Quick Pickled Red Onions
A jar of pickled red onions is the ultimate flavor-boosting tool. They’re tangy, slightly sweet, and extra punchy. Perfect for layering onto salads, bowls, tacos, sandwiches – anything really!
Just imagine taking a bite of a savory pulled pork taco, with a refreshing, tart, and crisp flavor. That sharp contrast is seriously irresistible, and why I love pickled foods – especially pickled red onions. They add a vibrant pop of red with a sweet-tart punch to your meals. And bonus, a jar of pickled onions is ridiculously easy to make.
I’ll go over more of that below, but if you haven’t ventured into pickled vegetables yet – this is your sign to do so. Plus, making pickled onions is a great place to start given how versatile onions are in a variety of dishes!
Ingredients for Quick Pickled Red Onions
Like most pickled foods, all you really need is your core vegetable along with water, vinegar, a sweetener, and a pinch of salt. This is a basic formula to follow. But if you want to spice it up a bit, I’ve noted down a few ways you can add different flavors to this recipe.
- Red Onion: I’m using red onions for this recipe because I’m a sucker for their color and subtle sweet flavor. But you can also use yellow onions or even shallots!
- Water: You’ll just need a half cup to mix with the vinegar.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: There’s a few ways you can go about using vinegar in this recipe. Apple cider vinegar is my default. But you can also use white vinegar, rice vinegar, or a combo of any two types. Just keep in mind if you mix them, it will add a different flavor.
- Sweetener: Since the vinegar is quite pungent, adding honey or maple syrup will help to balance out the flavors. Plus, it will help bring out the onion’s natural sweetness!
- Salt: Just a little bit is needed to round out the other flavors.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below
How To Pickle Red Onions
Unlike other fermented foods (that could take days), these onions are pickled in in just one hour! That’s why they’re quick pickled red onions! I like to pickle them in a 16-ounce mason jar, but any medium-sized container will work.
Slice the onions. You can use either a knife or a mandoline, just make sure to slice into thin pieces. This will make it easier for the onions to absorb the vinegar. Then place them into the mason jar.
Make the brine. In a small saucepan over medium-heat, warm up the water, vinegar, honey, and salt. Stir it all together, let it simmer for about 1 minute, then turn off the heat.
Let the fermenting begin! Carefully pour the brine into the jar and let it stand at room temperature until slightly cooled. Then cover and refrigerate. They’ll be ready to eat after about an hour in the fridge (though I like to wait overnight), or will keep for 2 to 3 weeks!
Give Your Pickled Onions A Flavor Boost!
These pickled red onions taste amazing as is. But if you want to switch things up a bit – here’s a few ways to add some fun flavors and give them a little boost!
- Stir in whole spices (see photo above). From black peppercorns, to coriander seeds, and star anise to fennel seeds, whole spices are a great way to subtly add your favorite seasonings.
- Add a punch of garlic. Stir sliced garlic pieces into the mix – this is my absolute favorite!
- Heat it up. Add a dash of cayenne or red pepper flakes for a hint of spice.
- Add your favorite herbs. I love to add sprigs of dill, or fresh basil and mint leaves. But you can honestly add whichever herbs you like, depending on how you want it to taste.
Ways To Use Pickled Onions
There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to using pickled onions. Honestly, just use them whenever you want to add a bit of tangy sweet to your meals! But here’s a few ways you can never go wrong with.
- Top them on tacos. Think shrimp tacos, carne asada tacos, carnitas tacos, or barbacoa tacos. Oh, and don’t forget about these ultimate nachos as well!
- Add to your favorite bowls. No matter what kind of bowl you have, whether it be a Mexican burrito bowl or a plant-based buddha bowl, pickled red onions are always welcome.
- Layer onto salads. Not only are pickled red onions great with hearty salads such as this Southwest chicken salad. But they also work well with creamy salads such as egg salad or tuna salad!
- Top on your favorite proteins. Whether it’s baked salmon or baked chicken, these punchy onions will add a deliciously sharp freshness.
More Onion-y Topping Ideas
Aside from pickling onions, there’s so many ways to give plain onions some oomph. Saute thinly sliced shallots for a crispy topping, or caramelize them until golden and sweet.
Once you make these pickled red onions, I guarantee you’ll be making a batch every month. And when you do, I’d love to hear how the recipe turned out in a comment below!
Quick Pickled Red Onions
Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion
- ½ cup hot water (it does not need to be boiling hot from the stove)
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- Optional flavor boosters (see above)
Instructions
- Thinly slice the onion with a knife or mandoline, then place in a 16-ounce jar. Add any optional flavor boosters.
