How to Cut Carrots

Side view of dicing carrots
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

There’s only one thing slightly difficult about cutting carrots: Some cuts, like julienne and brunoise, can be tricky with small- to medium-size carrots. So before you even begin, consider how you will need to cut your carrots and shop accordingly. Seek the largest carrots you can for (counterintuitively) the smallest cuts. Otherwise, just about any carrot aside from snack packs of baby carrots will work.

Overhead view of cutting carrots
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

To Trim and Peel

Using a vegetable peeler (preferably Y-peeler, which we find works best), peel carrots all around.

Overhead view of peeling carrots
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Using a knife, trim off the top and bottom ends.

Overhead view of trimming ends off of a carrot
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

To Cut Rounds

Using a sharp knife, simply crosscut each carrot into rounds of whatever thickness is desired. This is a good option for salads and simple carrots side dishes (for side dishes, it’s best to cut the rounds thicker so the carrots don’t snap in half easily once cooked).

Side view of cutting rounds for carrots
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

To Cut Sticks/Batons

For carrot sticks/batons, which are great for dips and crudités platters, cut the peeled carrot into roughly 3- or 4-inch lengthwise segments, then halve the carrots. The carrot halves can then be cut lengthwise into whatever size sticks you want. If using very large, thick carrots, instead of halving and then cutting into sticks, cut them into thick lengthwise planks first, then cut those planks lengthwise into sticks.

Carrots cut into batons
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

To Rough-Cut or Dice

For rough-cut carrots to be used in stocks and to flavor soups and stews, smaller carrots can simply be left whole and cut crosswise into large chunks. Large carrots should be split in half or quartered lengthwise first, then crosscut into large chunks.

Side view of cutting carrots into small chunks
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

For smaller dice, cut the carrot lengthwise into roughly 1/4-inch sticks, then crosscut those sticks into 1/4-inch dice.

Overhead view of cutting carrots into smaller pieces
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

To Cut Matchsticks/Julienne

Carrot matchsticks, or julienne, can be cut by first dividing each peeled whole carrot into 3- to 5-inch lengths. Then cut off one thin slice of each carrot segment lengthwise; this will create a flat side that can then be used as a stable base for the subsequent cuts without the carrot rolling around on you.

Side view of cutting a carrot
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

With the carrot sitting on its new flat side, cut it lengthwise into thin, even planks; the thinness of the planks will determine the thinness of your matchsticks.

Cutting a plank off a carrot
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Cut each plank lengthwise into matchsticks of your desired thickness.

Side view of cutting matchsticks
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

To Cut Brunoise

Follow the instructions above for creating matchsticks/julienne. Then line up a small pile of matchsticks and crosscut them to form a very tiny, uniform dice (brunoise).

Side angle view of cutting carrots into bernoise
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez