4 Alternatives to Hand Chopping Herbs & Veggies
Cutting corners in life isn’t something you’re usually encouraged to do but when it comes to kitchen prep, I’m all about finding those shortcuts. Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook and bake, I’m just not a fan of all the work that comes with it – like slicing, dicing, and chopping herbs. It may have something to do with my irrational fear of cutting my fingers off, or I could just be lazy. I’ve heard it both ways.
This post contains affiliate links and reference to a product (marked with *) I received for testing purposes)
A great example here is my pasta sauce. I’m absolutely obsessed with pasta and prefer to make my own sauce with fresh ingredients. The last time I chopped garlic I almost lost the tip of a finger because I was showing off. The knives were sharp and my reaction time was slow. Bad things happened and I’ve been leery of garlic ever since.
If you’re hesitant to explore your chopping skills for fear of injury, you’re not alone! You’re not hopeless either because there are alternatives out there that are just as good as chopping your own herbs and spices. These are also great for letting kids help out in the kitchen without risk of severing a digit.
4 Alternatives to Hand Chopping Herbs & Veggies
The Chef’n Zipstrip Herb Stripper ($6.99 on Amazon) lets you easily strip and collect fresh herbs from their woody stems. Just insert the stem into the hole, root side first, and pull it through. The integrated bowl catches the stripped herbs and all you need to do is discard the stem. The cup clearly marks 1 tablespoon, 2 tablespoon, 3 tablespoon, and 1/4 cup measurements. The Chef’n Zipstrip Herb Stripper can be placed on the top rack of the dishwasher for easy cleanup.
The Zyliss Easy Pull Food Chopper ($24.88 on Amazon plus 10% off with coupon) is a multi-blade designed food chopper that blends ingredients in seconds. Use it for chopping, preparing, blending and pureeing ingredients without having to get your hands near a blade! It comes with a 5 Year Zyliss Guarantee. The included 25-Ounce bowl is top rack dishwasher safe.
Dorot * ($2.99 in the freezer aisle at most major grocery retailers) does the hard work for you by crushing and chopping herbs & veggies, then flash freezing them for later use. I got a few to try and was instantly smitten with the perfectly portioned cubes. You just pull the tray from the freezer when you need them, pop out a cube or two, and add them to your recipe. It’s the best mess-free way I’ve found yet to get the benefits of fresh herbs and vegetables without the hassle.
The Microplane Herb Mill ($19.95 on Amazon) has dual action blades that cut herbs like scissors without bruising or blemishing. The unit includes one fixed blade and an integrated stripper with graduated holes to gently remove leaves of stemmed herbs. The large capacity body is clear so you can see the contents and cutting in action.
Hopefully, this has inspired you to venture further into the kitchen and use more fresh herbs and vegetables. If you have a tool or trick you love please do share it in the comments!
I have been eating a lot more veggies this year. The Microplane Herb Mill would be perfect for all the great new recipes I am making. I will have to add one to my shopping list.
I have always wanted to have a chopper for making fresh pico. It is something that I don’t really want to make the old-fashioned way because it is fairly time-consuming. I will have to try Dorot next time that I need fresh herbs but don’t want to deal with the chopping.
Sounds great! I spend so much chopping herbs and veggies! Can’t wait to check it out!
I just bought myself an herb stripper but haven’t had a chance to use it yet. And I love the idea of the Dorot … I have frozen homegrown herbs in olive oil before for later use, but I like that this product is just the herbs.
That is SO cool! I love the pre-chopped version. However, I love the other tools as well!
I havne’t seen any of these kitchen gadgets before! But hey, anything that will help me in the kitchen I am totally down for!!
I have seen the Dorot before but never picked it up! I am going to now!! I have herb cutting scissors but they are so messy! Dorot seems the better way to go for me!
Excellent suggestions! We do a lot of cooking from scratch and herbs are an absolute staple. That handy stripper would be wonderful.
I think I need myself an herb mill! Don’t mind chopping so much but these alternatives are the way to go! Happy Weekend!
Chopping veggies is so tedious! I also get worried I’m going to cut my fingers!
These all look like great products. I’m a bit leery of chopping vegetables too. My knives need sharpening and sometimes I find myself tediously cutting pieces into smaller pieces.