- In a measuring cup, stir together the water, vinegar, honey, and salt.
- Carefully pour the brine into the jar over the onions. Cover with a lid and refrigerate. They'll be ready to eat after about an hour in the fridge (they'll be vibrant pink), and will keep for 2 to 3 weeks in the fridge.
Easy and delicious!
These were so easy to make and I love how this doesn’t use white vinegar like almost all of the other recipes out there.
Glad your pickled onions turned out great Abbie!
The pickled red onions are absolutely a flavor booster to my salads and wraps, on top of chicken and pork! I never thought I would love it so much!!
Such a great item to have in your kitchen!!
I never realized how much a pickled item would make a plain salad or sandwich just pop with flavor. Easy recipe I keep ready in the refrigerator.
Hey Lisa, love all your recipes that don’t have beef. And this one and the mayonnaise one is I think the ones I make on a regular basis. I am keto, and cannot digest beef and crustaceans. I have irritable bowel syndrome so I usually make my own meals. The meal preparation vlogs are the videos I look at regularly. In my family, we have keto, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies to some nuts and vegans. Thank you for making my life easier with so many adaptable recipes. We five live in Québec. Cheers to you!
Loved it – and so simple!
Thank you for a good and easy recipe! Could you please put the metric mesures in “dl” instead of grams? It would be so much easier. I like that you have the metric system too for us in Europe. Greetings from Sweden!
Wowzer, these are amazing! Thanks for this easy and delicious new staple for me! Oh..and I did add the sliced garlic.
Best pickled onions!
I love that this recipe doesn’t include processed sugar, rather, natural sweetener, honey. These onions are so good and add a wonderful flavor for my daily salad.
Hi Lisa, The link here and on the website leads to Mason jars that are plastic (16oz). Are you recommending and do you personally use the plastic Mason jars as opposed to the glass ones?
Thanks for letting us know! I normally use glass, so will update the link today with glass ones!
Couple of questions. Well, these ferment the longer they sit? Can I use the brine to make another batch, or do I need to start from scratch for the next batch?
Looks incredible. Do you have to include a sweetener for this recipe to be successful? I’m trying to maintain a keto diet, but also don’t want to eliminate a critical flavor.
Technically, you could omit the sugar. But, pickled items tend to have sugar in it as a natural preservative, while balancing out the tartness from the vinegar.
I’m on my third jar of these. They are so delicious! I put them in all sorts of dishes and could eat them straight out of the jar. Thank you for this fantastic recipe!
Hi Lisa, I just made the pickled onions and can’t wait to eat them all up.
Thank you ~julie~
Hello!
my question is about your suggestion using shallots. Would they go in whole or sliced? Thank you! love your content!
I would say slice them.
Thank you for your recipe. Can I use the brine for my 2nd batch of red onions?
I would say use fresh water for the second batch.
Great recipe, especially for a person like me who is new to pickling :-) thank you!
I doubled the brine recipe, added some ground black pepper, and pickled half a pound of radishes alongside the onions. Delicious recipe! I keep eating both the onions and radishes out of my jars!
Delicious
Hi Lisa! I have used this recipe to make pickled onions and they are awesome! Could I use the same technique and use shredded carrots instead of onions?
Thank you!!
Should be about the same! I will definitely be making more pickled items soon :)
This was excellent. I made it yesterday afternoon for fish taco dinner with a yellow onion I had in the fridge and some dill – it was the best addition to the tacos out of the whole buffet. I’m definitely making this again with a red onion! XD
Thanks so much! I watch from Germany and love your food and style. I re-discovered the german Weck Jars :-) Thanks to you!
The Weck jars are my go-to storage containers!
Is the liquid supposed to cover the onions entirely? Mine is only halfway up the jar. Thanks!
It will depend on the size of your onion, but the onions should be immersed in the liquid. If not, you can add a bit more liquid!
This works so fast and it’s delicious! Made this with the last few spoonfuls of apple cider vinegar I had and then the rest was white vinegar. Came out great, thanks Lisa!
Glad your pickled red onions turned out great!
I used honey and followed the rest of the recipe…except I added a few thinly sliced radishes. Delicious! Downshiftology.com is one of my top go-to sites. I must add that you hit the ball out of the park with the taco options!!
Great idea on the radishes Cheryl!
Thank you! My grandmother used to make pickled onions for pulled beef sandwiches and never wrote down the recipe. It was a summer favorite. If there were any left in the jar after the sandwiches then she’d drain & chop to add to potato salad or spice up coleslaw…. there was never any left at the end of the day.
Definitely bookmark this one to top on all your summer recipes!