Pickled Onions

Written by
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
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Elaine Lemm
Updated 05/28/20
Pickled Onions Recipe

 The Spruce
  • Total: 75 mins
  • Prep: 60 mins
  • Cook: 15 mins
  • Servings: 30 servings
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
46 Calories
0g Fat
10g Carbs
0g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 30
Amount per serving
Calories 46
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 369mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 10g 4%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Protein 0g
Calcium 11mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

This old-fashioned pickled onion recipe is truly a national treasure in Great Britain. The onions appear alongside fish and chips, on a Ploughman's Lunch, with savory pies, and just about every dish where they can. You can buy any of the hundreds of commercial varieties groaning on the supermarket shelves, but nothing beats a jar of homemade pickled onions.

1:08

Click Play to See This Pickled Onions Recipe Come Together

We will not pretend that, though easy to make, the process of pickling onions is not quite tedious. So put the radio on or prop the iPad up and catch a little music while you are doing it. You will soon discover it is so worth the effort, and you can lighten the load and save yourself hours if you read the note about peeling onions at the start of the recipe.

Tiny pickling or button onions are mainly available in the autumn and if prepared and stored early enough will be perfect for Boxing Day to eat with cold meats or pork pie. Some say Christmas is never the same without them. Also, they will keep almost year-round on a pantry shelf with no need to refrigerate.

Ingredients

  • 1 ounces /25 g table salt
  • 2 1/4 pounds/1 kg pickling onions (peeled; see note below)
  • 4 tsp. pickling spices
  • For the Spice Mix:
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
  • For the Pickling
  • 35 ounces/1 l malt vinegar
  • 6 ounces/170 g sugar

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Pickled Onions Recipe ingredients
     The Spruce

  2. Sprinkle the salt over the dry, peeled onions.

    peeled button onions in bowl
     The Spruce

  3. Stir to make sure the salt is distributed and leave overnight. (Do not leave longer than overnight if you want your onions to be crisp.)

    salted button onions in bow;
     The Spruce

  4. When ready, rinse the onions and dry with kitchen towel.

    buttons onions drying on paper towel
     The Spruce

  5. Mix together the pickling spices.

    Pickling spices
     The Spruce

  6. Place the spices, vinegar, and sugar into a large stainless steel pan.

    pickling spices and vinegar in stainless steel pot
     The Spruce

  7. Heat to dissolve the sugar, but do not boil.

    pickling spices in vinegar in stainless steel pot on stove
     The Spruce

  8. Pack the onions into clean, sterilized jars.

    Pickled Onions in jars
     The Spruce

  9. Pour the vinegar and spice liquid over to fill the jars, making sure each jar has pickling spices and that there are no air pockets.

    pickled onions in sealed jars
     The Spruce

  10. Seal the jars and leave to cool.

Tips

  • The onions will be ready to eat after about one month, though they will be better if kept for two. Once opened, store in a refrigerator.
  • A 1-pound jar will contain approximately 10 servings depending on the size of the onions.

The Easy Way to Peel Pickling Onions

  1. Peeling pickling onions is fiddly and time-consuming. To speed up the process, top and tail the onions.

    Pickled Onions on cutting board with knife
     The Spruce

  2. Then place the onions in a large heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over to cover.

    unpeeled onions in bowl of water
     The Spruce

  3. Leave to cool, and once the water is cool, presto, the skins will just rub away.

    peeled onions next to bowl of unpeeled onions in bowl of water
     The Spruce

  4. Then, drain and pat the onions dry with a kitchen towel. Do not leave in the water once cool or the onions will start to go mushy when you preserve them. Once dried, proceed with the recipe.

    peeled onions on paper towel
     The Spruce