The Best Garlic Press for Most Home Cooks
Is there any kitchen tool more divisive than the garlic press? It’s the epitome of a unitasker and people who hate garlic presses (looking at you, Alton Brown!) really hate them. While people who love them, are willing to go to bat for them any day of the week. Here at Kitchn we are Team Garlic Press all the way. (No, we didn’t put it on our giant list of Kitchn Essentials, but boy did we want to!)
We love the humble garlic press for a few reasons: it makes quick work of mincing garlic, it churns out uniform pieces that even a home cook with the best knife skills would have a hard time replicating, and it results in a sharper, spicier garlic than the stuff that’s done by hand. Not all garlic presses are created equal, though. Some struggle with more than one clove at once. Some are too hard to load and squeeze. Some are terrible to clean. You get the point.
We did some research to see which garlic presses get the thumbs up from other food sites and shoppers who know. And then we weighed in with our own thoughts. Let’s take a look.
1. Kuhn Rikon Epicurean Garlic Press, $42
The Best Garlic Press, According to Cook’s Illustrated
The folks at Cook’s Illustrated first picked this garlic press years ago. They knew the price was steep, so they recently revisited it to see if a less expensive model could take its place as the top pick. No dice — this model won again. Testers said it worked seamlessly from start to finish, is incredibly comfortable, churns out uniform pieces, and rinses clean. They also loved that the handles opened wide for easy loading of the cloves and the fact that it can handle unpeeled cloves, too. They dinged it a little because they pinched their fingers a few times and garlic could get squished between the plunger, but these weren’t big enough issues to dethrone the tool.
2. Tomorrow’s Kitchen Die Cast Garlic Press, $20
The Best Garlic Press, According to Good Housekeeping
After trying out 35 different garlic presses, the Good Housekeeping Institute picked this version from Tomorrow’s Kitchen (formerly under the Vacu Vin brand name). The testers found that you can press a few different-sized cloves at once (peeled or unpeeled). And they said that it was rare to find a garlic press that comes out of the dishwasher perfectly clean, but that this one did time and time again.
3. Alpha Grillers Garlic Press, $12
The Best Garlic Press, According to Allrecipes
When Allrecipes tested garlic presses, their tester didn’t have high hopes for this bargain-priced one. But. But! The report came in and this one is just as smart as even the most expensive brands. It comes with a silicone roller (to help you remove garlic skins) and a small cleaning brush. During testing, this little guy churned out smooth, uniform pieces that were perfectly between a paste consistency and a chunky, minced consistency. For the price, Allrecipes says this really delivers. Even at $12.
4. OXO Good Grips Soft-Handled Garlic Press, $17
The Bestselling Garlic Press on Amazon
The bestselling garlic press on Amazon has as 4.7-star rating. Shoppers who gave the tool five stars say it’s super comfortable and easily minces multiple cloves at once. They love how the handles can be swung around so that the red teeth can push out any residual garlic gunk before going in the dishwasher.
Kitchn’s Thoughts on the Best Garlic Press
We’re going to have to agree with the shoppers on Amazon on this one. OXO really knows what they’re doing when it comes to tools and their garlic press is no exception. We love the soft, cushy handles and how easy it is to load and squeeze. We’ve also found that it squeezes out so many pieces whereas lots of other presses leave too much behind in the chamber. And we find it easy to clean: Just swing the handles around and use the red bumps to push stuck-on pieces through the grates, give the whole thing a rinse, and put it in the dishwasher.
Note: If you have little kids who like to help in the kitchen, we also legitimately like the GarlicZoom from Chef’n — it literally zips around your counter like a toy car and chops up cloves as it moves.
Do you have a favorite garlic press? Tell us about it in the comments!