Garlic presses get a bad rap. Many write the gadget off as a single-use kitchen tool that is also famously difficult to clean. Avowed garlic press haters also insist that garlic that goes through a press tastes harsher than garlic minced with a knife — in his seminal book “Kitchen Confidential,” Anthony Bourdain even called it an “abomination.”
But garlic presses have their strengths: For one, they can save a lot of time when mincing multiple cloves for dishes that require lots of minced garlic, and they can also be a lifesaver if your knife skills are less than stellar.
“I think it can be a tool that can make a good cook out of somebody that doesn’t cook much and is maybe intimidated, and can make their lives easier at home,” says Loryn Nalic, the chef and co-owner of Balkan Treat Box in Webster Groves, Missouri. “If people are intimidated by the cooking process and tools like that make things easier for them, why not? I’m a big fan of having people feel comfortable enough to cook, because everybody can cook.”
In order to find the best garlic press, we spent hours testing 13 top-reviewed models on the market, evaluating them on their efficiency and, importantly, ease of cleaning. Our top picks might just have you reconsidering if a garlic press deserves a spot among your favorite kitchen tools.
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This lightweight model has just about everything you’d want in a garlic press: an efficient stainless steel pressing surface, ergonomic handles that are comfortable to hold, and a built-in cleaning tool with angled teeth that push any leftover crushed garlic out of the press. The cleaning tool itself has a small knob on the back that fits into an opening in the handle, ensuring it won’t get lost in your kitchen, and it can also be used to scrape minced garlic off the surface of the press. In our tests, this press was able to handle up to three cloves at time, and the smaller holes on its surface produced a fine, uniform mince.
This versatile press can be used for both peeled and unpeeled cloves, and it was able to press ginger much more easily than many of the other models we tested. While pressing unpeeled cloves did require a little more pressure, we noticed the Susi 3 was able to push out more garlic from inside the skins than other presses. This garlic press is also designed to be easy to clean: In addition to being dishwasher-safe and having a built-in cleaning brush, the stainless steel surface has a nonstick coating. The plunger is also on a lever that swings out from the rest of the press, making it easy to wash by hand.
Material: Stainless Steel | Clove Capacity: 3 | Cleaning Tool Included: Yes | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
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This press was one of the most comfortable models we tested thanks to its grippy silicone handles. It’s also quick and efficient, as its large capacity hopper can fit up to four medium-sized garlic cloves at one time — nearly twice what some models can handle. Though there was often a decent amount of garlic left behind in the hopper, the hopper itself swings out from the pressing mechanism on a hinge, making it easy to empty out those leftover garlic skins.
The stainless steel press effortlessly crushed both peeled and unpeeled cloves and is a little more versatile than some models, pressing through tough and fibrous ginger with ease. During our testing, we sometimes needed to use both hands, especially when using the press as a mini ricer for sweet potatoes, but the soft, comfortable handles still made this press easy and enjoyable to use.
Material: Stainless steel with silicone handles | Clove Capacity: 4 | Cleaning Tool Included: No | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
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Don’t be deceived by the cheaper material or lower price tag — Joseph Joseph’s CleanForce Garlic Press can stand up against some of the most expensive presses on the market. This press is smartly designed with a couple of features that help it rise above the competition: It has a trigger-operated wiper blade to remove crushed garlic off the pressing surface and a cleaning tool to pull out any minced garlic that gets trapped there. The cleaning brush itself fits neatly inside the handle for storage, ensuring it won’t get lost, and its flat back side can be used as a scraper to pull out leftover garlic skins from inside the press.
This press worked great with both unpeeled and peeled garlic, though a little more pressure was needed to crush through unpeeled garlic cloves, and it was also able to press through ginger. The wiper blade makes it easy to transfer crushed garlic into a dish without needing to grab a knife or spatula. Though the press is comfortable to use, the wide handles sometimes require using both hands, and the press itself has a few nooks and crannies where minced garlic wound up getting stuck.
Material: Nylon | Clove Capacity: 3 | Cleaning Tool Included: Yes | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
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The beveled holes on this press lead to finely minced garlic, and its pressing mechanism swings out, making it easy to clean.
This sturdy press is made from stainless steel with rounded, ergonomic handles that are comfortable to hold when pressing multiple garlic cloves. A few features make this press a splurge-worthy option: Its hopper has a hinge mechanism that swings out, making it easy to pull out leftover skins and clean, and the beveled holes on the pressing surface lead to a finer mince than some of the other garlic presses we tested. This powerful press easily handles both peeled and unpeeled cloves, but it tended to leave a decent amount of garlic behind in the hopper, and minced garlic often got stuck in the crevices on the surface of the press. And, while the Kuhn Rikon Epicurean Garlic Press turns out perfectly minced garlic, it doesn’t stand up well to tougher ingredients like ginger.
That said, it’s a favorite of chef Richard Sandoval of Richard Sandoval Hospitality, who praises its simple, durable design that’s also easy to clean. “It’s heavy-duty, presses efficiently, and doesn’t require peeling the garlic beforehand, saving you even more time in the kitchen,” he says.
