Canning Diced Onions That Aren’t Mushy: A Rebel Method
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I had one of the worst onion harvests this year. They were so bad!! I even watered them but they really didn’t grow and were rather puny. Meaning my soil is a mess so I have some work to do. I did grow them in my raised beds and will never do that again. Straight into the ground ya go next year. I grew all candy onions (which are AMAZINGLY delicious but not good for storing long term) and they maybe got to the size of a golf ball to tennis ball. That’s tiny for candy onions. But, hey, we all screw up occasionally and I’ve never claimed to be a master gardener… hence me not sharing gardening content unless it’s to show you all the weeds I’ve cultivated.
If you can, definitely grow a storing variety and hang them in your cellar to use all winter. But, also, it’s great to have some canned and on the shelves that you don’t have to worry about molding or sprouting or going soft. This recipe is also great for the end of the winter onions when they’re kinda questionable in storage and you want to use them up. Slap them in a jar and make those suckers shelf stable. If you grew red onions, make sure you pickle some of those because they are delightful piled on avocado toast with scrambled eggs. I could layer an entire pint on once slice. Okay… now I need to go buy avocados and make bread. BRB. (I’m linking the recipe for ya below this).
Other Onion Preserving Recipes
Rebel Canning
This recipe can be considered rebel canning due to the shape of the ingredient and the methodology of processing. This means this exact recipe has not been evaluated nor approved by the USDA or NCHFP (National Center for Home Food Preservation). Does the mean this recipe is unsafe? Sure doesn’t, as its one I and many others use and consume. What it does mean is as with any home canning, you should can at your own risk and use common sense. Make your own decisions because what I do and say I’m doing in my own home should not affect what you do in yours. If you are not comfortable with rebel canning, please don’t follow this recipe. In the end, you will have canned something you are afraid of and you will not eat it or use it and you will have essentially wasted your time and money.
My method and canning instructions of canning diced onions renders a softened onion that isn’t complete mush and still has some texture to it. It gives a lovely onion flavor to add to soups and stews and anything else where you’re not looking for a raw onion. I can my onions in a “brine” which contains salt and vinegar along with water but is not quite pickling. You could use this method with sliced onions as well. The main thing is to make sure you’re not packing the jars extremely tightly to make sure you have enough brine in each jar to lower the acidity and make sure your onions store well in the jars. If you’re not comfortable with the brine method, you absolutely can pack them in boiling water with 1/2 teaspoon of salt in each pint and process in a pressure canner for 40 minutes at your elevations recommended weight for low-acid foods. This is still rebel canning though, because this shape of onions is unapproved. The only type of onions that are approved for canning “alone” and not as an ingredient in another recipe are whole pearl onions/small onions or sliced pickled onions. Again, this doesn’t mean it’s illegal.
Let’s get onto cutting up some raw onions and having a good cry!
Equipment You Might Want:
- Food Chopper
- Stock Pot or Tea Kettle
- Pint or smaller canning jars
- Jar Funnel
- Canning Lids & Screw Bands
- Steam Canner
- Water Bath Canner
- Jar Lifter
Ingredients
PER PINT JAR
- 1 – 1 1/2 pounds onions
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- Boiling Water
Step 1: Prep
The ingredients given in this recipe are per pint jar. Resize recipe accordingly.
Peel onions and chop into uniform dices with a sharp knife or I use my food chopper with the small dicing screen and make quick work of it. I like to peel all the onions at once and keep them in a bowl of ice water to cut down on the tears shed. Cold onions seem to be less obnoxious on my feelings. But, you know, sometimes you need a good cry and onions are rather cleansing, so let it loose if you have to. I’m not judgin’.
Once all the onions are diced, rinse them well to make sure no dirt and debris remain on the onions. BECAUSE onions grow in dirt and when they come out of the dirt.. they have dirt on them. Dirt in jars bad.
Set aside to drain.
Step 2: Cook
In a stock pot or tea kettle, bring 1 cup of water to a boil over medium-high heat for each pint jar you have filled. This is far more water than you need but it’s better to have too much than not enough. I like using my tea kettle for this because it’s so easy to fill jars by just pouring.
While the water heats, add diced onions into clean pint jars (or smaller), packing gently by tapping jar to settle onions in but not pressing down to pack in tightly, keeping the onions below 1-inch headspace.
To each pint jar add:
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
Top off each jar with boiling water to 1 inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles and add more boiling water to maintain headspace.
Step 3: Canning
Wipe jar rims with a vinegar soaked rag.
Add lids and secure with screw bands.
