The 7 Best Onion Keepers Of 2023
A kitchen without onions simply doesn’t feel complete. Onions are the perfect flavoring agent for almost any savory meal, they’re inexpensive and, if you know how to store them properly, they last a long time.
So how do you store onions? To help you with the storage part of the equation, we’ve come up with a list of the 7 best onion keepers, featuring brands such as Easy Essentials, Prepworks, Hutzler, Snips, Progressive Internation, Tulz, and Sooyee.
In this article, you’ll learn how best to store onions and use your onion keepers and then discover all the many reasons why each of the onions savers made our list of favorites.
How to Store Cut Onions
There are two stages to the storing process of onions, depending on whether they’re still whole, or if they’ve been sliced in any way.
Whole onions are relatively easy to store. Find a cool, dark place that is well ventilated and let them relax in an open basket or mesh bag. The only thing you really want to avoid is containing them inside a plastic bag or in direct sunlight.
Once an onion is cut or peeled, the entire situation changes.
A peeled onion can be stored in your fridge inside an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks. Cut or chopped onions, however, will only last 10 days at the very most.
Some people wrap their sliced onions in plastic wrap before storing it in the fridge, which will work, but it will also lead to your entire fridge smelling like onion and many of the other items will inherit a slight, oniony flavor.
If you’d like to prevent this from happening, you need an onion keeper.
What is an Onion Keeper
Many people find themselves asking “do onion savers really work?” They seem almost too simple and gimmicky to be effective, but the short answer is yes, a good onion saver can work incredibly well.
They are specially designed to contain the odors and flavors that cut onions give off and, while doing so, protect the freshness of your onion as well.
Each product works in its own unique way, which is why we’ve outlined the key features and biggest drawbacks of the best onion keepers on the market.
The 7 Best Onion Keepers
We’ve examined all the onion savers and keeper we could find, and come up with our top 7 favorites for you to choose from.
Rank | Product | Key Features |
---|---|---|
1. | Easy Essentials Specialty Food Storage Container | Plastic, domed lid, silicon seal, 4-locking hinges |
2. | Prepworks by Progressive Onion Keeper | Plastic, silicone lid with odor-preventing metal disc |
3. | Hutzler Onion Saver | Made for whole or cut onions |
4. | Snips Onion Keeper | Plastic bowl, interlocking onion-shaped lid |
5. | Progressive Internation Onion Keepers - 3 Piece Set | 3 piece plastic frames, tight-fitting lids |
6. | Tulz Onion Save-A-Half | Screw-on lid to contain odors and freshness |
7. | Sooyee Fridge Storage Containers | 4 stackable containers |
1. Easy Essentials Specialty Food Storage Container
Key Features:
- The locking system on this container has 4-hinges and a silicon seal for ultimate protection, no leaked smell
- Microwave, freezer, and dishwasher safe, made with BPA-free plastic and FDA approved
- The domed lid gives is perfectly shaped for onions, keeping them as fresh as possible without damaging them in the process
Biggest Drawback: It’s a 10-ounce container, which won’t fit some of the larger onions on the market.
2. Prepworks by Progressive Onion Keeper
Key Features:
- The rubber lid seals air-tight to preserve your onion and the metal disk embedded in the lid prevents odors from escaping into your fridge
- The flat lid and curved bowl makes it perfect for storing onions, but also for saving space in your fridge
- Part of an entire family of fruit and vegetable preserving storage ware, so if you like your kitchen containers to match, you have plenty of options with this bright, fresh collection
Biggest Drawback: It isn’t large enough to fit large onions unless they’re chopped up first, and even some smaller onions need to be cut in half in order to fit well.
