We Tested 10 Mini Mortar and Pestles—Three Crushed the Competition

Almost every list of essential kitchen supplies will start with the same thing: a great chef’s knife. We’re not here to dispute the importance of this indispensable tool, but take it from us: Slicing and dicing isn’t always the answer. Sometimes, you just have to crush it. 

Cutting, crushing, or otherwise processing food doesn’t just make it smaller. When fragrant foods like alliums are broken down, a ton of flavor is released—but how you go about breaking them down makes a difference. Cutting with a sharp knife creates a clean break along a single plane, while crushing with a mortar and pestle pops and breaks cell walls. When compared to garlic sliced with a knife, mashed or grated garlic will releases more sulfuric compounds, making it spicier and brighter. 

Mini mortar and pestles are a great tool for hand-milling small amounts of alliums, spices, or herbs. We’ve tested full-sized mortar and pestles in the past, but we wanted to find a smaller option for cooks who don’t plan on using this tool every day (sometimes you just need a pinch of freshly ground pepper). We tested 10 mini mortars and pestles to find a set that was small enough to store easily, but still strong enough to mill tough spices, mash garlic, and more. 

The Winners, at a Glance

The Best Mini Mortar and Pestle

Fox Run Granite Mortar and Pestle

View On Amazon $27 View On Home Depot $27

This granite mortar and pestle can do it all. The pestle is large (without being too big; it still qualifies as mini), easy to hold, and heavy enough to crack through hard spices. The natural granite texture of the mortar created a rough surface that helped break things down, and its tall side walls prevented any food from escaping during the milling process. 

The Best Truly Mini Mortar and Pestle

Thunder Group Marble Mortar and Pestle

View On Amazon View On Walmart $40

This petite yet powerful mortar and pestle is easy to use and crushes food quickly. The grooved interior holds things in place and helps break down ingredients, and we think that the classic white marble design looks lovely displayed on a countertop. 

The Best Mini Mortar and Pestle for Whole Spices

Frieling Manu Cast Iron Mortar and Pestle

View On Walmart $40 View On Food52 $43 View On Frieling.com

This cast iron mortar and pestle is heavy for its size. The broad, weighty pestle is extremely effective at cracking through even the toughest peppercorns.  

The Tests

• Grind Black Pepper Test: To examine how well the mortar and pestles perform at grinding up tough spices, we filled each mortar with three tablespoons of whole black peppercorns. We used each set to mill the peppercorns, timing how long it took to achieve a fine grind.
• Grind Cumin Seeds Test: To determine if mortar and pestles could grind up softer and smaller spices, we filled each mortar with three tablespoons of cumin seeds. We used each set to mill the seeds, timing how long it took to grind them into a powder.
• Garlic Paste Test: To see how the mortar and pestle performed when crushing aromatics, we used each set to create a paste from three cloves of garlic and one teaspoon of salt. 
• Cleanup Test: We washed and checked each set for scratches to evaluate ease of care and durability. 

What We Learned

Textured Mortars Were Better

Food rests in the bowl of the mortar during milling, while pressure from the pestle crushes the herbs, aromatics, or spices, and breaks them down into small pieces. In order for this to occur, the food needs to stay put. Mortars with textured bowls did a much better job of keeping ingredients in place. The smooth marble Radicaln Black Mortar and Pestle Set scored major points for beauty, but no matter what we tried to mill, it went flying—spices and garlic shot out from under the rounded pestle, up the sleek marble walls, and all over our kitchen counter. The Thunder Group Marble Mortar and Pestle is also marble, but this model’s mortar is designed with grooves that create a rough textured surface that holds food in place. 

Sensitive Ears Beware 

If you suffer from misophonia, you should choose your mortar and pestle very wisely. Sets like the Norpro Mini Mortar and Pestle Ceramic and the Crate and Barrel Matte Black Mini Mortar and Pestle use unglazed ceramic to create a grippy texture. During testing, pounding and grinding a ceramic pestle against a ceramic mortar produced a nails-on-a-chalkboard level screeching sound that had us in tears before our peppercorns were anywhere near powdered. Models made from other materials, such as marble or wood, were much quieter. We were able to happily hammer away at everything from herbs to nuts using the Fox Run Granite Mortar and Pestle. The same went for the IMUSA USA Bamboo Mortar and Pestle: no matter how enthusiastically we milled, it never produced more than a soft thud. 

