Grater, Knife or Mortar? The Garlic Press Alternative for You

A garlic press does one job well: it turns a clove into a fine, juicy mince in a couple of seconds. It also has a hopper full of holes that garlic skin and pulp love to clog, it takes up a drawer slot, and some cooks simply do not like what it does to the garlic. If you have given up on yours, or never bought one, you are not short of options.

This guide covers the garlic press alternative worth keeping for each kind of cook: a grater for a press-like paste, a knife for a clean mince, a rolling or twisting chopper if you would rather not touch the garlic, and a stone mortar for the smoothest paste of all. For each, we say how close it gets to pressed garlic, how many cloves it handles and what it asks of you.

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Why cooks go looking for something other than a press

• Cleaning. The holes in a press basket fill with pulp. Lindsay D. Mattison, a professional chef writing for Reviewed in 2018, found it “nearly impossible to clean all that garlic goo out of the press!”
• Texture. In the same piece, Mattison describes pressed garlic as “a mushy, gummy pile,” while her knife-minced garlic “had distinct edges and its cell structure remained intact.” Some dishes want that clean mince, others want a paste.
• Flavor. Oregon State University’s Linus Pauling Institute explains that crushing or chopping garlic releases an enzyme called alliinase, and that garlic’s sulfur compounds are thought to be responsible for its flavor and aroma. The more a tool breaks the clove down, the sharper the garlic tends to taste, which is why a pressed or grated clove can dominate a raw salsa.
• One less gadget. A knife and a board are already in every kitchen, and a grater earns its place with cheese, citrus and ginger too.

It is also fair to say what a press does better. America’s Test Kitchen editors Emily Phares and Sarah Sandler, in their 2025 garlic press review, call a press “a convenient alternative to a chef’s knife, giving you minced garlic in seconds—no knife skills required.” Lisa McManus of America’s Test Kitchen adds that a press gives pieces “all the same size, in a matter of seconds.” If speed and evenness with no technique are what you want, our guide to the best garlic press covers the easiest-cleaning presses and rockers. But the same 2025 review says plainly: “You don’t need a garlic press to get consistently even minced garlic.”

Quick verdict: the best garlic press alternative

Five ways to mince garlic without a press, side by side

Our five standout picks, one per kind of cook, with what each maker or listing states. All six tools are reviewed in full below.

Which tool gets closest to pressed garlic

Each alternative gives a slightly different result, and the right one depends on the dish. This is how they line up, from most like a press to least.

• Closest to a press: a garlic grater or fine rasp. Both turn a clove into a wet paste that melts into a marinade or a vinaigrette. OXO says its grater makes “a fine paste,” and Microplane’s listing says the Home Series Fine gives results that are “powder like.” The flavor will be at least as strong as pressed garlic.
• A mortar and pestle. Crushing garlic with a pinch of coarse salt gives the smoothest paste of all, the base for many salsas and adobos. It takes a minute or two longer.
• A rolling or twisting chopper. These give a chop rather than a paste: Chef’n says more rolling gives a finer mince and less gives a coarser chop. Good for sautés where you want visible bits.
• A knife. The cleanest, mildest mince, and the only tool here that also slices for a garlic chip or a slow-cooked mojo de ajo. Mattison reckons it takes “about 30 seconds to finely mince a garlic clove” once you know how.

If you want garlic in thin, even slices rather than minced, that is a different job; our best garlic slicer guide covers the tools made for it.

Six tools to use instead of a garlic press

Mincing garlic with a knife: the short method

If you choose the knife route, a few habits make it fast. This is general kitchen practice rather than a maker’s instruction.

• Smash first. Lay the clove under the flat of the blade and press down with the heel of your hand. The skin cracks and slips off, and the clove is already half broken down.
• Slice, then rock. Slice the clove thin, gather the slices, and rock the knife over them with your other hand flat on the spine near the tip.
• Add salt for paste. Sprinkle a pinch of coarse salt over the mince and drag the flat of the blade across it at an angle, pressing, until it turns to paste. Remember the salt when you season the dish.
• Keep the edge sharp. A dull knife crushes and skids on a small, slippery clove.

How we chose these six garlic tools

We started from what people want from a press, speed, fine texture and less mess, and looked for one tool from an identifiable maker for each way of getting there: grating, cutting, rolling, twisting and pounding. We left out garlic rockers and press-and-slicer combinations because our garlic press and garlic slicer guides already cover them. We also left out glazed ceramic grating plates, since glazed food surfaces need a maker lead-free statement and these were not worth the trade. Every pick was listed in stock and sold new when we checked.

Specifications come from each maker’s Amazon listing and, for Mercer and Microplane, from the maker’s own site. For how the methods compare we read America’s Test Kitchen’s garlic press coverage (Emily Phares and Sarah Sandler, 2025; Lisa McManus, 2022), Lindsay D. Mattison’s garlic press piece for Reviewed, and the Linus Pauling Institute’s page on garlic. Where a statement is general kitchen sense rather than a sourced fact, we say so. We have not used these products ourselves. We also searched the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall database for each brand and found no recall listed for any of these six products.

Garlic press alternative questions, answered

What can I use instead of a garlic press?

A fine grater or a garlic grater gives the closest result, a wet paste. A chef’s knife gives a cleaner, milder mince and can make paste with a little salt. A mortar and pestle gives the smoothest paste, and rolling or twisting choppers give a chop without touching the garlic.

Is grating garlic the same as pressing it?

Close. Both break the clove down into a juicy paste, so the flavor is strong and the garlic melts into the dish. A fine rasp can make an even finer paste than a press.

Does a knife or a press give better garlic flavor?

Neither is better; they are different. The Linus Pauling Institute explains that crushing or chopping garlic releases the enzyme alliinase, and a press or grater crushes more of the clove than a knife does, so pressed and grated garlic taste sharper. Knife-minced garlic is milder, which many cooks prefer in raw salsas and guacamole.

How do you mince garlic quickly without a press?

Smash the clove with the flat of a knife, peel it, slice it and rock the knife over the slices. Mattison writes that this takes about 30 seconds per clove once you have the habit. A grater is faster still for one or two cloves.

Can I use a molcajete for garlic?

Yes. Crushing garlic with salt in a molcajete or any stone mortar is the traditional start to many salsas. A small mortar like the IMUSA suits a few cloves; for a whole bowl of salsa, see our best mortar and pestle guide.

Our pick for garlic without a press

For most kitchens, a garlic grater like the OXO replaces a press with less cleanup and the same paste, and a sharp chef’s knife covers everything else, from slices to mince. Add a stone mortar if salsa and adobo are your thing, or a roller if garlic fingers are the problem. If you still want the speed of a press, our guide to the best garlic press covers the ones that are easiest to clean.

And if you would rather someone else did the garlic tonight, see the menu or call to order.