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Home » Homemade Pickles » Homemade Traditional English Pickled Onions

Homemade Traditional English Pickled Onions

Author: Karon Grieve Published : October 2017

Recipe
homemade pickled onions
Traditional English Pickled Onions are the perfect addition to a ploughman's lunch or cheeseboard platter, crisp crunchy and packed with flavour. #pickled onions #pickling #Larder Love

These homemade traditional English pickled onions are  sharp and tangy with just the right level of crunch. They are so easy to make, why buy them in the shops when homemade is always best!

Traditional English pickled onions in bowl in front of jar

Pickled onions are a great British staple. You just can’t imagine the classic ploughman’s lunch without pickled onions gracing the plate. They are the perfect addition to any cold meat or cheese platter too.

If you have never thought of making your own, now is the time to get busy and just do it!

close up of pickled onions in blue bowl

What type of onions to pickle

Obviously you would want to use those tiny pickling onions to make your own pickled onions but those can sometimes be hard to come by.

If this is the case for you then just use shallots, you know those mini onions, they are just as good and have a super flavour.

onions on fork with them stacked up behind

How to make pickled onions

The pickling brine

A brine is simply salt water and you are going to leave the onions in this for 24 hours.

Pickling

After the brining stage you will be making up the actual pickling liquid which is made up of vinegar with some sugar and spices added for flavour.

This is heated up then left to cool and infuse overnight to get all those magical flavours mixing together.

Now it’s time to drain those onions and pat them dry before packing into a sterilised jar and pouring over the prepared pickling liquid (complete with the spices) and popping on the lid.

New to preserving? Then don’t panic, I can take you from zero to hero in no time at all.

Just check out these handy articles to get you heading in the right direction fast;

How to make great jam and marmalade

How to make cool curds

How to make great jelly

How to make chutney and relish

How to sterilise jars and bottles

Sticky situations – troubleshooting your preserves

Different types of preserves

My favourite preserving kit

Give it time

This recipe for pickled onions requires them to ‘rest’ for four weeks before you use them so that they are packed with flavour.

Remember folks, patience is a virtue!

fork in pickled onion on top of jar

Foodie gifts

You can make these pickled onions now and then set them aside to add to your Christmas foodie hampers.  Adding pickles to a hamper makes a nice change from the usual sweet jams and jellies, never forget the savoury side, think of chutneys and relishes, oh and don’t forget about making some boozy gifts too, they go down a treat!

Check out my Christmas recipe section for all types of foodie gift ideas. Nothing like getting a head start on that Christmas prezzie panic!

pickle fork  in bowl of pickled onions

This recipe makes a great foodie gift, so why not check out my post on how to make Christmas hampers.

larder links

Looking for more fun and easy pickling ideas? Then check these out;

Super easy pickled carrots

Spiced pickled beetroot

Pickled samphire

Pickled romanesco cauliflower

Sugar free pickled radishes

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.
Traditional English pickled onions

Homemade Traditional English Pickled Onions

Karon Grieve
An easy recipe for making your own pickled onions, perfect with cheese, cold meats etc.
3 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Comment Bookmark Saved! Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Course pickles
Cuisine British
Calories 462 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 500 g shallots pickling onions or small shallots
  • 1/4 cup salt
  • 300 ml malt vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 dried chilli
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp allspice berries
  • 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
Metric – US Customary

Instructions
 

  • Peel the onions by topping and tailing them with a sharp knife and submerging in boiling water for 5 minutes, the skins will come off easier with less tears
  • Put them in a bowl with the salt and enough water to cover. Weight them down with a small plate so they are completely submerged and set aside in this ‘brine’ for 24 hours
  • Heat the vinegar and all other ingredients to a simmer for 10 minutes
  • Remove from heat and leave over night to infuse
  • Drain and dry the onions and pack into a sterilised jar.
  • Pour over the vinegar and spices
  • Pop on a lid and leave in a cupboard for 4 weeks to mature before using

Notes

Perfect for a ploughman’s lunch, with a cheeseboard, in sandwiches, salads and so much more

Nutrition

Calories: 462kcalCarbohydrates: 95gProtein: 13gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 28363mgPotassium: 1771mgFiber: 18gSugar: 46gVitamin A: 184IUVitamin C: 41mgCalcium: 259mgIron: 7mg
My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!
Tried this recipe?Mention @LarderLove or tag #LarderLove

 

 

Filed Under: ALL RECIPES, Homemade Pickles, Winter

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Comments

  1. Rita says

    October 16, 2021 at 2:01 pm

    3 stars
    Tried this recipe, I found them a little to hot for myself,but my partner enjoyrd them, he perfers my pickled onion recipe.

    I will say that the peeling the onion is far quicker.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      October 17, 2021 at 3:25 pm

      Hi Rita
      Glad your husband enjoyed the pickled onions and that you found peeling the onions quicker. Heat in anything is all a matter of taste.
      K

      Reply
3 from 1 vote

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