Pickled Red Onions are a super fast way to add a major punch to your meals this week! They require just three ingredients (really two if you don’t count the water), and will last for at least a week in the fridge.
Recipe: $0.71 | Per Serving: $0.09 | Yield: 8
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Pickled red onions are one of my favorite ways to add flavor to my meals! You can add different seasonings, vinegars, or even swap the vegetables to use what you have on hand and create flavors you love.
We usually call these pickled red onions ‘quick pickles‘ or sometimes ‘refrigerator pickles‘. You can replicate the tangy flavor of pickles by setting them in vinegar for about 24 hours, and the hot water in this recipe takes that time down to just 1 hour! These pickles are not fermented and don’t contain any beneficial probiotics.
You will love them in salads, on sandwiches, on tacos, or chopped up and added to chicken salad or other quick and easy lunches. They add bright tangy flavor and an amazing color!
Ingredients
- Red onion: These work great for pickling because of their color and naturally crisp texture and flavor, however you can also pickle white, yellow, or sweet onions too.
- Vinegar: My favorite is apple cider vinegar which has a mild, fruity flavor that works really well with the red onions. But really any vinegar works fine depending on the flavor you are after. Try them with rice vinegar, white vinegar, white wine vinegar, or even red wine vinegar. I’m using red wine vinegar here simply because that’s what I had on hand!
- Hot water: we’re using hot water here in order to speed up the pickling process! You can use any tap or filtered water here.
- Extras: These are optional, but you can add peppercorns, salt, sugar, garlic cloves or bay leaves for additional flavor, though I find that those flavors doesn’t come through until they’ve pickled for at least 1 day.
Be sure to check the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with their quantities.
Variations
This is a very basic recipe for quick pickled red onions. There are lots of ways to experiment with seasonings and flavors you may like. Here are a few of my favorites for inspiration.
- Sweet-Umami Flavor: Add a tablespoon of coconut aminos to the jar along with the vinegar.
- Traditional Pickle Flavor: Add a gently crushed garlic clove, mustard seeds, and dill to the jar.
- Spicy: Add some sliced jalapeños or a dried red chile pepper to the jar along with the onions.
- Garlicky: Add a few smashed cloves of fresh garlic and a few whole peppercorns.
- Swap the onions: You can use the quick pickling brine with any variety of vegetables! I use the same basic method for quick pickled vegetables for lettuce wraps and bun cha salad bowls.
How to Make Pickled Red Onions
Step 1: Slice the onions. Thinly slice your red onion.
Step 2: Fill the jar. Place the onions in a jar. Add the vinegar. You want it to cover the onions about ⅔ of the way up in the jar. Add more if you need to reach that mark.
Step 3: Add hot water. Fill the remaining space in the jar with boiling water. I like to pour it straight from a kettle.
Step 4: Cover and let them sit. Add the lid on the jar and let the onions sit at room temperature for about an hour or two. Store in the fridge.
Expert Tips
- Store: Store your pickled onions in a jar in the fridge for up to a week. They are best within a few days if you want them to still have some crunch. The longer they sit the softer they get.
- Serving: You can eat them however you want but they are great added as a topping for my lamb gyros, these chorizo tempeh tacos, ground chicken tacos, or even these pork lettuce wraps. I promise you they won’t go to waste!
- Slicing the onions: Aim for thin, even slices. Cut the onion in half down the middle and place the flat end on your cutting board so it’s secure and won’t slip.
Recipe FAQs
Really, you can pickle just about any vegetable. Of course, cucumbers are a classic but you can also pickle thinly sliced cabbage, sliced carrots, small cauliflower florets, green beans, radishes, beets, green beans, and more!
There are two primary types of pickles. We have traditional salt-brined pickles, which are technically fermented and contain beneficial probiotics. We also have vinegar-pickled pickles that are NOT fermented and do NOT contain beneficial probiotics. (An exception here could be if they’re pickled with apple cider vinegar with the mother, which may contain some live cultures.)
These vinegar-pickled pickles are much more common in US grocery stores and are what we have here in this quick-pickling recipe. Vinegar is very acidic (low pH) and most beneficial bacteria cannot survive this low pH. If you want fermented pickles with probiotics, you can ferment them yourself at home or look for brands that don’t include vinegar as an ingredient. (Bubbies brand is an example of fermented pickles!)
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Quick Pickled Red Onions
Pickled Red Onions are quick to make with just three ingredients (really two if you don’t count the water)! They’re the perfect way to add a burst of tangy flavor to your sandwiches, tacos, salads, and so much more. You can easily customize the flavor to make them your own!
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Instructions
Thinly slice the red onion into wedges and place in a jar. Add ½ cup vinegar, or more if needed to cover the onions about ⅔ of the way.
Top with boiling water straight from the kettle then seal with a jar. Let sit at room temperature for about an hour or two and then store in the fridge
Notes: this is a plain recipe for quick pickles that will work with any variety of vegetables. I make this more neutral base recipe most often so I can add these pickled red onions to a variety of dishes! Feel free to add additional seasonings and flavors like fresh garlic or Szechuan peppercorns.
Notes
- Store: Store your pickled onions in a jar in the fridge for up to a week. They are best within a few days if you want them to still have some crunch. The longer they sit the softer they get.
- Serving: You can eat them however you want but they are great added as a topping for my lamb gyros, these chorizo tempeh tacos, ground chicken tacos, or even these pork lettuce wraps. I promise you they won’t go to waste!
- Slicing the onions: Aim for thin, even slices. Cut the onion in half down the middle and place the flat end on your cutting board so it’s secure and won’t slip.
Nutrition
Calories: 8kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 0.2gFat: 0.01gSaturated Fat: 0.01gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.003gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.001gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 20mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 0.3IUVitamin B1: 0.01mgVitamin B2: 0.004mgVitamin B3: 0.02mgVitamin B5: 0.02mgVitamin B6: 0.02mgVitamin C: 1mgVitamin E: 0.003mgVitamin K: 0.1µgCalcium: 4mgCopper: 0.01mgFolate: 3µgIron: 0.03mgManganese: 0.03mgMagnesium: 2mgPhosphorus: 5mgSelenium: 0.1µgZinc: 0.03mgCholine: 1mg
