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In this article, I walk you through the steps of water bath canning pickled onions in the Nesco Canner. If you don’t have a Nesco Smart canner, you can water bath can these pickled onions in any canner, or even a large pot with a lid. You can also use any type of onion for this recipe. I prefer to pickle red onions because of the vibrant color. These pickled red onions are a beautiful sight to behold but pickled white or yellow onions also taste great.
Without further ado, let’s get into water bath canning pickled red onions in the Nesco Smart Canner.
Want to Make Quick Pickled Onions Instead?
While this recipe is written for water bath canning, you can easily turn it into a refrigerator (quick pickle) recipe instead.
Simply prepare the onions and brine exactly as directed, then:
- Pour the hot brine over the packed onions in clean jars.
- Let the jars cool to room temperature.
- Place lids on the jars and store them in the refrigerator.
Your quick pickled onions will be ready to enjoy in about 24 hours and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 weeks.
Note: When stored in the refrigerator, processing in a water bath canner is not required.
Water Bath Canning Pickled Red Onions in the Nesco Smart Canner
Pro Tip: These instructions work with both the Nesco canner and the Carey canner.
Pickled Onion Ingredients
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🧅 Ingredients for Pickled Onions
(Exact ingredient amounts are listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.)
Onions
Red onions are my favorite for this recipe because they turn a beautiful bright pink when pickled. However, white or yellow onions will also work just fine. Slice them evenly so they pickle consistently.
Vinegar (5% Acidity)
Use vinegar with at least 5% acidity for safe canning. I typically use white vinegar for a clean, classic flavor, but apple cider vinegar can also be used if you prefer a slightly deeper taste.
Water
A small amount of water balances the vinegar so the flavor isn’t overly sharp while still maintaining safe acidity levels for water bath canning.
Sugar
Sugar gives these pickled onions their signature sweet-tangy balance.
Salt
Use kosher salt or canning salt. Avoid iodized table salt, which can cause cloudiness in your jars.
Mustard Seeds
Mustard seeds add subtle texture and a mild pop of flavor that complements the onions beautifully.
Red Pepper Flakes
Just a small amount adds gentle heat. You can increase or decrease this slightly to suit your taste.
Black Peppercorns
Peppercorns add a warm, slightly spicy undertone that rounds out the brine.
Prepare Your Jars and Lids
It’s not necessary to sterilize jars before water bath canning, as long as you process the recipe for a minimum of 10 minutes. However, since I’m using hot brine for the pickled onions, I want to start with hot jars. It’s also helpful to start with hot water in the canner.
To kill two birds with one stone, I heat my jars and the water in my Nesco canner using the water bath setting. All I do is put the jars into the canner and add enough water to cover the jars.
I then close the lid, ensure that the valve is in the exhaust position, and select the water bath setting. I put 1 minute on the timer, simply because putting in some time is required. After pressing start, I listen for the sound of boiling water. I also watch for steam coming out of the vent. Once I hear the sound of boiling water, and see steam, I unplug the canner. I leave the lid on so that the water and jars stay hot.
Depending on the type of lids you’re using, you can also heat the lids in the canner at the same time, or heat them in a small saucepan on the stove. Since I decided to use Harvest Guard lids for this project, I heated the lids and gaskets. This step is unnecessary if using traditional metal lids such as Ball or Kerr lids.
Prepare the Onions
While waiting for the water in the canner to heat, I get started on preparing the onions.
Preparing the onions for pickling is a very easy and straightforward process. All you need to do is peel and slice the onions.
After peeling the onions, I cut the onions in half, and then slice them about 1/4″ thick slices.
Prepare the Brine for the Pickled Onions
After I peel and slice the onions, I prepare the brine. (During this time, most likely, the jars and water in the canner are still heating up. If you notice the water is boiling and the heat is escaping, go ahead and unplug the canner at this point.)
To prepare the brine, pour the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, for about 3 minutes.
Filling the Jars for Your Beautiful Pickled Onions!
Put the following into each pint jar:
- mustard seeds
- red pepper flakes
- black peppercorns
After distributing the spices, fill each jar with sliced onions. I like to pack in as many onions as I can.
After packing the jars with onions, add brine to each jar, leaving 1/2″ headspace.