Process pint and smaller sized jars in a steam canner or boiling water bath for 20 minutes, adjusting time for elevation if needed.
Once processing time is complete, remove jars from canner and set aside to cool undisturbed for 18-24 hours.
Step 4: Storage
​Once cooled, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Room temperature is fine as long as jars are not exposed to extreme temperatures, but cool and dark is most ideal.
Shelf life is ’til you eat it. Aim to rotate canned goods out every 2 years ish for maximum nutritional benefit and flavor but they’ll last much longer if needed.
Any jars that did not seal should be refrigerated and used soon. Reprocessing is not recommended since they would be mushy and overprocessed. You can also drain the jars and dehydrate them if you don’t have a use for them right away and make onion powder.
Notes:
You can add any fresh herbs, garlic cloves, and seasonings you’d like to the jars if you prefer. Fresh basil mixed in is delicious!
For a different flavor aside from white vinegar, play around with using a different type of vinegar like rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, or even balsamic vinegar in the brine. Since some vinegars are a higher percentage of acidity, you can reduce the amount you add. If you’d like, you can also sub with lemon juice at half the amount of white vinegar.
If you do not want to water bath onions in a brine and would feel better pressure canning onions, you can pack them with salt and hot water and pressure can for 40 minutes at your elevations recommended pressure for low acid foods, but be aware the onions will be much softer. This is still considered rebel canning since there has been no tested recipe and there is no approved diced onion pressure canning recipes with diced onions as the sole ingredient.
This method and recipe is rebel canning. That means this recipe uses unapproved ingredients and unapproved methods that have not been tested by the USDA and NCHFP. This does not mean this recipe is unsafe or illegal, but does mean you should use your own discretion and can at your own risk. What I do in my own kitchen doesn’t have to be what you do. Please do your own research and come to your own conclusion about what you are comfortable with canning in your own home!
This is my favorite way to preserve lots of onions that aren’t storage worthy or faring well in storage. They’re versatile and taste really good and go in any recipe needing cooked onions. This is a great way to have shelf stable onions for a long time and preserve that abundant harvest instead of wasting it. Canning is a good option for the really large onions that don’t store in the root cellar well after you’ve had your fill of using fresh onions for tallow fried onion rings and fresh made french onion soup smothered in havarti cheese :D
I hope this recipe helps you be more creative in building your food storage! Having many different methods to store things is the way to do it.
Equipment
- Stock Pot or Tea Kettle
- pint or smaller canning jars
- Canning lids & screw bands
- Water bath canner
- jar lifter
Ingredients
- 1 – 1 1/2 pounds onions
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons white 5% vinegar
- 1 cup Boiling Water
Instructions
- The ingredients given in this recipe are per pint jar. Â Resize recipe accordingly.
- Peel onions and chop into uniform dices with a sharp knife or I use my food chopper with the small dicing screen and make quick work of it. Â I like to peel all the onions at once and keep them in a bowl of ice water to cut down on the tears shed.
- Once all the onions are diced, rinse them well to make sure no dirt and debris remain on the onions. Â BECAUSE onions grow in dirt and when they come out of the dirt.. they have dirt on them. Â Dirt in jars bad.
- Set aside to drain.
- In a stock pot or tea kettle, bring 1 cup of water to a boil over medium-high heat for each pint jar you have filled. Â This is far more water than you need but it's better to have too much than not enough. Â I like using my tea kettle for this because it's so easy to fill jars by just pouring.
- While the water heats, add diced onions into clean pint jars (or smaller), packing gently by tapping jar to settle onions in but not pressing down to pack in tightly, keeping the onions below 1-inch headspace.
- To each pint jar add: 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional), 2 tablespoons vinegar
- Top off each jar with boiling water to 1 inch headspace. Â Remove any air bubbles and add more boiling water to maintain headspace.
- Wipe jar rims with a vinegar soaked rag.
- Add lids and secure with screw bands.
- Process pint and smaller sized jars in a steam canner or boiling water bath for 20 minutes, adjusting time for elevation if needed.
- Once processing time is complete, remove jars from canner and set aside to cool undisturbed for 18-24 hours.
- Once cooled, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Â Room temperature is fine as long as jars are not exposed to extreme temperatures, but cool and dark is most ideal.
- Shelf life is 'til you eat it. Â Aim to rotate canned goods out every 2 years ish for maximum nutritional benefit and flavor but they'll last much longer if needed.
- Any jars that did not seal should be refrigerated and used soon. Â Reprocessing is not recommended since they would be mushy and overprocessed. Â You can also drain the jars and dehydrate them if you don't have a use for them right away and make onion powder.
