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chopped veggies by Angele J (None)

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chopped veggies by Angele J (None)

Dice, Dice, Baby

Veggie choppers, if you don’t already know, are great. They can reduce your kitchen prep time by a huge amount, and better yet, you’ll always get a nice, even dice. It feels quite powerful to pop an entire onion into a chopper, press down, and move on to another veggie.


Not sure what to do with all these veggies you’re chopping? Need some fresh inspiration? So did this Redditor. Here are 10 easy, tasty things you can do with your vegetable chopper.

LauriPatterson / istockphoto

Black Bean and Corn Salad

There are many variations of this dish, but one thing is always the same: You need some consistently diced veggies for it to work. “Eat it with tortilla chips or over chopped lettuce.” one Redditor writes.


Recipe: Cooking Classy

Abhi M. / Yelp

Bhel Puri

The popular Indian snack takes many forms, but oftentimes you’ll find bhel made with finely diced tomato, corn, onion, and cucumber. As far as the best healthy snacks go, bhel is right up there towards the top of the list.


Recipe: Cook’s Hideout

margouillat photo/shutterstock

Fruit Salad

Vegetable choppers can be a godsend for a fruit salad, especially when you don’t have the patience to deal with something annoying like a pineapple. Or even a regular apple. 


Recipe: Just a Taste

Mirepoix

This is what these things were made to do. If you’re in need of the oh-so-classic veggie base of carrots, onion, and celery, you can knock some out in seconds. The Cajun “Holy Trinity” is similar, if you’re not a carrot person; just swap them for bell peppers.


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J-Roman/istockphoto
caramelized onions by William Jones (CC BY-NC-SA)

Caramelized Onions and Shallots

We all know there are trillions of things to do with onions and shallots once they’re chopped (chili crisp, anyone?), but one of the easiest and most delicious is caramelization. Just toss them into a pan with some butter and a little salt and watch those babies transform.


Related: Just Say Oui: 15 Classic, Budget-Friendly French Dishes

etorres69/istockphoto

Gazpacho

Soups are already easy with a veggie chopper, but how about one you don’t even need to cook? A blender or food processor does most of the work on this one, but no good gazpacho is served without some diced, fresh veggies as a topping.


Recipe: Spanish Sabores


Looking for more warm weather soup ideas? Here are the best cold soup recipes for summer.

pesto by chefpercaso (CC BY-NC)

Pesto

Classic pesto is absolutely perfect. The veggie chopper will reduce your pesto prep significantly, and also makes it easier to get creative with variations like broccoli and spinach.


Recipe: 101 Cookbooks

Jessica Kopecky Design/istockphoto

Quick Pickles

Making pickles and want to add a little bit of flair? Tomatoes, garlic, peppers, and onions might be just what the doctor ordered. In fact, you might not even need cucumbers in there at all.


Recipe: Allrecipes


Want more briny options? Check out these pickle recipes you can make it home

ALLEKO/istockphoto

Raita

This Indian condiment is perfect for just about anything spicy, and with cucumbers as one of its central ingredients, your chopper will be your best friend on this one.


Recipe: Padma Lakshmi

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