Material: Stainless Steel | Clove Capacity: 2 | Cleaning Tool Included: No | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
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Dreamfarm’s Garject is also a bit of a splurge — at $54.99, it was just barely the most expensive press we tested — but two features justify its higher price tag. This sturdy stainless steel press has a spring-loaded scraper that easily scrapes crushed garlic off the tool, ensuring your fingers stay free of garlic aroma, and a “peel eject” button that flips a lever to release leftover peels from inside the press, making cleanup a breeze.
The sleek press is easy to use with comfortable handles that don’t require much pressure to crush through garlic cloves, whether peeled or unpeeled. In our tests, the Garject struggled with other ingredients like tough, fibrous ginger, leaving a thick layer of ginger behind in the hopper, but what it lacks in multi-use capability, it makes up for when it comes time to clean.
Material: Stainless Steel | Clove Capacity: 2 to 3 | Cleaning Tool Included: Yes | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
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This twister-style press also works with ginger, nuts, herbs, chili peppers, and more.
Made from Tritan, a BPA-free plastic, this twister-style press functions a little differently than traditional presses — it features two pieces with cross-cutting “teeth” that slice through garlic as you twist the two pieces back and forth. Since the opening of the twister is much wider than other presses, it can fit many more garlic cloves, though they do need to be peeled ahead of time by smashing the cloves against a surface with the bottom of the twister. The NexTrend twister crushed garlic into a fine mince without much pressure needed, and the minced garlic can be removed from the inside by twisting the top back and forth to gather it into triangles. Its teeth easily cut through fibrous ginger in our tests, and we found that the multi-use tool was also able to chop up pistachios, walnuts, and almonds.
Material: Plastic | Clove Capacity: 5 | Cleaning Tool Included: No | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Our Favorite Garlic Press
Our favorite garlic press proved that this one-trick pony deserves a spot in your kitchen cabinet. The Zyliss Susi 3 Garlic Press is a classic, affordable model that makes quick work of both peeled and unpeeled garlic, producing a fine, even mince without a lot of pressure needed. This lightweight option is comfortable to use, thanks to its ergonomic handles, and it’s more versatile than many other garlic presses, as it easily presses through tough ingredients like ginger. Its built-in cleaning tool makes it easy to remove garlic from the press, and since it’s integrated into the handle, it’s less likely to get lost in your kitchen.
Factors to Consider
Type
Garlic presses come in a few different formats, including classic presses as well as rockers and twisters. The traditional press is the most ubiquitous: It features two handles that, when brought together, push garlic through a screen with small holes to create a fine mince or paste. Classic garlic presses can often require a bit of pressure — and sometimes two hands — so a rocker, which uses downward pressure and a rocking motion to push garlic through the holes, can be a good option for those with less wrist strength. A twister, meanwhile, features two round pieces with teeth on the inside that, when twisted together horizontally, cut through the garlic.
Efficiency
If you’re going to buy a single-use kitchen tool, it should be effective. Look for a garlic press with a large-capacity hopper (the chamber that holds the cloves) that can press at least 2 to 3 cloves of garlic in one go. Some garlic presses are designed to chop rather than mince, but on a classic garlic press, smaller holes on the pressing screen will lead to a finer mince. Since classic garlic presses require a decent amount of pressure, ergonomic handles can make the process a bit more comfortable.
Ease of Cleaning
One of the most common complaints about garlic presses is that they’re a pain to clean. Garlic often gets stuck in the press, whether that’s the skins left inside the hopper or the finished minced garlic that gets stuck in the holes on the pressing surface. Because of this, many garlic presses on the market today are dishwasher-safe, and some even come with a built-in cleaning tool such as a brush with teeth that can push minced garlic through those holes. These brushes can often double as a scraping tool that can be used to remove leftover garlic skins from the inside of the hopper. Outside of a separate cleaning tool, look for other factors that would make a press easier to clean, such as a nonstick coating or a hopper that can swing out from the rest of the press or be removed altogether.
How We Tested Garlic Presses
After researching the market, we narrowed our tests down to 13 popular garlic presses, which we evaluated based on their performance, ease of use, versatility, design, and ease of cleaning. We looked closely at factors including the design and construction of the press itself, its handles, and its clove capacity, and then evaluated how these factors impacted its performance when pressing garlic into a fine mince.
To test the performance of each garlic press, we looked closely at the mince, aiming for a fine, uniform texture. We looked at how much garlic was left in the press when it was finished pushing the garlic through and whether or not the press was able to handle the pressure of more than one garlic clove at a time. We considered how easy or difficult the press was to use, noting if our hand got tired as we used the press or if the press was able to do most of the work. Since garlic presses are often criticized as being a single-use kitchen tool, we also judged the versatility of each press. We tested it with both peeled and unpeeled garlic as well as ginger and anchovy, and also used it as a mini ricer for sweet potatoes.
Garlic presses are also notorious for being difficult to clean, so we paid special attention to how easy it was to remove garlic — both minced garlic and leftover skins — from the press. All of the presses we tested are dishwasher-safe, but some came with built-in cleaning tools that made it easier to remove any garlic left behind in the hopper and scrape off minced garlic from the pressing surface.