Bigger Pestles Made Easy Work of Pulverizing

If you’re pulverizing peppercorns, you better have a powerful pestle in your paws. The length and weight of the pestle play a huge role in determining the overall ease of use of your set. A large, heavy pestle will do a lot of the work for you—just picking it up and setting it down generates plenty of force. With a smaller pestle, you need to bring the power yourself. Large pestles can be gripped with your whole hand, making it easy to use the strength of your arm or your body weight to generate force. Smaller pestles, like the one found in the Fox Run Mini Mortar & Pestle, need to be gripped with your fingers, which provided an unpleasant hand workout. After six minutes of milling with this smaller model, our palms were aching and our peppercorns were still mostly intact. 

Larger Capacities Were Better 

Mortars aren’t designed to be filled to the brim. You need a little extra space to accommodate the food moving around while milling. The smallest models we tested (the Norpro Mini Mortar and Pestle Ceramic, the HIC Mortar and Pestle Spice Herb Grinder, and the Fox Run Mini Mortar & Pestle) had a capacity of just 1/4 cup (or four tablespoons). There wasn’t much space left once they were filled with three tablespoons of peppercorns. During processing, the pestle displaced the spices and sent them cascading onto the countertop. A slightly larger basin gave the food room to move. The Thunder Group Marble Mortar and Pestle had a slightly larger capacity (six tablespoons), which allowed the food to stay put.

Stability Really Mattered

When you’re hammering away, the last thing you want to worry about is your mortar and pestle flying across the counter. Models with an elevated bowl performed best in this respect, since the elongated base was easy to hold and stabilize while milling. Sets like the Thunder Group Marble Mortar and Pestle, which was three inches tall, featured a pedestal-shaped stand that acted a natural handle while milling. Flat models, like the Frieling Cast Iron Mortar and Pestle, rocked from side to side and were difficult to stabilize. To hold a flat mortar in place, you have to grab the size of the bowl, which puts your hands dangerously close to the grinding action. One exception to this was the Frieling Manu Cast Iron Mortar & Pestle, which, weighing in at 3.97 pounds, was so heavy that it didn’t require a hand to stabilize it. 

The Criteria: What to Look for In a Mini Mortar and Pestle

For the best stability, choose a heavy mortar and pestle, or one with a raised base. Look for models with a textured interior, like a naturally porous stone, to keep food in place. For comfort, go for a heavy pestle that is long enough to reach the bottom of the mortar when gripped with your entire hand.

The Winning Mini Mortar and Pestles

The Best Mini Mortar and Pestle

Fox Run Granite Mortar and Pestle

View On Amazon $27 View On Home Depot $27

What we liked: This was a useful, versatile mortar and pestle set. It’s made from heavy, unpolished granite, which gives the interior a slightly rough texture and keeps food in place during milling. The pestle was easy to grip and heavy enough to create plenty of force. During milling, it made a gentle knocking noise like a rock being dropped on the sidewalk. 

What we didn’t like: At 6.7 inches tall, this was the largest mini mortar and pestle that we tested. Although smaller than a full-sized molcajete, this will still require dedicated storage space.

Key Specs

• Weight: 3.97 lbs
• Mortar dimensions: 4 x 4 x 3 inches
• Pestle length: 5 inches
• Material: Granite
• Capacity: 3/4 cup
• Care: Hand-wash 

The Best Truly Mini Mortar and Pestle

Thunder Group Marble Mortar and Pestle

View On Amazon View On Walmart $40

What we liked: This was the smallest and lightest of our winners. The well-proportioned design helped make this truly small mortar and pestle effective. Even though the overall set is miniature, it includes many of the features of a larger model, like a flared base for stability and a long pestle for grinding power.  

What we didn’t like: The grooved interior works well for keeping spices and herbs in place, but it was less effective when it came to making garlic paste. Once moisture was introduced, the food scooted around the sides instead of staying trapped under the pestle.

