How to Dice Potatoes: 2 Methods

People enjoy potatoes because they have the natural ability to improve their mood and satisfy their starch cravings. It's a good thing they can be used in soups, stews, and salads, or cooked to crispy perfection on their own.

But before you begin cooking, you must first master the art of slicing a potato into consistent, bite-sized pieces. If you master this technique, you'll never have to worry about uneven cooking. Read on to find out the best methods to dice potatoes for an appealing presentation for smashing, frying, or roasting.

How to Dice Potatoes: 2 Methods

You can dice potatoes using two techniques: the quickest technique to dice potatoes and how to dice them into even cubes. The latter method requires more concentration and cuts than the first, but it is well worth the effort! When you want a dish to look nice and uniform, use evenly diced potatoes, and dicing in this manner will result in more even cooking.

What You’ll Need

Before we begin, you will need to grab a few items from your kitchen besides potatoes.

• Chef Knife with a Sharp Edge
• chopping board
• Use a kitchen towel or something nonslip
• Vegetable Peeler (optional)
• Kitchen Scale (optional but recommended)

It is critical that your knife is sharp and working with a dull knife is riskier than working with a sharp knife with correct knife skills.

In any case, you'll need a cutting board and something to keep it from sliding around and this could be as basic as a kitchen towel but the essential point is that you don't want your board to slip while you're practicing a new knife skill.

With that in mind, let's look at the two methods!

Method 1: The Quickest Way to Dice Potatoes

Step 1:

• First and foremost, wash them with cold water and dry the, with a paper towel
• Peel your potato this is optional because there are times you may want to leave the skin on.
• Next, cut the potato in half lengthwise.
• Place it on the cutting board with the flat edge down.

Step 2:

• Working lengthwise, cut each half of the potato into three equal portions. You may even cut it into many sections required to get the desired size.
• For smaller potatoes, you may only need two portions.

Step 3:

• Finally, rotate the potato. This is when you will cut it widthwise.
• Cut perpendicular to your previous cuts.
• To ensure that the potatoes cook properly, keep the cutting as equal as possible.
• However, because this is a rough chop, it will not be ideal.

Method 2: How to Make Even Potato Dice

For Method 2, we'll use even cubes of potato—a more technical "dice." After washing the potatoes under cold running water and dried, we can now start cubing potatoes.

Step 1:

First and foremost, we must square off the potato's sides. To square the dry potatoes off, a small piece must be removed. You can't make an evenly square dice out of a round thing. So, by cutting off a small piece, we get a square potato, which we can then divide into fries and cubes. To do this:

• Place the potato on the chopping board, "standing up straight," and grasp it with your non-dominant hand like a bear claw, using your knuckles as a guide.
• Slice the potato from the top to the bottom to create the first flat edge.
• Then, place it on the cutting board.

Step 2:

• You can choose the size of your dice at this time and if you have a thicker square, you can cut it into three if necessary.

Step 3:

• Cut one of your flat pieces in half lengthwise and make sure the width of your cut is the same as the width of your previous cut; else, the dice will not be square.
• It is quite acceptable to use a kitchen ruler to assist you while you get acclimated to this.

Step 4:

• It's time to dice once you have a few lengths of potato that look like french fries by rotating the potato sticks so that you are cutting across the width.
• Using the same measurement as before. Cut all of the "fries" into cubes.

And there you have it, a perfectly even cube of potatoes! Your final step is to make sure you don't squander the potato pieces you cut off earlier and these chunks are ideal for cutting in half and serving as fast fries.

How should potatoes be diced for mashed potatoes?

You could use either method above to make mashed potatoes. I prefer the first way because it is much faster. However, a more even dice will result in more even cooking. So it's entirely up to you.

How should red potatoes be diced?

There is no difference between dicing red potatoes and dicing russet potatoes and you can apply the same strategies but if your potatoes are much smaller, you can switch them up and chop them into quarters as well. To do this, simply cut it in half, then in half again.

For breakfast, how do you dice potatoes?

Use the even dice method for breakfast potatoes because breakfast is generally where you want that more even appearance since the potatoes have a chance to shine and look nice on their own! It will also help them cook more evenly.

How should a cooked potato be diced?

Cooked potatoes are more difficult to dice because they are softer and more prone to coming apart but if you have a sharp chef's knife, you should be able to dice it similarly to a fresh potato.

Is it possible to dice potatoes in a food processor?

No, you cannot get an even dice of potatoes with a food processor. A food processor just cannot produce uniformly diced potatoes.

What does a huge dice resemble?

A huge dice is typically 3/4′′ on all sides and they are ideal for potatoes, especially in soups and stews.

Dicing potatoes is an excellent talent to have and you'll use these methods again and again, whether you're preparing soup, mashed potatoes, or morning hash. Now it's your turn to get in the kitchen and practice your knife cuts! You'll be dicing potatoes like a pro in no time.