Want to jazz up your next salad or bowl? Add pickled red onions! Tangy & sweet, they're the best way to give almost any dish a bright pop of flavor!
Pickled red onions have been an indispensable ingredient in my kitchen for years. Not only are they a gorgeous, vibrant pink, but they’re tangy, sweet, and a little crunchy. I like to say that they give sandwiches, salads, bowls, and more a “bright pop of flavor,” and though Jack makes fun of me for how often I use that phrase, I can’t think of a better way to describe them.
Try making a batch of quick pickled red onions, and you’ll see what I mean. Top a few onto an otherwise good sandwich or salad, and it’ll become great. Their vinegary, zippy taste adds an irresistible extra dimension of flavor, brightening and sharpening the other elements of the dish. You only need a few minutes and 5 ingredients to make this pickled onion recipe, so give them a try – you’ll add them to everything!
How to Make Pickled Onions
To make pickled red onions, you’ll need 5 basic ingredients: red onions, white vinegar, water, cane sugar, and sea salt.
First, thinly slice the onions (I recommend using a mandoline for quick, uniform slicing!) and divide them between two jars. Then, heat the vinegar, water, cane sugar, and salt over medium heat, and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve. This will only take a minute or so!
Let the brine cool slightly, and pour it over the sliced onions. Allow the jars to cool to room temperature before covering them and transferring them to the fridge. Your onions will be ready to eat when they are bright pink and tender. This could take anywhere from 1 hour to overnight, depending on the thickness of your onions. They will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Sometimes, I’ll add a few peppercorns or garlic cloves to the jar along with the onions to make their flavor a little more complex. I like to change up the vinegar too! I particularly like a mix of white wine and rice vinegar, and apple cider vinegar and white vinegar are a fun tangy combination. These variations are great, but they’re totally optional; your quick pickled onions will be delicious even if you stick to the basic recipe!
What to Do with Pickled Red Onions
As I said above, pickled onions are my favorite way to add a bright pop of flavor to almost any dish. Most simply, they’re excellent on avocado toast, but your options don’t end there. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use them:
- Add them to a salad! This roasted cauliflower salad and this grilled potato salad show them off well.
- Stuff them in a sandwich! Pair them with any bright sandwich filling like egg salad, chickpea shawarma, or onto avocado toast.
- Pile them on a burger! I like them with my favorite veggie burger, these falafel burgers, and my classic black bean burger.
- Top them onto any Mexican dish! They’d be delicious with these sweet potato tacos, these many-veggie tacos, or even breakfast tacos or a breakfast burrito!
- Add them to a bowl! Try them in this grain bowl or this buddha bowl, or top them onto a DIY-burrito bowl with cauliflower rice or cilantro lime rice, black beans, pico de gallo, mango or tomatillo salsa, guacamole, and your favorite veggies!
Do you have a favorite way to use pickled onions? Let me know in the comments!
If you love these quick pickled red onions…
Try my roasted red peppers, roasted tomatoes, pickled jalapeños, or pickled chard stems next!
Pickled Red Onions
Equipment
- Mandoline (makes it super easy to make thin slices!)
Ingredients
- 2 small red onions
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 2 cups water
- 1/3 cup cane sugar
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
optional
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon mixed peppercorns
Instructions
- Thinly slice the onions (it's helpful to use a mandoline), and divide the onions between 2 (16-ounce) jars or 3 (10-ounce) jars. Place the garlic and peppercorns in each jar, if using
- Heat the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar and salt dissolve, about 1 minute. Let cool and pour over the onions. Set aside to cool to room temperature, then store the onions in the fridge.
- Your pickled onions will be ready to eat once they're bright pink and tender - about 1 hour for very thinly sliced onions, or overnight for thicker sliced onions. They will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
These are fantastic! One of my 4 year olds eats them on there own. I brought them to a family party where we were having breakfast tacos and everyone raved about them! My mother in law insisted on keeping some and sent me pics of all the yummy ways she used them.. I’ve used both fresh thyme and oregano as my extra. Also have halved the recipe and it’s turned out great!
Aww, I’m glad everyone loved them so much!
Can you please confirm 2 tablespoons sea salt? Other recipes state 1/2 – 1 teaspoon so I wanted to confirm 2 tablespoons of salt and not teaspoons?
Thank you!
Hi Heather, yes 2 tablespoons. It’s a pretty big batch and the onions will be pulled out of the brine before you eat them, so they’re not crazy salty.
I want to mail them to a friend. Do they have to be refrigerated?
They do have to be refrigerated.
Yummy, but I used only 1 1/2 c each liquid, 1/4 csufar, and 1 1/2 T pink salt. 2 small and 1/2 med onions didn’t fill 3 10-oz jars. Hmm. More oniond next time.
I made these pickled onions and they were so easy and delicious. I put them on everything. I love them. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Do you store them in the liquid once they are done or drain the liquid?
Hi Joann, yes, store them in the liquid.
You want to keep the onions in the liquid.
These are addicting! I pile them on all salads and sandwiches. I used a bit less sugar bet I like tangy. Thank you!
They are delicious on an everything bagel with cream cheese.
Easy and delicious!
Question: Can I re-use the liquid to make another batch?
FYI, I find that if I am on the page for a while, the page gets “stuck” and I can no longer scroll.
Yes! I have been using the same liquid once the jar is empty. On my fourth batch now. Still very good
Hi I was wondering what the peppercorn does to the taste?
I have not made it yet, but have a question. Would it matter if, instead of slices, I just did a small chop? I have never really liked long slivers of onions on anything. I prefer a small crunchy piece.
Hi Deb, yes, absolutely.
How long can I store these in the frig? Can I make a batch, or should it be done for each use?
Hi Trish, I store them in the fridge for 2 or so weeks!
Has anyone ever used a sugar substitute? Like monkfruit or Swerve? I can not eat refined sugar and miss picked onion so much!
Hey Cortney, I’ll usually use erythritol for pickling and I’ve never had any issues. Can be substituted 1:1.
Being a diabetic, I used just a pinch of truvia and they still taste amazing. I cut the recipe in half though. I wanted to try it out before making the whole recipe.
Hi Donna, thanks for the tip, it’ll be helpful for others who want to reduce sugar.
Is it best to store the onions in all of the liquid or drain some before storing in the fridge for a few weeks? Wondering is they’ll get too “pickley?”
Store them in the liquid and they last for 2-3 weeks in the fridge before they start to lose flavor
As the onion slices pickle they shrink. I halved the recipe so only used one onion. I initially made it in a quart jar as they didn’t quite fit in a pint jar. They’re still sitting on the counter and I can tell they’ve shrunk. For space, I’m going to move them to a pint jar with enough liquid to cover.
*shrug*
Is it okay to use white or yellow cooking onions instead of red onions?
You can!
Absolutely delicious! We’re hooked and these pickled onions have become a staple in our kitchen now too!!
Will the picked onions keep in refrigerator through the year or how long would they?
Hi LuAnn, they keep for a few weeks in the fridge, after that they just start to loose their flavor.
C & H Sugar is sold in Minnesota and is Cane Sugar
I put my jar in the pantry instead of the fridge. Are they okay to eat?
they’re fine to eat for probably a week. Keeping them in the fridge will make them last much longer.
Good Day! I want to can theses … can I do this and store them over the winter ?
Yes! That should be completely fine as long as they’re completely sealed. I’ve done it before and it was fine.
In Minnesota most of our sugar is from beets.
C&H is pure cane sugar, from Hawaii, sweetened by the sun.
Thanks Dan, now I’m singing the song. ARGH!