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 are the best jars for pickling?
These 16-ounce Ball Mason jars are my absolute favorites for pickling onions. I love that they come in a pack of 12 (you can make a ton at once!) and that they’re BPA-free and dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning.
Pickled onions keep well in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. I like that these jars don’t take up too much space when I have them in my fridge.
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
- ⅓ 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.
Does this pickled ŕed onion need to be stored in the fridge?
Tried & tested this several times & it’s a winner every time !! I love it with red onions, but it’s also fantastic with cucumber, jalapeños & carrot & celery mix
I’m so glad you’ve loved them!
Can I substitute table sugar for caned???
Thanks !
yep!
So easy, so good! Why is the refrigerated shelf life only listed for 2 weeks? Shouldn’t the vinegar keep the onions longer?
Amazing! Im addicted:)
I’m so excited to try this!!!! We love pickled onions when we get them on top of our Mexican bowls out! Two questions:
1. Is the sugar simply for flavor (so I could add stevia I’d desired)?
2. If I wanted to mix with shaved carrots, can you tell me how that would effect the canning time?
Thank you!
Hi AJ, I haven’t tried making these with stevia, but I think you could make that swap if you’d like. The sugar balances the flavors. If you add the carrots, you’ll need to let the pickles chill longer for the best flavor. If the carrots are shaved, a day in the fridge should do the trick!
I made these and they are delicious. qq – once 24 hours have passed can your remove the onions and store in a ziploc without the vinegar or do you have to keep it in the vinegar? Thank you!
Hi Meghna, you should keep the onions in the vinegar. So glad you love them!
I had some red onions I was afraid would go bad so I tried this recipe. So quick and easy. Loved it. Gave a jar to a friend and it made her day.
Hi Amy, I’m so glad you and your friend loved them!
Can someone please explain this universal compulsion to add garlic to everything?
I like tomato soup to taste of tomatoes etc.
Perhaps people like the taste of garlic. I do, and I don’t consider it a compulsion to add ingredients to recipes that have a flavor I enjoy. But I’m sure everyone finds your comment on this recipe very helpful. I thoroughly enjoyed the recipe!
Us garlic lovers will live longer! 😂 Great recipe! I’ve made it twice now and it’s yummy! Thank you.
So glad you love the onions, Danielle!