Key Specs

• Weight: 0.5 lbs 
• Mortar dimensions: 3 x 3 x 3 inches
• Pestle length: 5 inches 
• Material: Marble
• Capacity: 1/3 cup
• Care: Hand-wash

The Best Mini Mortar And Pestle For Whole Spices

Frieling Manu Cast Iron Mortar and Pestle

View On Walmart $40 View On Food52 $43 View On Frieling.com

What we liked: This heavy-duty mortar didn’t budge an inch on the countertop. The pestle featured a mushroom-like design with a large footprint that made it easy to crush a large amount of spices with each motion. The super heavy pestle was tough enough to mill tough peppercorns quickly, but if more force was needed, we could lean on the flat handle and apply pressure to the pestle. 

What we didn’t like: The cast iron construction offered appealing durability, but it requires more care. If not dried completely after washing, this set could rust. Although this was a top performer when it came to milling spices, the cast iron imparted an unappetizing black hue to garlic paste.

Key Specs

• Weight: 3.85 lbs
• Mortar dimensions: 4 x 4 x 3 inches
• Pestle length: 3 inches 
• Material: Cast iron
• Capacity: 1 cup
• Care: Hand-wash, and dry thoroughly 

The Competition

• Norpro Mini Mortar and Pestle Ceramic: This tiny ceramic set required major hand power to make a slight dent in whole peppercorns. The pestle also made unpleasant screeching sounds against the ceramic base. 
• IMUSA USA Bamboo Mortar and Pestle: This set performed well in the peppercorn and cumin seed tests. The soft wood is much quieter than stone or ceramic models, so you can apply lots of force. However, this model lost points because the porous bamboo retained aroma after being used to create a garlic paste.  
• Fox Run Mini Mortar & Pestle: It was hard to generate any force with this tiny, screechy mortar and pestle. 
• Radicaln Black Mortar and Pestle Set: This smooth, polished mortar and pestle set sent food slipping and sliding all over our kitchen. 
• HIC Mortar and Pestle Spice Herb Grinder: The tiny pestle and unappealing scraping noises made grinding whole spices with this set nearly impossible. 
• Frieling Cast Iron Mortar and Pestle: We loved the easy-to-hold pestle in this set, but the base wobbled and clanged against the counter during use.
• Crate and Barrel Matte Black Mini Mortar and Pestle: This set’s pestle was way too small; to reach the bottom of the mortar, it needed to be gripped by the very end, making it difficult to exert force.

FAQs

What is a mini mortar and pestle used for?

Mortar and pestles are used for milling and pounding. They can crush whole spices, make pastes out of herbs and garlic, and bruise chilis to extract flavor. A mortar and pestle is the traditional way to make pesto, chili paste, and guacamole. Mini mortar and pestle sets are best suited for doing these tasks at a small scale; they’re also often used to crush pills. 

Can you use a mini mortar and pestle to grind whole spices?

Absolutely—in fact, we tested them with both whole cumin seeds and black peppercorns for this review. But if you need to grind a large amount of spices, you will want to reach for a full-size mortar and pestle instead (this one is our favorite).

How do you clean a mortar and pestle? 

Consult your manufacturer's instructions before cleaning your mortar and pestle. A few of the models that we tested are dishwasher-safe, but most require hand cleaning. For porous materials like granite, it’s best to rinse your mortar and pestle with warm water and a small amount of unscented soap. Heavily scented soaps could leave some perfume behind.

What are standard capacities for mini mortar and pestles?

The mini mortar and pestles that we tested had 1/4- to 1 1/4-cup capacity. For milling small amounts of food, we found that 1/3 cup capacity was enough space to prevent overflow. 

Which is the mortar, and which is the pestle?

The mortar is the bowl or basin that holds the food product. The pestle is the rounded wand that you use to crush and mill the food. If you have trouble keeping them straight, just remember: P is for pestle, a tool for pounding.

Why We're the Experts

• Madeline Muzzi is a freelance writer, editor, and video producer.
• She has written many reviews for Serious Eats, including wine decanters, mini mortar and pestles, and flatware sets.
• To review mini mortar and pestles, we put a variety of options through multiple tests, including grinding dry spices and mashing garlic.