6 Best Garlic Presses for Every Garlic Lover
Updated: Mar. 04, 2024
Mincing garlic by hand can get…grating. Here are the best garlic presses for every home cook.
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To properly mince garlic, you have to spend an annoying amount of time smashing and cutting before you can even start cooking. But what if there was a tool that could give you finely grated garlic in seconds? A garlic press is an essential kitchen tool for busy weeknight dinners—or if you just hate chopping cloves.
What to Look for When Buying a Garlic Press
Choosing the best garlic press requires more consideration than you might expect. Don’t just buy the first one you see. Instead, here are some things to consider before clicking “add to cart.”
- Durability: Make sure your garlic press will stay strong and rust-free long after you purchase it. If it comes with a warranty, even better.
- Ease of use: Some people with mobility issues (or small hands) find certain garlic press designs tricky to work with. If you want a press, make sure the handles are comfortable and don’t require a ton of pressure on your part. There are also other designs, like grinders and rockers, you can choose instead.
- Efficiency: Can your garlic press mince multiple cloves at once? Or will you have to work one clove at a time?
Evaluation Criteria
As shopping experts, our only job is to help you find a winning product. We start with the research and reporting basics—what products are made of, what they look like and how much they cost—to ensure that we’re only recommending the buys that are worth your time and money. Then, we research the features that speak to the product’s quality, taking advice from industry insiders and subject matter experts on what makes a product a smart value (or worthy of a splurge). Finally, we do the work of combing through user reviews to see how real people interact with the product, and if it stands up to the test.
Best Overall Garlic Press
OXO Good Grips Soft-Handled Garlic Press
The best garlic press has to be easy, effective, and comfortable to use—and that’s the OXO Good Grips soft-handled garlic press. The tool has a large chamber that can fit multiple garlic cloves—letting you mince enough for many garlic-centric recipes in one go. And don’t worry about overloading it, as the garlic press is strong and sturdy—it can mince frozen garlic as easily as fresh cloves.
But what makes the OXO the best garlic press is the handles. Soft and non-slip, they’re easy to grip and absorb the pressure of the press. The material is also dishwasher-safe for simple cleaning.
Pros
- Comfortable to use
- Large chamber fits up to three cloves
- Built-in mechanism pushes out peels
- Dishwasher-safe
Cons
- Heavy to hold
Best Value Garlic Press
Mempedont Garlic Press Mincer
For a press on a budget, choose the Mempedont garlic mincer. The strong stainless steel design is resistant to breakage, and its circular design makes each clove easy to crush.
The chamber can only hold one large clove at a time, though. So if you’re making something that requires a lot of garlic, you’ll be pressing for a while. But hey, it’s still a lot faster than chopping by hand—especially when you use the included silicone garlic peel remover.
Pros
- Affordable
- Comes with a garlic peel remover
Cons
- Only minces one large clove at a time
Best Splurge Garlic Press
Kuhn Rikon Stainless Steel Garlic Press
Ergonomic, easy to clean, and effortless to press, this stainless steel garlic press makes mincing a breeze. The design is sleek and comes with a cleaning hack—a pull-out sleeve—so you don’t have to struggle to remove small pieces of garlic stuck in the tool.
The Kuhn Rikon garlic press is a bit on the expensive side, but it’s long-lasting and comes with a lifetime warranty.
Pros
- Ergonomic design
- Dishwasher-safe
- Lifetime warranty
Cons
- One of the pricier options
Best Grinding Garlic Press
NexTrend Ginger Twister
This NexTrend garlic-twisting tool might be one of the easiest ways to mince garlic. Instead of squeezing handles together, the Ginger Twister lets you use both hands to grind the clove into recipe-ready pieces.
The ease is all in the design. In place of handles, the tool has a circular base and lid with a grinding mechanism inside. Place your garlic inside, close the lid, and twist. The clear acrylic makes it easy to see when your ingredient is properly minced. And here’s a hack: the round, flat sides of the Ginger Twister can be used to smash your garlic cloves for peeling.
The tiny-but-mighty tool can be used for other types of food prep, too, including mincing ginger, chopping veggies and grinding nuts.
Pros
- Dishwasher-safe
- Can be used to chop more than garlic
Cons
- Minced pieces can be difficult to remove from the tool
Best Rocking Garlic Press
Williams Sonoma Ultimate Garlic Rocker
This garlic press rocks—literally. The Williams-Sonoma exclusive tool uses gravity to make crushing garlic easier. Just peel your clove, place it on a cutting board or plate, put the tool on top and rock it while pressing down.
The minced garlic moves through the grate and is tidily contained in the rocker’s chamber. You can grate multiple cloves at once or one after the other without emptying the tool—it’s big enough to hold a lot of ground-up garlic.
Pros
- Minced garlic is contained in a mess-free chamber
- Top-rack dishwasher-safe
Cons
- Minced garlic is slightly coarser than other presses
Best Novelty Garlic Press
Gracula Garlic Crusher
Who says Dracula doesn’t like garlic? This vampire-themed garlic press is oh-so-cute and clever for your Halloween party prep, but it’s so fun that you can use it year-round.
Along with being a cool kitchen tool, Gracula is easy to use—simply unscrew his head from his caped body, add the garlic and mince with ease. And if you prefer rocking your garlic cloves to crushing, Gracula comes in a rocker style, too.
Pros
- Dishwasher-safe
- Makes a fun novelty gift
Cons
- Seasonal; some might not prefer year-round use
Next: Find out how long garlic lasts.
Originally Published: November 17, 2022
