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.
adding whole radish will crank up the color….feel free to try….you will be amazed
Is it safe to reuse the pickle juice?
Hi Phia, it’s safe but after reusing it once, it’ll start to lose its flavor.
Turned out great!! I’ve used this recipe a few times, and it’s been absolutely fail-safe!
I’m so glad it’s been a hit!
A nice variation on this:
Used half the salt
Added 3 finely chopped habanero chillies
Added 1/2 cup of fresh lime juice
My vinegar was 75% white vinegar 25% apple cider vinegar
You list the garlic as optional … it’s the best part so I did add it
I’ve made these many times and they’re always great! Tonight, in my haste, I didn’t let the liquid cool before I poured it in the jars. Can I let them cool together and still use as I normally would?
Is this recipe good for canning?
Super easy recipe, I found the onions to be very salty though – the salt flavour is almost more prominent than the vinegar. Would cut it down next time, but maybe I should have used a courser salt rather than fine.
I would have to agree! But you can add less salt next time
My onions lost all flavor and just tasted like vinegar.
Taste great! I make them as often as I can.
Love this quick and easy recipe
I’m so happy to hear!
Can you water bath these so they are shelf stable?
Super easy and delicious, I love how crisp they stay. My daughter just showed up, with the empty mason jar, begging for a refill ?. We put them on burgers, salads and sandwiches.
Best recipe for pickled red onions I’ve tried!
So glad you loved them, Dara!
Love these onions and so easy to make.
So glad you love them, Margaret!
I made these exact as instructed, and they came out perfectly. Super easy to make. Can’t believe I used to pay for these. Now I have a huge jar, ready to add to my food during the week, like the amazing portobello mushrooms tacos tonight!
Hi Sally, so glad you loved them!
Can these be hot water bath/canned for later this winter?
Add pickled red onion to a cream cheese bagel!
I like using garden veggie cream cheese, the pickled onions add just the right zing!
Hi Don, I love pickled onions on a bagel too! So good!
Wow!! That sounds amazing and I’m going to to give it a try! Thank you for sharing this:)
these turned out wonderful 10/10 recommend!
I’m so glad you loved them!
First time making pickled red onions and this recipe was perfect! I won’t even try any other recipes since this one was so great.
I’m so glad they were perfect!
I’ve made this recipe three times in the last week!! I never thought I would want to eat an onion SO BAD lol!!!!
Make this recipe! You won’t regret it!
So glad you loved it, Jill!