The 6 Best Garlic Presses of 2024

How We Tested

We bought and tested seven garlic presses, trying each one out with peeled and unpeeled garlic cloves as well as other items that included ginger, mint, soft nuts, and more. Each garlic press was rated on design, comfort, versatility, performance, ease of use, ease of cleaning, and overall value. All testers offered detailed insights on the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Other Options We Tested

• Orblue Garlic Press: Although it was visually attractive and did an acceptable job of mincing garlic in our tests, this press was easily clogged and quite bulky. The entire construction is made of stainless steel, which made it easier to clean, but also meant there is no grip for comfort or to keep hands from slipping during use. It also failed our ginger test and felt cumbersome overall due to the heaviness.
• OXO Good Grips Garlic Press: OXO says the hole pattern is designed to get the maximum amount of usable garlic with the least effort, but we found that both peeled and unpeeled cloves left a fair amount of garlic behind. When you’re done, you can flip the handles in the opposite direction, and supposedly a built-in cleaner loosens the peels. However, this self-cleaning function was not as effective as hoped—we had to tap the press and scrape out the excess garlic manually.

What to Look for in a Garlic Press

Type

Most garlic presses push garlic through holes by squeezing together two handles, which can require a fair amount of hand strength and often works best with two hands. Other versions let you use both hands to rock or twist the tool to mince the garlic. There are also single-hand choppers with blades that cut the garlic to the desired size.

Ease of Use

Depending on the type, materials, and quality, some garlic presses may be easier to use than others. Keep an eye out for features like padded grips or textured handles that can make using a garlic press more comfortable and less prone to slipping in your hand. If you have mobility restrictions in your wrist, it may be worth considering a rocking garlic press rather than one that twists or incorporates a heavy hinge.

Size

The overall size of a garlic press can affect where you store it, but specific parts of the press matter as well. The chamber size determines whether you can press one or more cloves of garlic at a time; the larger the chamber, the more cloves it can hold and the more pressure you may need to start squeezing. The hole size and shape dictate what the pressed garlic looks like. Small, round holes tend to make a coarse garlic paste. Large, square holes create more of a mince.

Ease of Cleanup

No one wants to spend time picking tiny pieces of trapped, raw garlic out of the nooks and crannies of a garlic press. Some garlic presses come with specialty brushes meant especially for cleaning those hard-to-reach places, while others feature wider holes that make it more difficult for stray garlic to escape through the sides and stick. You can also opt for a self-cleaning garlic press with a built-in hinge system that extracts the garlic skins from the tool as you use it.

Knife vs. Press

A sharp stainless or carbon steel chef’s knife does a good job of crushing and mincing garlic—you smash the garlic with the side of the knife, then turn the knife perpendicular to the cutting board and use a rocking motion (with one hand on top of the knife) to cut the pieces to the size you want. If your knives are ceramic, dull, or too small to use the rocking technique, mincing garlic with a knife can be a pain. Plus, it takes a little longer, which is one of the reasons we recommend buying a garlic press.

A press makes quick work of a clove or two of garlic at a time, and most presses actually work best if you don’t spend time peeling the garlic first. Often, you can squeeze the garlic straight into your prep bowl or pan, and the best ones easily release the peel and remaining garlic. That squeezing action also releases loads of alliinase, which can make pressed sharper in flavor than knife-chopped garlic.

FAQs

How do you use a garlic press?

With the squeeze design of many garlic presses, squeezing the handles together causes the press’s hinge to close and a plunger to extrude the garlic in the chamber through a screen of holes. Then you scrape the pressed garlic free, open the handles, and remove the remaining peel and skin. Other presses may have you rock, twist, or roll the device to push the garlic through the device’s holes or blades.

Do you need to peel garlic before using a garlic press?

You do not technically need to peel the garlic before using a garlic press, but using unpeeled cloves will usually make the process easier and yield better results. "I think that people get frustrated with using a garlic press because they often make the mistake of using peeled garlic cloves, which tend to get stuck in the little holes and make the press harder to clean," says Kristen Hartke, a food writer, recipe developer, and culinary producer for Carla Hall. "The trick is to use unpeeled garlic cloves—the skin is thin enough to allow the garlic flesh to press through, but the skin also still stays intact."

What else can you use a garlic press for?

Some garlic presses and choppers have the strength or versatility to mince other foods like ginger, leafy herbs, chilies, seeds, and soft nuts. Check the manufacturer’s instructions for specific uses to avoid gumming up your press.

Ginger is a common secondary use for a garlic press. It often works best to peel the ginger and cut it into small pieces before you put it in the press, though. The more fibrous the ginger, the more likely you are to get pungent pulp and juice instead of finely minced pieces.

How do you clean a garlic press?

The quicker you clean a press after using it, the easier it will be to remove the remaining garlic skin and flesh. A few dunks in a bowl of soapy water and a rinse under a running faucet typically does the trick. A short soak and dish scrubber can remove leftover garlic bits and juice later on. Many presses are dishwasher-safe, too.

Stainless steel presses have an added advantage: the metal binds with the garlic’s sharp-smelling molecules, so as you rub your hands over the stainless steel parts, it reduces the garlic odor on your fingers.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Julie Laing has been a writer and editor for more than 25 years and published her first cookbook, "The Complete Guide to Pickling," in 2020. She puts garlic in almost everything, from pickles and salsas to hummus and pear preserves. Julie personally tested all seven of the garlic presses in this roundup.

This article was updated by Katya Weiss-Andersson, a writer and editor who has nearly a decade of experience as a professional chef. Katya is a born-and-bred garlic girlie who uses three to four cloves per every one clove called for in the recipe.

Sources

• Kristen Hartke, a food writer, recipe developer, and culinary producer for Carla Hall