How to Cut Carrots

Name: How to Cut Carrots
Prep time: 8 min
Total time: 8 min
Ingredients: 1 large carrot (rinsed and peeled if desired)

Yumna Jawad

Updated Nov 04, 2025

5 from 8 votes

Learn how to cut carrots into slices, sticks, dice, or julienne with this simple step-by-step guide, great for soups, salads, roasting, or snacking.

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Prep Time 8

Servings 2 servings

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Learn How to Cut Carrots!
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How to Cut Carrots Recipe
Tutorial Tips
Recipes to Make with Cut Carrots
FAQs
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Learn How to Cut Carrots!

Cutting carrots seems simple enough until you realize there are a dozen ways to do it: slices, sticks, dice, julienne, and each one works best for different recipes. Once you know the basics, though, it’s super easy to switch between them.

In this quick guide, I’ll show you exactly how to cut carrots for whatever you’re making. Whether you’re tossing them into a Asian Chicken salad, roasting carrots, or using them in chicken stew or beef stew. All you need is a sharp knife, a cutting board, and a few minutes to get the hang of it.

Happy Cooking!
– Yumna

How to Cut Carrots

If you’d like to cut carrots into sticks, julienne style, or into a dice, start by cutting the carrot into a rectangle. From there, it’s much easier to cut into these desired shapes.

How to Prepare Carrots for Cutting into Sticks, Julienning, and Dicing

Using a y-peeler to peel a carrot before cutting it. — **Step 1:** No matter what shape you’re going for, cutting carrots usually begins with peeling clean carrots with a vegetable peeler.

Cutting off the top of a carrot. — **Step 2:** Trim a little off of each end.

Cutting a carrot in half across its width. — **Step 3:** Chop off the skinny end. Depending on the size of your carrot, you might be chopping off a teeny, tiny skinny end or separating your carrot into smaller sections.

Cutting off the edges of a carrot to have a rectangle. — **Step 4:** Delicately, shave just enough off enough from each side of the carrot to make the cylinder shape into a rectangle shape.

Cut into Carrot Sticks

Cutting ¼ inch slabs of carrots. — **Step 1:** Take the rectangle and cut 1/4-inch slabs from it.

Cutting carrots into strips. — **Step 2:** Now, stack the slabs by turning them over and cutting them into 1/4-inch strips.

Julienne the Carrots

Cutting ⅛ inch slabs of carrots. — **Step 1:** Use the same process as sticks to make a finer cut. Using the rectangle, cut 1/8-inch strips from each rectangle.

Dice the Carrots

Cut the carrots into strips. — **Step 1:** After chopping 1/4-inch slabs from each rectangle. Then flip and cut those slabs into strips

Cross cut the strips of carrot. — **Step 2:** Next, crosscut the strips by ¼ inch to get the cubed dice.

Cut into Round Slices

Knife slicing carrot from its bottom. — **Step 1:** For round slices, you don’t need to cut the carrots into rectangles. Instead, start from the bottom, aka the skinny end. This gives you a firmer grip on the carrot by holding onto the top or thicker end.

Knife slicing carrot towards its end. — **Step 2:** Slice off 1/8″ slices and continue until you reach the top. Discard the very end piece with some of the stubby greens left on it. Not shown: for a variation on this, hold your knife at an angle and cut the slices on the diagonal, rolling the carrot after each slice. This is called a roll cut.

How to Cut Carrots

Author: Yumna Jawad

5 from 8 votes

How to cut carrots 4 different ways – matchstick, rounds, diced & julienned. Knowing how to cut carrots helps them cook evenly and stay fresh longer!

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Prep Time8

Total Time8

Servings servings

Ingredients

▢ 1 large carrot rinsed and peeled if desired

Instructions

For Slices

Using a sharp knife, starting from the bottom of the carrot, begin slicing ⅛ inch slices. Continue until you have reached the top

For Sticks, Julienne, and Dices

Remove the top (stem side) of the carrot. Cut the carrot in half across its width, each half should be 2 ½ to 3 inches long.
Square off the sides of the carrot so you have a rectangle. Continue to cut per desired shape
For sticks cut ¼ inch slabs from each rectangle. Then stack the ¼ inch slabs and cut them into ¼ inch strips
For julienne, cut ⅛ inch slabs from each rectangle. Then stack the ⅛ inch slabs and cut them into ⅛ inch strips
For dice, cut ¼ inch slabs from each rectangle. Then stack the ¼ inch slabs and cut them into ¼ inch strips. Cross cut the strips by ¼ inch to get a cubed dice

Equipment

Notes

My Top Tip: Divide to conquer. When dealing with really big carrots, first cut them into two or three segments before proceeding with making sticks and dice.
Storage: Store cut carrots tightly sealed in the refrigerator. Use an airtight container, or refrigerator storage bag, or wrap them tightly in foil. Cut carrots last 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator. You read that correctly. They are among the produce world’s heartiest vegetables.
Freezing: You can freeze cut carrots, but it is a bit of work, and after thawing, they are best used in cooked dishes, not for salads, because they lose their crunch. To freeze, blanch for two minutes, freeze the pieces on sheet pans, and then tightly seal the frozen pieces into freezer-safe containers. They will last one year.

Nutrition

Calories: 25kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 42mg, Potassium: 195mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 10191IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 20mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

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Tutorial Tips

Sharpen first. Always, always make sure you have a sharp knife. A dull knife is actually more dangerous because you need to apply more force.
Miniaturize if you want. For diced carrots, the dice can also be made on 1/8-inch sized sticks for a very tiny dice, called brunoise. This is great when using carrots in a sauce.
Divide to conquer. When dealing with really big carrots, first cut them into two or three segments before proceeding with making sticks and dice.
Keep things fresh. For longer storage, you can keep carrot sticks or cut carrots in a container of cold water in the fridge for up to 5 days. Keeps them crisp and prevents them from drying out.

Recipes to Make with Cut Carrots

Use sticks for these Oven Roasted Carrots, or roast them as rounds.
Use rounds in Carrot Ginger Soup or Peas and Carrots Stew
Use all three cuts in Mirepoix, depending on what you are making!

Carrot being diced on a cutting board with a large knife.

FAQs

Can I skip peeling carrots?

Yes, you can skip peeling carrots, but you should make sure to scrub the outsides very thoroughly. However, the light outer layer can become bitter when cooked, and the carrots will have a rougher, less pleasing look. Experiment and see if it makes a difference to you.

What is the best shape for roasting carrots or stir-fries

For roasting and stir-fries, use the roll cut, where carrots are cut on the diagonal. This increases the amount of surface area on each carrot piece allowing it to have maximum contact with cooking surfaces and develop delicious flavors – like caramelization.

I see rainbow carrots in the grocery store ranging in color from white to red to purple. Do they taste the same as orange carrots?

You will notice slight changes in flavor amongst the various colored carrots, especially when you eat them raw – white or yellow are considered the sweetest. All can be used interchangeably in recipes, but, of course, may change the color of cooked food.

How to Cut Carrots

Learn How to Cut Carrots!

How to Cut Carrots