Canning Recipe for Pickled Red Onions {No Funky Spices}
I first fell in love with pickled red onions after having one of Panera’s green goddess cobb salads. Since then, I’ve grown to love them piled high on hamburgers, eggs salad sandwiches, as a topping on pizza and of course, in salads made here at home.
And well, since I don’t live in the suburbs anymore, or anywhere near a Panera where I can get a fix of quick pickled red onions, yesterday after harvesting our first round of red onions from the garden I decided to make a batch.
And whoa Nelly, the pickled red onions I made, they’re a keeper! 🙂
This recipe for pickled red onions is a no frills recipe. Just plain and simple and perfect in everyway. You will not find red pepper flakes, or any other funky spices in this recipe. Only a few basic ingredients, an old fashioned type of recipe, just like Grandma used to make.
Canning Recipe for Pickled Red Onions {No Funky Spices}
Ingredients
3 pounds red onions, trimmed and sliced thin
2 cups apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon pickling salt
Instructions
Fill a boiling-water canner about 2/3 rds full with water and bring it to a boil.
In a large pot, bring 8 cups of water to a boil, add sliced onions and cook for 4 minutes.
Drain onions and set aside.
In a large pot bring apple cider vinegar, sugar, water and salt to a boil, stirring until the sugar and salt has completely dissolved.
Add onions to brine mixture, stir and then remove from heat.
Ladle the onions and brine mixture into hot prepared jars, filling to within 1/2 inch of the tops.
Wipe the jar rims and threads clean if needed. Cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner and then lower the rack into canner. Make sure the water is covering the jars by at least 2 inches. Place the lid on the pot and bring the water to a boil.
Process the pickled onions for 10 minutes. One recipe makes {4} pint jars
Remove jars and place on a towel to cool. After 24 hours check the seals. If the lid springs back, onions are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.
Notes
Although I give directions for using the traditional Ball canning jars for this recipe, I used Weck Jars for this recipe for no other reason than I plan to give away a few jars of pickled onions as hostess gifts this winter and wanted to use something a little fancier.
If you plan to use Weck jars, you can find the directions on how to use them in my How To Use Weck Canning Jars post HERE.
Looking for a few more canning recipes? Search my Full List of Canning Recipes
Looking for a good canning book? Here’s a list of my favorites:
- Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
- The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
- Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It
- Food in Jars
- The Amish Canning Cookbook
- Not Your Mama’s Canning Book
Also, check out these tutorials if you’ve never used a canner before:
Tutorial: Hot Water Bath Canning
Tutorial: How to Use a Pressure Canner
Diane says
Recipe says, 1/2 water.
Can you update the amount?
I’m guessing 1/2 cup, but I hate guessing on recipes!
I can’t wait to try this one. Thanks
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes, it’s a 1/2 cup of water. 🙂
KC says
How do these compare to fridge-pickled red onions?
Mavis Butterfield says
Canning makes these shelf stable, whereas refrigerated pickled red onions only last a few weeks.
Emily says
How does the texture hold up? I like the crunchiness of fridge pickled onions.
Lloyd says
Follow the recipe verbatim. The texture is perfect the flavor is awesome!
Sammi says
How long will these hold up on the shelf? I plan on making them but just need to know about how long they’re ok in the cupboard.
Thank you for your help
Mavis Butterfield says
The USDA recommends using home canned goods within 1 year of canning them.
Mimi says
I’m so happy you shared this recipe. I often make “quick” (refrigerated) pickled onions to accompany some of our favorite meals but would much rather just grab a jar as needed. We grow lots of red onions so we’re going to be well stocked.
Sue says
Five pound red onion, I would like to know how many cups that would be. I’m guessing I’ll need to just but 5 pound from the produce department cause I love pickle red onion.
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Sue, the recipe calls for 3 pounds of red onions… not 5. 🙂 These are so good!
Sue says
Oops! Thanks!
Linda Practical Parsimony says
I like this “plain” recipe.
Kayla says
Made a double batch of this today. It turned out beautiful. My husband says they taste amazing and that is high praise.
Wanda says
I made a batch today and they’re delicious. I love the simplicity of it. Thank you for sharing. Great recipe!
Jessica says
Hi there! We made your recipe a few last month and we have blasted through a few jars already! I was hoping to give away some jars for Christmas but I have noticed the onions are not as vibrant in colour and look a bit grey! Does this mean they have gone bad? I also noticed they have sucked up a lot of the brine that was in the jars. Did we do something wrong?
Terry says
This looks delicious! I was wondering if I could use any Pickle Crisp… would that make any difference?