Other Garlic Presses We Tested
The garlic presses we spotlighted above performed the best throughout our tests, but we also tested several other models. Here’s why they didn’t make the cut.
All-Clad Stainless Steel Garlic Press ($30 on Williams Sonoma)
This classic press is easy to use and easy to clean, as the hopper basket can be removed from the rest of the press. But we found it struggled to crush unpeeled garlic, requiring a lot more pressure, and its round handles weren’t quite as comfortable as some of its competitors. The pressing mechanism is also much smaller than many other models, so less garlic can be crushed at a time — in one of our tests, the pressed garlic actually came out through the back. This press tended to leave behind more garlic in the hopper, and it also didn’t work with other ingredients like ginger.
Chef’n GarlicZoom Garlic Chopper ($17 on Amazon)
We appreciated the innovative design of this press: The body is round, with two large wheels underneath and stainless steel blades inside that slice through the garlic as you roll the press across the counter. While the press stood up well to different ingredients like ginger and sweet potatoes, it chopped instead of minced, leading to larger, less uniform pieces. Because the cloves don’t pass through a surface like on a traditional press, this device can’t be used with unpeeled garlic. It was a little less intuitive to use, as the blades must be lined up vertically in order to remove the bottom piece from the top, and it seemed less durable — a small piece of the green base broke off during one of our tests.
Dreamfarm Garject Lite ($24 on Amazon)
As the name implies, this press is a more affordable version of the Garject, coming in at less than half the price. The big difference is in the material and construction: While the Garject is made from stainless steel, the Garject Lite is made from nylon, making it feel a bit less solid. Outside of that, it functions similarly, with a spring-loaded scraper to remove crushed garlic and a lever to eject the skin from inside the press. The press makes easy work of both peeled and unpeeled garlic, but, like the Garject, it doesn’t work as well with other ingredients like ginger. We found the nylon handles to be a bit uncomfortable at times, and we also noticed they didn’t come together as tightly as on the standard Garject and required a bit more pressure. That said, this model would still be a good fit for someone looking for the self-cleaning features of the Garject at a lower price tag.
Gourmet Easy Stainless Steel Garlic Press ($30 on Amazon)
This classic press is made from stainless steel with ergonomic handles and a hopper that fits about two cloves at a time. It’s a little different from the other models we tested in that it consists of just two pieces that are completely detachable. While this design makes it easy to remove any leftover garlic from inside the hopper and clean the press, the two pieces came apart often during our testing since there is not a hinge or a tight seal connecting them. This press crushed garlic into a nice mince but tended to leave a lot of garlic behind in the hopper, and it also required a lot of pressure, especially when pressing unpeeled garlic.
Joseph Joseph Helix Garlic Press Mincer ($15 on Amazon)
Made from nylon with a stainless steel hopper, this press functions a little differently than most: It’s made of two pieces that fasten into each other. Instead of pressing the plunger against the hopper vertically, the two handles twist together horizontally to push down on the clove. Because of this, two handles are needed to use this press, making it less efficient when pressing garlic directly into a dish. In our tests, a lot of garlic was left behind in the press, and the design of the press made it difficult to remove. Significant pressure was needed to press unpeeled garlic, and this press didn’t work well when pressing ginger or as a mini ricer for sweet potatoes.
OXO Good Grips Soft-Handled Garlic Press ($24 on Amazon)
This press is constructed similarly to the slightly cheaper OXO Good Grips Garlic Press, made from sturdy die-cast zinc with grippy silicone handles that are comfortable to hold. It sets itself apart, however, with a built-in cleaner, which makes it easy to remove any garlic that gets stuck in the holes. This press didn’t seem quite as powerful as the other ones we tested, as it tended to leave behind a lot more garlic in the hopper than other models. Overall, we didn’t think it performed as well as the other OXO model, which pressed garlic more efficiently and was also able to press ginger.
Zulay Kitchen Premium Garlic Press Set ($15 on Amazon)
This press has a classic design that’s easy to use, and it also comes with a cleaning brush and a silicone garlic peeler that can be used to remove the skins. While it crushed garlic into a uniform mince, it wasn’t able to handle other ingredients like ginger or sweet potato. It’s also one of the smallest models we tested, fitting just two medium or one large garlic clove in the hopper at a time — in a few tests, minced garlic even forced its way out the back of the press. Despite a silicone lining, the smaller, thinner handles are not quite as comfortable to hold.
Our Expertise
- Heather Riske is a writer and editor with over a decade of experience in food and lifestyle content. For nearly eight years, she worked as an editor at Feast Magazine, a regional culinary publication covering the state of Missouri, southern Illinois, and eastern Kansas, where she was honored with a “Top Women in Media” award by Folio. She has dedicated much of her career to highlighting local chefs and restaurants and sharing helpful cooking knowledge for publications such as Better Homes & Gardens, Men’s Health, Feast Magazine, and St. Louis Magazine. For this piece, she tested 13 of the best garlic presses in side-by-side testing.
- For more insights, Riske also spoke with professional chef and baker Brian Lagerstrom, chef Loryn Nalic of Balkan Treat Box, and chef Richard Sandoval of Richard Sandoval Hospitality.
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