My viral quick pickled onion recipe transforms simple red onions into a tasty garnish that makes everything better, brighter and prettier! Try this easy method and you’ll be making quick pickles all the time.
Ingredients to Make This Easy Pickled Onion Recipe
- Red onion: The star of the show, adding crunch and tangy sweetness.
- White vinegar: Provides the acidic medium, giving that classic pickled tang. Swap with apple cider vinegar if you fancy a mellower, fruity note.
- Water: Helps dilute the vinegar, ensuring the onions aren’t overly sour.
- Sugar: Balances the acidity and adds a hint of sweetness to the mix.
- Salt: Enhances flavors and preserves the onions, ensuring they stay crisp and flavorful.
Variations and Substitutions
Here’s how you can play around with these pickled onions to suit your palate:
- Spice it up: Add a few slices of jalapeño or a pinch of red pepper flakes for an extra kick. You can also add a couple of whole garlic cloves, mustard seed, or dried or fresh herbs like oregano, thyme or bay leaf.
- Sweetener swaps: Substitute sugar with honey or maple syrup for a nuanced sweetness.
- Citrus: A bit of citrus zest, whether from lemons or oranges, can introduce a fresh tanginess. Orange would go really well with the citrusy asada marinade in my Chicken Street Tacos.
- White onions: swap the red onion for white onion if you like. Works perfectly, but won’t be colorful.
Grab these Tools
Prepping a batch of this pickled red onion recipe couldn’t be easier.
- Mandoline slicer: For perfectly thin, uniform onion slices. If you don’t have one, a sharp knife will work too.
- Small saucepan: For heating your pickling liquid and dissolving sugar and salt.
- Airtight large mason jars or 1 quart container: To store the pickled onions. Glass mason jars work wonderfully. Whatever you choose, just make sure they have tight-fitting lids.
How to Make Pickled Onion: Easy Step-By-Step Directions
- Prepare the raw onions: Begin by getting those perfect, thin slices. A mandoline slicer can be your best friend here.
- Make the vinegar mixture: Heat the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. Be careful, because these fumes will irritate your eyes if you get your face too close.
- Jar the onion: Neatly place your sliced onion in your chosen container, awaiting its flavor transformation.
- Add the liquid: Pour the just-warm mixture over the onions, ensuring they’re fully submerged for an even pickling.
- Cool and store: Give your onions a moment to relax at room temperature, then tuck them into the fridge for their flavor infusion.
- Patience is key: Wait at least 15 mins, but for the best punch of flavor, let those onions soak in the fridge for 1 hour or even overnight. Your taste buds will thank you later.
Final Notes, Tips and Food Science Secrets
Dive into the science of quick pickling with these expert insights to perfect your quick pickles:
- Osmosis in action: The salt in the pickling solution draws out the moisture from the onions through osmosis, enhancing their crunchiness.
- Vinegar’s role: The acidity of vinegar not only flavors the onions but also creates an environment where harmful bacteria can’t thrive, preserving the onions.
- Shelf life: When stored correctly, pickled onions can last for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
- Thin slices matter: Cutting your onions thinly allows for a quicker and more uniform pickling process. A mandoline slicer is the best way, but a sharp knife does the trick.
- Avoid metal: Using non-reactive utensils and containers like glass or plastic ensures there’s no metallic taste in your pickled goods.
How to Use Pickled Red Onions
I use up this quick pickled red onions recipe to finish so many delicious savory recipes, like:
- Mexican topper: Brighten up your tacos with a generous sprinkle of pickled onions. I love them with baja fish tacos, Tacos Al Pastor, Shredded Beef Tacos, or these fish tacos with cabbage slaw especially. They’re also delicious on other Mexican recipes, like tostadas, chicken quesadillas, chili con carne and casseroles (like Chicken Enchilada Casserole, walking taco casserole or Mexican Chicken Casserole).
- Burgers: Layer them on your beef or chickpea burgers for an added layer of flavor and crunch. Perfect with my ultra-juicy ground chicken burgers, too.
- Salads: In green salads, it’s especially good with creamy goat cheese and candied nuts. I love to use it in creamy pasta salad recipes, too, like my best macaroni salad or buffalo chicken salad. Also excellent in creamy potato salad.
- Pulled meats: Love it on shredded beef, Instant Pot pulled pork or Crockpot BBQ Chicken sandwiches.
- Avocado toast: Top your morning toast with mashed avocado, sliced radishes, a microwave-boiled egg, and a sprinkle of pickled onions.
- Cheeseboard: Pair with cheeses, especially strong ones like blue or feta, for a bright counterpoint.
FAQs
Got some burning pickled onion questions? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
Pickled onions are made of thinly sliced onions marinated in a mixture of vinegar, water, sugar, and salt.
Yes, while red onions are popular for their vibrant color, you can use white or yellow onions. The taste might be slightly different, but they’ll still be delicious!
Certainly! While the recipe suggests apple cider vinegar, you can experiment with white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or rice vinegar for varied flavors.
A cloudy solution is often due to the minerals in the water. It’s safe to eat, but if you want a clearer brine, consider using distilled water.
Pickled onions are a versatile condiment that adds a tangy and slightly sweet flavor to many dishes. You can use them as a topping for burgers, sandwiches, tacos, salads, or even as a garnish for grilled meats and seafood. They also make a great addition to charcuterie boards.
This pickling method uses vinegar, which creates an environment where most bacteria (including probiotics) can’t thrive. For probiotic benefits, consider fermenting onions using a saltwater brine without vinegar.
Pickled onions, when stored in an airtight container, can last for 2-3 weeks. Make sure the onions remain submerged in the pickling liquid.
Easy Pickled Onion (5-Minute Recipe)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion
- ½ cup white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, if you like the flavor
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Peel the red onion and slice it thinly. You can use a knife or a mandoline slicer for even, thin slices.
- In a small saucepan, combine the white vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar and salt have dissolved. *Be careful, because these fumes will irritate your eyes if you get your face too close. Remove the pan from heat and let the mixture cool for a few minutes.
- Place the sliced red onion in a clean jar or airtight container.
- Pour the warm pickling liquid over the sliced onions, making sure they are fully submerged. If needed, use a spoon to press the onions down. The pickling liquid should cover the onions completely.
- Let the pickled onions cool at room temperature for about 15-30 minutes. Then, cover the jar or container and place it in the refrigerator.
- You can use them now an they're great, but they get better if you allow the pickled onions to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. The longer they sit, the more the flavors will develop.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Simple & delicious.
Thx for sharing such a good recipe.
I’ve tried several pickled onion recipes before, and this one’s by far the easiest. For anyone looking to kick it up a notch, try adding a teaspoon of turmeric for color and health benefits. Works wonders.
Doesn’t turmeric make it bitter though?
Everyone says they love these pickled onions when I make them. Very good recipe.
Loved the step by step directions. I never knew making pickled onions could be this simple.
OBSESSED with these pickled onions. So easy and so yum. I’ve been putting them on everything.