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If you’re wondering what part of celery you cut off and what part you eat, this easy tutorial for how to cut celery will guide you. You’ll learn how best to cut celery into four different shapes and sizes, from chopped and diced to sticks and “fancy,” aka on a bias, with some tips and recipe ideas for each cut.
Learn how to cut celery to add fresh snacking sticks to lunch boxes and different style cuts for various recipes. Whether it’s for vegetarian stuffing, crunchy tuna salad, hearty soups, or paired for snacking with buffalo cauliflower bites, you’ll improve your knife skills with this simple guide to cutting celery in 4 different ways.
Why Learn How to Cut Celery?
- Make all the recipes. So many homemade recipes are made with celery. Learning how to cut celery in numerous ways will add texture and visual appeal to your recipes.
- Perfect for lunchboxes and snacks. Slicing celery into sticks makes snacking easy. Fill up your kid’s lunchboxes with celery and dips like peanut butter, Nutella, or cream cheese. Or pair it with your favorite football season appetizers. You can’t go wrong with celery sticks for a party spread snacker.
- Improve your knife skills. Knowing how to cut celery into different sizes and styles is great when you want to become a better cook. You’ll be quicker at prepping and know what you want to accomplish before you even pick up the knife!
how to wash celery before cutting
- Snap each rib of celery from the base of the celery stalk. They should break away easily.
- Rinse the celery under cool running water and use your fingers to run along the inside of each celery rib, scrubbing gently to remove any dirt or debris.
HOW TO cut celery
Below you’ll find 4 ways to cut fresh celery into different sizes, snacking sticks, large chunks, small diced pieces, and thin or bias slices.
cut celery root and top
- Place the rinsed celery ribs on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to trim off the large white stem.
- Rotate the celery and trim off the tops at the knuckle. *Reserve for stock or discard.
Then you can cut them into sticks for snacking. Just line up the celery where the edges meet up evenly. Cut each rib in half or thirds, depending on your preferred length. This cut is perfect for snacking and lunchboxes.
For more additional ways to cut celery, follow the diagrams below for how to cut into large chunks, how to dice celery and how to cut on a bias.
How to cut Celery into Large Chunks
- Line up the pieces and slice the celery into chunky pieces.
- Move the knife down until it is cut all the way down. Large pieces of celery are so tasty in hearty stews and soups.
How to Dice Celery
- Cut the celery lengthwise 3 or 4 times into thin strips with the tip of your chef’s knife.
- Rotate and line the strips together and cross-cut them into small pieces. Small diced celery is great for soups, pasta, jambalaya, and chicken salad, plus so many more recipes. It’s defiantly a versatile cut.
how cut celery on a Bias
- To learn how to cut celery fancy, try a bias cut. Turn them at a 45-degree angle on the cutting board. This is easier and safer than trying to turn your knife to this angle. You’ll still be cutting straight down but get an elongated, fancy diagonal cut.
- Slice the ribs to the desired thickness all the way down for an angle cut. These are perfect for Asian stir-frys.
TIPS FOR cutting celery
- Use a sharp knife and a steady cutting board. A sharp knife will give you beautiful clean cuts, and it’s safer too. A dull knife makes it more difficult to cut and can slip while cutting, which may cause injury. A cutting board can be secured by placing a damp, wet towel underneath to prevent it from moving.
- Hold ribs in place. Firmly place your hand on the stack of celery a few inches from where you’ll be cutting. Once you reach your hand, move it further down and continue slicing. Keep your fingertips curled from the blade at all times.
- Use a vegetable peeler. If you’re not a fan of the strings when eating celery raw, use a vegetable peeler to peel the outside of the celery.
- Save the scraps! Make sure to wash the root end and the leafy ends of the celery really well. Even though you may not want to snack on these parts or use them in recipes, they are wonderful for making vegetable stock and chicken stock. I save them in a freezer bag with other vegetable scraps for making stock!
how to use celery leaves
Every part of celery has a use, and the celery leaves are no exception. There are various ways you can use them, such as adding to the stock pot, slicing, and used as an herb for homemade pesto or in the spread for garlic bread, adding to a green breakfast smoothie, soups, and even eggs.
recipes to make with celery
- Celery Juice
- Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad
- Chunky Tuna Salad
- Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup
- Healthy Kale Smoothie
- Kale Lentil Soup
- Stuffed Avocado Tuna Salad
- Hearty Beef Stew
- Creamy Cauliflower Salad
- Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
HOW TO STORE cut celery
The best way to store celery after being cut for freshness is to submerge the pieces in water in a sealed container and storing in the refrigerator. This storage method sustains the crispness of the celery as it is typical for it to dry out after removing the stem.
HOW LONG WILL cut celery LAST IN THE FRIDGE?
Cut celery submerged in water can last up to 1-2 weeks in the fridge.
CAN I FREEZE cut celery?
Yes, cut celery can be frozen, though it will lose its texture. But it is perfect for adding to soups, casseroles, and stews straight from frozen.
To freeze, dry the pieces, and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer overnight and then transfer to a container or bag. You can freeze for up to 18 months.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Probably not. If your celery is limp, losing its green color, and soft or mushy to the touch, it is most likely bad. If your celery is just starting to weaken and does not have any other signs of spoilage, then you’ll want to make use of it right away.
A chef’s knife is best for cutting celery. It’s an all-around great knife for cutting vegetables, herbs, and meat. Check out my Kitchen Knives Guide for more knife options.
No, peeling celery is not necessary. But you certainly can peel celery if you prefer. Just remember to save the scrapes for broth!
This quick and easy tutorial covers the basics of cutting celery for any occasion. Make prepping a breeze!
MORE vegetable cutting tutorials:
- How to Cut Whole Fennel
- How to Cut Beets
- How to Cut Asparagus
- How to Cut a Tomato
- How to Cut Shallots
- How to cut Garlic
- How to Cut Bell a Pepper
- How to Cut Butternut Squash
- How to Cut Eggplant
- How to Cut Romaine Lettuce
- How to Cut Broccoli
- How to Cut Cabbage
- How to Cut Brussel Sprouts
- How to cut an onion
- How to Cut Leeks
- How to Cut Zucchini and Make Zucchini Noodles
- How to Cut Potatoes
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How to Cut Celery – 4 Ways
Ingredients
- 1 head of celery
Instructions
- Use your hands to separate the individual celery stalks from the root by gently snapping them off from the base.
- Rinse the celery under cool water, making sure to run a finger alongside the inside edges of the celery to remove any dirt or debris.
- Place the celery on a cutting board with the bottom edges lined up. Using a large sharp knife, cut off the bottom white parts right before the celery color turns from white to green, about 1 inch. Reserve for stock or discard, as desired.
- Line up the joints – where the stalk meets the beginning of the leaf parts of the celery. Cut at the joints and reserve the leaves for stock or discard, as desired.
- Cut celery into desired shape:
For snacking sticks
- use a large sharp knife to cut each stalk in half or thirds.
For large chunks
- use a large sharp knife to cut 1 to 1 ½ -inch pieces across the celery.
For small dice
- use a large sharp knife to make lengthwise cuts down the celery to get about three to four ¼ inch wide strips. Line up the strips and cross cut at ¼ inch intervals.
For thin or bias slices
- use a large sharp knife to make thin straight or bias (at an angle) cuts ¼ -inch slices across the celery.
- Store any cut celery in an airtight container submerged in water to keep the celery hydrated and crisp.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
The only thing I throw away is the bottom white …I use the tops after I trim it a little bit …I use the greens in my salad or just eat it …lol …
So many versatile uses!