How to Cut an Onion Into Wedges

Co-authored by Ollie George Cigliano and Hannah Madden

Onions are a versatile vegetable that provide flavor, color, and texture to any recipe. If your dish calls for onion wedges, you may be wondering how to cut your onion correctly. Simply cut the onion in half, peel off its papery skin, and make sure your knife is sharp to get perfect onion wedges every time.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Peeling and Washing Your Onion

1
Cut the onion in half from bulb to tip. Place your onion on a cutting board or another flat surface, like a countertop or table, so that it doesn’t roll away. Hold the knife in your dominant hand, then hold the onion securely with your free hand. Make sure to keep the fingers of your free hand tucked out of the way of your knife so that you don’t accidentally cut yourself. Then, use a sharp knife to cut your onion lengthwise from bulb to tip in one cut.^{[1]
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- Find the bulb by looking for the pointed ends of the onion that usually have brown spots
2
Remove the papery skin from the onion and throw it away. Peel away the paper outside of the onion and put it in your garbage or compost. Onion skin is not edible and doesn’t taste very good, either.^{[2]
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Tip: Sometimes, layers of the actual onion come off with the paper layer. You can remove the top layer of the onion with the paper, if it is easier.

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3
Cut off the bulb and throw it away. The bulb of the onion is the part on the end that has a little brown knob. This part of the onion can’t be eaten. Use your knife to cut it off and throw it in the trash or compost.^{[3]
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- The other side of your onion might also need to be cut off and thrown away, if it has another brown knob on it.
4
Rinse your onion in cool water. Sometimes onions can develop small fungi under their papery skin. Rinse your onion under cool water in the sink to wash away any fungal activity that may have been developing.^{[4]
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- If you have a lot of onions, you can fill a bowl with cool water and rinse them that way.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Slicing Your Onion

1
Place the onion cut-side down onto a cutting board. Make sure your cutting board is on a flat, stable surface, like a table or countertop. Place your onion half with its cut-side down so that it rests on the cutting board.^{[5]
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- Onions have a very strong flavor, so if you are planning to cut other items and you don’t want them to taste like onions, use a separate cutting board.
2
Cut your onion half into thirds. Use your knife to cut your onion half into 3 even slices. Start from the bulb and cut toward the bottom of the onion. If your onion is particularly large, you may need to cut it into fourths instead.^{[6]
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Tip: Curl the fingers of the hand that are holding the onion so that your knuckles face the knife instead of your fingertips. This will protect you from accidentally cutting yourself while you chop.
3
Use your onion wedges within 7 days of cutting them. Once onions are cut, they will spoil faster than if they are hole. If you want to save your onion wedges, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days until you are ready to use them.
- Use your wedges to make a blooming onion, or put them into a vegetable stir fry.