Minhaj attended the University of California, Davis, where he majored in political science. There, he became interested in comedy after seeing Chris Rock's Never Scared, the first stand-up special he watched. He began traveling to San Francisco to perform. In 2008, he won Wild 94.9's "Best Comic Standing" competition, which resulted in his working as an opening act for Katt Williams, Pablo Francisco, and Gabriel Iglesias. He also worked part-time for Ning, an experience he used to write comedy.

In 2009, Minhaj moved to Los Angeles to perform on NBC's Stand-up for Diversity, on which he was a finalist. In 2011, he was a series regular on the TV sitcom State of Georgia and starred in various roles on the MTV hidden camera show Disaster Date. Through posting on YouTube, he was cast on Failosophy. In 2013, Minhaj appeared in guest roles on Arrested Development and Getting On. He hosted Stand Up Planet in 2013 and web series The Truth with Hasan Minhaj in 2014. In 2014, he voiced Rabi Ray Rana in the video game Far Cry 4.

On November 19, 2014, Minhaj joined The Daily Show as a correspondent.

His solo theatre show, Homecoming King, debuted Off-Broadway in October 2015. The show is "based on true events from Minhaj's first generation Indian-American experience."

On June 18, 2016, he performed a set as the host of the annual Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner. The set gained attention for his condemnation of Congress' inaction in passing gun control legislation.

He lists Kevin Shea, W. Kamau Bell, and Arj Barker as inspirations

Hasan Minhaj Latest Washington Correspondents Dinner Hosting