These pickled onions The perfect way to brighten up any dish. They’re easy to make, fresh, tangy, and delicious, and go with salads, tacos, sandwiches, burgers, everything!
Easy Pickled Red Onions
You may have eaten pickled onions in some dishes in restaurants. You might even buy a jar at the store to add to your own recipes. But do you know how to pickle your own red onions?
This quick pickled red onion recipe is super easy, requires only 5 ingredients, and is on the table in less than an hour!
materials needed
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this pickled onion recipe:
- onion: I love the flavor of red onions, but you can use white or yellow onions if you prefer!
- water: A little water helps to tone everything down just enough to achieve the perfect balance of flavours.
- Apple cider vinegar: The sweetness of the apple cider vinegar complements the flavor of the red onion, but if you have white, rice, or even red wine vinegar on hand, feel free to use them.
- Maple sugar: A little natural sweetness helps offset the sourness of the other ingredients.
- Salt: Enhances the flavor of pickling mixtures.
Variety
- let them Garlic. Thinly slice a few cloves and add them to the mixture to give your onions a garlicky flavor.
- Make them spicy. Add a little heat with peppercorns or freshly crushed black pepper, red pepper flakes, or even thinly sliced habanero or jalapeños.
- Make them citrus-y. A squeeze of lime juice gives them a little extra flavor. I recently picked up some lime juice from the farmers market and really love the flavor!
How to Make Pickled Onions
This easy pickled onion recipe takes just minutes to make! Here is a summary of the recipe. Scroll to the recipe card below for full instructions and ingredient amounts.
- To cook the pickling mixture: In a saucepan, combine water, vinegar, maple syrup, and salt. Bring to a simmer.
- With onions: Place the sliced onions in a glass jar and pour the hot vinegar mixture over them. Press the onion into the vinegar with a spoon and squeeze out any air bubbles. Let cool to room temperature 20-30 minutes before serving or store in refrigerator.
Do you need to brine the onions before pickling?
No! Some people choose to soak the onions in the brine mixture before pickling, but I don’t think it’s necessary.
In theory, this step draws out extra moisture to keep the texture of the onions nice and crisp, even when they’re in the vinegar mixture. However, since we’re doing a quick pickle, there’s not much risk of the onion becoming too mushy. Might as well save time!
Can you just use vinegar pickles?
In theory, yes, but I highly recommend using the two additional ingredients listed.
The water and salt help balance the flavors, and the maple syrup counteracts the bitterness of the onion and vinegar. Without these, your pickled onions will be spicier!
Can I can These quick pickled red onions?
No! Please do not attempt to can these pickled onions. This recipe is a quick “refrigerator pickle” recipe. It is not designed for canning or tested for prolonged storage.
If you really want canned pickled red onions, I recommend finding a recipe designed just for that!
Tips and Precautions
- Thinly slice the onion. About 1/4 inch thick is almost perfect for me. Any thicker onions will take longer to fully pickle.
- A mandolin works best, but a pocket knife works too. If you have one, the easiest way to slice an onion is with a mandoline (ignore this tip if you’re afraid of mandolins). If you don’t have one, you can use a sharp knife. Just be very careful.
- You can tell those have been pickled They are pretty and tender when they turn a brighter pink. The liquid also cools down.
- Let them calm down. Bring them to room temperature before you put them in the freezer. This goes for anything hot, especially these!
- Extra pickling? You can pickle anything with it! Cucumbers, jalapeños, carrots, cabbage, you name it. In no time you’ll be marinating everything!
What do you serve with pickled red onions?
- Serve on burgers or sandwiches. layer them buffalo chicken burger or Jalapeno Salmon Burgers or add them to Lettuce Wrap Sandwiches Or a slice of avocado toast.
- Serve on tacos or burritos. use them as your favorite topping Taco BarsThese 15 Minute Chicken Tacosor as a mix Homemade Burrito.
- in a bowl. add them to a Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl or Greek Cauliflower Rice Pilaf Bowls.
- in a salad. put them in one Shrimp Avocado Salad, Greek Three Bean Salad, Shredded Chicken Antipasto Salad, The Best Spring Mixed Salad Ever, Cheeseburger Salad, Taco Salador Tomato Cucumber Salad with Chickpeas. You say it.
- and Perfect Scrambled Eggs, bacon, and diced avocado! so good!
And it doesn’t stop there! These pickled onions make a great addition to many different recipes. Get creative with it!
How long do pickled onions last?
For ultimate freshness, I recommend that you enjoy your pickled onions within 3 days. However, they will keep for 2-3 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Try More How-To Recipes
Watch the video:
pickled onions
These pickled onions are the perfect way to brighten up any dish. They’re fresh, tangy, and delicious with salads, tacos, sandwiches, burgers, everything!
- Preparation time: 00:08
- Cooking time: 00:00
- total time: 00:08
- yield: 1 cup 1x
- category: condiment
- method: no bake
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
- 2 teaspoons Maple sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
instruct
- In a small saucepan, combine water, vinegar, maple syrup, and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat.
- Place the thinly sliced onions in a glass jar.
- Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the onions, press the onions into the vinegar with a spoon, and let them cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes), at which point they should be fully marinated and ready to eat, but the longer the better!
- Cover the jar and refrigerate leftover pickled onions for later! These quick pickled onions are best kept within 3 days, but they keep for 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator and are great on salads, bowls, tacos, eggs and more!
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