3. Hutzler Onion Saver
Key Features:
- Shaped to fit a whole onion, not just a half, and comes in different colors (red and yellow) in case you’d like to keep your onions separate and easy to find
- Contains odor well and keeps your onion fresh for weeks at a time, either whole or cut
- Dishwasher safe, BPA-free and doubles as a fun serving dish whenever you’d like to serve fresh onion slices with your meal, and then quickly store leftovers without needing a new container
Biggest Drawback: The top screws onto the bottom and, if it’s not attached just exactly right, it can be difficult to open, especially for small hands that slip on the smooth plastic.
BONUS: Hutzler Pro-Line Onion Saver
The containers in the Pro-Line are a bit easier to open and have a sleeker design, though not quite as fun to display, as their original line.
4. Snips Onion Keeper
Key Features:
- Domed on the top and the bottom so it will fit whole onions as well as halved
- Well designed with a locking seal to make it easy to open and close and contain odors and freshness inside
- BPA-free and dishwasher safe for easy, quick cleaning
Biggest Drawback: If you’re not careful to lock the lid in place, it will let odors escape, defeating the purpose of an onion saver.
5. Progressive Internation Onion Keepers – 3 Piece Set
Key Features:
- If you love an organized fridge, this set of 3 will not only keep your onions and other fruits fresh, but they’ll match in your fridge and they’re designed to stack to save space
- Keeps all your most sensitive cut or chopped foods protected – avocados, tomatoes and, of course, onions
- Made of sturdy, dishwasher safe BPA-free plastic, durable enough to keep your food safe even in a busy kitchen and fridge
Biggest Drawback: There is very little grip on the container, so if you have small hands or an injury, it can be difficult to detach the top from the bottom.
6. Tulz Onion Save-A-Half
Key Features:
- Onion-shaped domed lid is perfectly designed for aesthetics and halved onions
- Made from heavy, food-safe plastic with a lid that twists to seal tightly, containing odors and keeping your onion fresh
- Easy to clean and safe for the top rack of your dishwasher
Biggest Drawback: As with many of the other onion savers, the biggest downfall of this product is the size – it’s not big enough to contain a large onion without first doing some trimming.
7. Sooyee Fridge Storage Containers
These storage containers aren’t specifically for onions, but that only makes them better.
With this 4 pack, take out your sharpie and label one “onions” so that it can be used exclusively for this purpose for the duration of its life.
It keeps the onion odors inside the container and never contaminating your fridge or other produce. Then use the others for anything and everything.
Key Features:
- 4 stackable containers to protect all your sensitive fruits and vegetables, including onions
- Designed to be used in your fridge or freezer or countertop
- Large enough to store not just one but many onions, and has a handy handle for easy access
Biggest Drawback: These produce savers are perfect for whole onions, but don’t work as neatly for sliced onions since they’re much larger.
Related Questions
How to preserve onions for months?
If you’ve got whole onions with their skin still on, it’s best to store them in a cool, dry location that maintains a steady temperature between 30 – 40 degrees F.
If possible, keep them within a humidity range of 65 – 70%. Many people store their onions in a basement or garage, but a pantry or cupboard would also work well.
How to store onions from the garden?
If you grow your own onions it’s important to let them dry before you store them as usual. Once they’re harvested, spread them out in a single layer on a cool, dry surface and let them dry naturally for 2 – 3 weeks.
You should notice the necks drying out and the skin becoming papery, much like you would find an onion on a grocery store shelf. This is a curing process.
You can now cut the necks off and store them as usual in a basket or a crate in a cool, dry location.
How to store sweet onions?
Sweet onions like Vidalias have higher water and sugar content than their more sulfurous yellow and white cousins. Because of this, they aren’t as well suited to storage for long periods.
If you want to buy them in bulk, you’ll have to be more careful about storage and keep a close eye on them. Ideally, you’ll eat them within a few weeks.
While they’re being stored, you want to find somewhere cool and dark, as usual, such as a drawer in your fridge or a dry spot in your basement. More importantly, you want to keep each sweet onion separate from others.
The easiest way to accomplish this is to weave paper towels between them so that they don’t need much extra space, but they’re not directly touching each other.
Up Next: How To Store Carrots In The Fridge