How to Cut Cilantro

How to Cut Cilantro is important to know so you can add the perfect amount to your favorite recipes. Storing and cleaning Cilantro is also important to ensure you are not wasting time and money.

What is Cilantro?

We love adding Cilantro to a lot of different dishes. Rather it is our favorite Mexican Recipes to our Shrimp Scampi recipe. Cilantro is the tender leaves of a Coriander Plant. Some recipes call for Coriander seeds but it doesn’t taste the same as Cilantro.

Cilantro leafy herb is perfect to garnish for dishes, stirred into soups and they are even perfect to top your salad.

How do you clean Cilantro?

Whenever I bring home fresh Cilantro I always make sure to clean it properly. It makes me feel better knowing that I am getting rid of any dirt or chemicals that may have been left on the Cilantro.

• I grab the bundle of Cilantro and wash under cold water for a few minutes. Making sure I get all the leaves washed.
• You can also place in a bowl of cold water to remove any dirt or chemicals.
• Place paper towels down on the counter, then lay the cilantro down and blot the cilantro dry. You can also use a salad spinner to dry the cilantro.
• Now your cilantro is ready to cut.

Use a very Sharp Knife:

It important before you begin cutting Cilantro that you have a good sharp knife and cutting board. These knifes are some of our favorites.

Having a good knife set is needed in your kitchen. I use it for cutting so many things, so I always make sure that my knife set is sharpened and ready to go.

How to cut Cilantro?

These step by step process will help get your Cilantro ready to chop.

• Gather a bunch of cilantro and line it up on a cutting board.
• Cut off the bottom of the cilantro stems focusing on the ones that are larger and thick.

• You can then start cutting the cilantro depending on how thick you want the cilantro leaves to be.

How to chop Cilantro?

• Gather your Cilantro – Gather your cutting board and knife and bundle the cilantro
• Cut off the Stems – Once you have all the cilantro bundled together cut off the long tender stems.
• Use your Hands – If you didn’t get all the stems off use your hands to break off the longer stems
• Get the Smaller Pieces – You can use a knife to scrap off the smaller stems
• Make a Pile – Place the small stems and the leaves in a pile.
• Begin Cutting Cilantro – Cut with a large knife in a rocking motion as finely as needed. You almost to have a knife skill to get the right cut.

How to store Chopped Cilantro:

It is important to store chopped cilantro properly. Chopped Cilantro needs to be frozen to last more than a day. What I like to do is take a ice cube tray and fill each hole with chopped cilantro and a little water. Then place in the freezer.

Once frozen take the cubes out of the ice tray and place in a freezer baggie.

Storing Whole Cilantro:

I have stored whole cilantro two different ways. I usually wash the bundle when I get home but I try to store it immediately after washing. This ensure that the bundled doesn’t get bad quicker with the wet leaves.

• The first option is to trim the stems of the cilantro and place in a mason jar that has water in it. Then place a plastic wrap over the top to cover the cilantro. Make sure to change out the water every 3 days.
• The second option is to roll the cilantro in a damp paper towel. Then place in a plastic bag until ready to use.

How long does Chopped Cilantro last?

For the chopped cilantro make sure to use within a few days to make sure they are full of flavor. Using either one of the above methods could help the Cilantro last for up to 2 weeks.

You can also store your cilantro in a herb keeper. These are great to have if you prefer to have fresh herbs.

Using stored Cilantro:

Cilantro is very tender and when you pull it out to use, it could seemed wilted. What has worked for me, is submerging the Cilantro in cold water. This helps to bring the Cilantro back to life and ready to use.

When to use Cilantro:

Some people don’t like Cilantro. We love using it in a lot of different recipes. It is a vibrant flavor and color to many different types of dishes. My favorite way to use it is in my salsa.

We typically use cilantro as a garnishment but you can also cook with it as well.

Print the Instructions on How to Cut Cilantro Here:

Recipes with Cilantro to try:

More Kitchen Tips to Try

• How to Cut an Onion
• How to cut Broccoli into Florets
• How to Peel Garlic Easily
• How to Cut Onions without Crying