Garlic

Once the paper skin is gone, you can prepare the garlic for your recipe. Most recipes ask for this ingredient to be minced, chopped, or made into a paste.

This helps distribute the flavor throughout a dish and the small-sized pieces of garlic are more pleasant to bite into than a huge piece.

For all these methods, you’ll first want to peel your garlic, separating the cloves.

With a Knife

1. If you use the knife method that we discuss in our How to Peel Garlic guide, the garlic clove is already a little smashed. That basically started the mincing process for you.
2. To finish up, use your knife blade to rock back and forth across the garlic, moving the knife the length of the garlic.
3. Go the other direction to make the pieces smaller.

Much like mincing, you can also use your chef’s knife to chop and slice the garlic in larger pieces.

Slicing is done just with a knife and makes little garlic discs. Slices are relative large pieces of garlic and work well in dishes that will be cooking for a while so the flavor can meld into the rest of the ingredients.

Chopped garlic is virtually the same as mincing, you just don’t make the pieces so small. Use your knife to cut pieces that are chunky. This could also be accomplished with a food chopper if you have one.

With a Garlic Press

You can also use a tool called a garlic press.

1. First, place a clove or two of garlic (check your product instructions to see if you have to peel first) into the press and squeeze the handles together.
2. The garlic is forced through little holes that mince it. This method makes it more pulpy than mincing by hand.

With a Food Processor

For this version of minced garlic, you’ll just need prepared garlic cloves, and a little Extra Virgin olive oil. Full directions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. Add peeled garlic cloves and olive oil to the bowl of a mini food processor.
2. Attach the lid, then pulse until the cloves are minced as desired, scraping down the sides as needed.

With a Microplane or Grater

1. Rub your garlic cloves against the holes of your microplane or grater.
2. This creates a finely minced garlic, although it will leave a chunk of the clove that can’t be passed through safely.

Mortar and Pestle

1. Place garlic cloves into your shallow bowl (the mortar).
2. With your pestle, work your way around the cloves, smashing as you turn, until the garlic is the minced consistency you’re after. This also works to create a garlic paste.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Store Minced Garlic

• Room Temperature – This can sit out at room temperature for a couple hours. After two hours, you should refrigerate it.
• Refrigerator – If you end up with extra, you can always store it in the refrigerator. Place it in a container for up to a week once it has been minced. Adding a layer of olive oil on top of it will keep it fresh for a little longer.
• Freezer – Add your minced garlic to an ice cube tray, freezing in small portions that you can then pop out to use for any recipe you’d like.

You can store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. You will want to double bag it and keep it away from ice cream and other foods that might not taste good if a little garlic aroma seeps through.