Tearless Onions (A.K.A. Sunions) Are Now Available In Stores

Kelsey Ogletree
·2 min read

An old English proverb says you shouldn’t cry over spilt milk… and now you don’t have to cry over a cutting board of chopped veggies, either. A new kind of tearless onion called Sunions has hit the market, and we’re scrambling to get our hands on them.

Onions typically make our eyes water due to syn-propanethial-S-oxide, a chemical irritant released when we slice into an onion that stimulates the glands in our eyes to release tears. With Sunions, you won’t have to reach for a tissue (or fix your mascara) after dicing up the fixings for veggie chili. Developed by Nunhems, a hybrid vegetable seed company, these sweet little guys have been bred through natural hybridization to remove the volatile compounds responsible for onions’ typical pungency. The result? A mild, crunchy onion that won’t make you cry.

WATCH: How to Make a French Onion Grilled Cheese

While Sunions have been grown for a few years now, they were previously only available to buy in a couple states. According to Sunion officials, this year’s crop is four times greater than the last, meaning the onions are widely available at supermarkets nationwide (including Costco and Walmart— hallelujah!). Due to the success of Sunions among customers, growing states have been expanded to Idaho and Utah, in addition to the original locations of Nevada and Washington.

Once harvested, Sunions are kept in storage in a tightly controlled environment until they reach maximum sweetness, “tearlessness,” and peak flavor, according to growers. Then, they’re shipped around the country for consumers to enjoy. You can find Sunions in more than 10,000 of these stores through April:

  • Albertsons

  • R&R Stores

  • C&R Market

  • Costco

  • Country Mart

  • Crest Fresh Market

  • Fresh Thyme Farmers Market

  • Gelson’s Markets

  • Giant Eagle

  • Harps

  • H-E-B

  • Hen House

  • Homeland

  • Jewel-Osco

  • Kroger

  • Lowes Foods

  • Marc’s

  • Meijer

  • New Seasons Market

  • Pavilions

  • Price Chopper

  • Pruett’s Food

  • Publix

  • Raley’s

  • Rosauers

  • Roundy’s

  • Safeway

  • Sam’s Club

  • Sun Fresh Market

  • Super One Foods

  • Tops

  • United Supermarkets

  • Walmart

  • Whole Foods

Once you get your hands on a bag of Sunions, try making delicious recipes with onions in a starring role, like Instant Pot caramelized onions, thyme-roasted onions, or skillet pork chops with apples and onions. No tears here!