Learn how to chop parsley and keep it fresh for days with this detailed tutorial. Use your cleaned and prepped parsley in all your favorite recipes, and it will be ready when you are!
There are two main varieties of parsley, and they can be used interchangeably.
With frilled, curly leaves, this type of parsley is often used as a pretty garnish. It has a slightly less pronounced flavor then flat-leaf parsley.
Curly parsley
Also called Italian parsley, this variety has dark green leaves with toothed edges. It has a full, fresh grassy flavor and aroma.
Flat leafparsley
There’s one really important element for chopping parsley like a pro: You need to make sure the parsley is dry.
Cleaning parsley
Remove the wire twist-tie or rubber band from the bunch.
Sort out and remove any yellow, slimy or damaged leaves.
Slice off the bottom 1/3 of the tougher stems, leaving any tender stems attached to the leaves.
Tip: Save the thicker parsley stems to throw into stocks, soups, homemade juices or smoothies. They taste great and are packed with beneficial vitamins!
Put the trimmed parts in a large bowl of cold water. Swish around to get sand or dirt out of the leaves. Let sit for a minute or two.
Lift the leaves out of the bowl, leaving the dirt and debris behind. Transfer to a salad spinner and spin dry.
Pile the parsley on a clean towel or double layer of paper towels. Gently pat dry to remove any remaining droplets of water.
Roll up the damp paper towel around the parsley.
At this point, you can proceed to chopping, or place the rolled-up parsley in a plastic bag or covered container. Store in the refrigerator up to one week.
Set a damp paper towel under your cutting board to keep it from sliding around. Pile the parsley into a compact heap.
Slice with a firm downward rocking motion, moving the knife from left to right over the stack of parsley.
Scrape the parsley back into a neat little bundle and continue chopping.
Repeat until the parsley is chopped to your desired texture.
You can use chopped parsley every single day, and not just as a decoration. Mix it into a gremolata as a tasty garnish for soups,