This Video Shows You How to Dice Onions Without a Knife—But Does It Really Work?

Onions are a staple ingredient that I habitually add to every recipe. They enhance almost everything, from homemade tomato sauce to chicken potpie to seasoned ground beef for tacos.

While the savory flavors of an onion complement whatever dish I have in mind for dinner, this aromatic vegetable demands peeling, chopping and sauteing, often with watery eyes as a result. Though I use onions in my cooking daily, I still dread preparing them.

That’s why I was so excited about this genius trick from TikTok! It appeared to be the best way to dice an onion, minus the tears.

The Best Way to Dice an Onion

TikTok user @scubeskitchen doesn’t chop his onions with the usual method. In fact, he doesn’t use a knife at all. Instead, he uses resealable plastic bags and a meat tenderizer. Take a look:

@scubeskitchenOnion hack that will change your life. #onions #onionhack #kitchenhacks #fyp♬ Morning Routine – Sunday Morning Jazz

To dice an onion without a knife, you’ll need:

• 1 small resealable plastic bag
• 1 large resealable plastic bag
• Meat tenderizer

The first thing you’ll need to do is place your onion—whole and unpeeled—in the smaller zip-top plastic bag, but don’t seal it. Then, place it into the large zip-top bag, and don’t seal that either—you don’t want to trap air inside risking a loud pop.

With the onion and both bags in place, grab your meat tenderizer and start smashing the onion into pieces. In theory, the skin of the onion should separate in large pieces that you can simply remove from the bag, and you’ll be left with a perfectly diced onion.

I Tried This Hack—Here’s What I Thought

This kitchen hack had potential. It reminds us of how to cut lettuce in one second flat, which is the real deal. But this onion hack was no good.

Let me start by disclosing that I used a yellow onion, not a red one like what’s shown in the video. It wasn’t overly soft by any means, but red onions do tend to have a bit more crispness to them.

I don’t think I overdid it with the meat tenderizer, but my onion turned to complete and utter mush. The bags worked well to keep my cutting board and kitchen island clean of onion bits, but this method did not dice my onion. And no tears were shed—until I tried to remove pieces of onion from the plastic bags.

The onion skin does come off in large peels, so I think this hack has some potential. If you do end up trying this at home, I’d recommend using one of the crisper types of onions you have in your kitchen—it might dice up better than mine did.