Debubble the Jars
After filling the jars, debubble them. After debubbling you may find that you can fit a bit more brine and onions in the jars. Or you may find that you need to remove a little bit of onions and brine from the jars. The bottom line is that you want 1/2″ of headspace, so add or remove ingredients as needed.
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👉 See the book on AmazonAdd the Lids and Rims
Once you’ve debubbled the jars with the pickled onions, wipe the rims with a paper towel that you’ve dipped in vinegar. This is to make sure you don’t have any type of debris on the rims that may keep the jars from sealing.
After wiping the rims, put on the lids based on the lid manufacturer instructions. (This varies based on the type of lid you use. For standard metal canning lids such as Ball or Kerr, put the lids on fingertip tight. For Harvest Guard or Tattler lids, put the lids on looser.)
Place the Jars of Pickled Onions into the Canner
At this point, most of your work is done! Put the jars of pickled onions into the canner. Be sure to place the jars on a rack in the bottom of the canner.
Cover the jars with at least 1″ of water.
Pro Tip: As you can see in the image above, I used reusuable lids when canning the pickled onions. But what about reusing regular canning lids? To learn more about that, check out my article, Can Canning Lids be Reused?
Process Your Pickled Onions for 10 Minutes, Adjusting for Altitude
Now it’s time to process your pickled onions! The processing time for pickled onions is 10 minutes, for altitudes of less than 1000 feet. In my case, due to my altitude, I needed to process the onions for 15 minutes. If you’re unsure of how to check your altitude, or how to adapt canning recipes based on altitude, be sure to check out this article and video.
Water Bath Canning in the Nesco Smart Canner
I demonstrate water bath canning using the Nesco Smart Canner in the video.
Look at these Beautiful Pickled Onions!
I couldn’t be any happier with how these pickled onions turned out. They taste great, and they look beautiful in the jar. The brine turns a hot pink color after processing. The onions also maintain a nice pink color. This is why I use red onions for this recipe. White or yellow onions won’t produce such a beautiful end product, but they taste great. So use whatever type of onions you have. But if you’re purchasing onions specifically for pickling onions, then I strongly recommend going for red onions.
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Pro tip: You may hear some people say that the Nesco canner isn’t safe. Check out my article, Is the Nesco Canner Safe? for more information on the safety factors with this canner.
Water Bath Canning Pickled Red Onions
These water bath canned pickled onions are sweet, tangy, and full of flavor. Made with vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, and simple pantry spices, they’re processed in a water bath canner for shelf-stable storage. Prefer refrigerator pickles instead? You can easily skip the canning step and make them as quick pickled onions for the fridge. Perfect for topping tacos, burgers, salads, and sandwiches.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds onions (red, white, or yellow)
- 5 ½ cups vinegar, 5% acidity (white vinegar recommended)
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons salt (kosher salt preferred)
- 2 cups sugar
- 8 teaspoons mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Instructions
Prepare Jars & Lids - Warm jars and lids in the canner while prepping ingredients. (No need to pre-sterilize if processing at least 10 min.)
Prepare Onions - Peel onions and cut in half. Slice into ~1/4″ thick slices.
Make Brine - Combine vinegar, water, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer ~3 minutes.
Pack Jars - Divide mustard seeds, pepper flakes, and peppercorns among jars. Pack sliced onions into jars. Pour hot brine over onions, leaving 1/2″ headspace.
Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace as needed.
Seal & Process - Wipe jar rims clean. Apply lids and bands fingertip-tight. Place jars on canner rack. Cover with at least 1″ water. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes (adjust for altitude if needed).
Notes
Red onions give the brightest pink color, but white or yellow onions work great too.
Adjust spice amounts to taste (e.g., more red pepper flakes for heat)
Recommended Products
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Related Articles
If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy my article, Is it Safe to Steam Can in the Nesco Canner?
And by the way, if you want to make some pickled food that doesn’t require canning, check out my articles, Jalapeno Pickled Eggs, Quick Pickled Banana Peppers and Canning Cherry Tomatoes.
💬 I’d love to hear from you!
Have you tried this yourself? Have a question or tip to share? Leave a comment below — your experience or question could help someone else, too!