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.
Make this, a lot. Vary recipe a bit. Cut to 2 tbsp sugar. And add coriander seeds, as well as the pepper and garlic. Have varied vinegars, but plain white or rice have the best bite to them.
What would a serving size / calories per serving be on these?
These are hands down the best pickled onions. Thank you for sharing
Hi, so glad you love them!
Excellent onions, and so easy to make! I can’t help myself… I keep going back to the fridge for “just one bite”. I had these today on a tuna sandwich – so much yum! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Lori, I’m so glad you love the pickled onions!
simple but yummy. i like my onion slices thicker so i didn’t use a mandoline. also, the onion slices float in the jar, so i feel like i need to turn/shake the glass once in a while – or is it just me? haha
This was so simple and so good. So far I’ve tried them on a salad, breakfast quesadillas, and a tuna sandwich. I’m still planning on using them lots of other ways too. Thanks for sharing this great keeper.
A quick and easy receipe to follow and absolutely amazing. I prepared them in the morning and had them for dinner where they were all nice and marinated. Thank you
Hi – for the optional garlic, do you put in the clove whole or do you slice/chop/mince it? Thanks!
Oohhhh, I just messed up!! I poured the VERY HOT liquid over my onions in the jar!!! I didn’t let it cool for not one second!! ( Too excited to read all the instructions before proceeding!) Has anyone else done this and do we think my onions will survive? They look so pretty.
Haha I almost did the same! Let me know how they turned up, I think they will be just less crunchy and more “cooked”.
Yes, they are fine. Maybe a touch softer than if I’d let the brine cool. But they are delicious! And almost all gone already!! Thank you!!
Oh no! I just did the same thing!!! Doh!! I’m sure they will be fine, next time we both will remember to cool our liquid first. Happy eating!
Hi Tracey, they’ll be fine, they might just lose some of their color.
I purposely poured the liquid in hot. Get the process off to a quick start! Can’t see why it would be a problem.
Agreed. Not to worry, they will be fine and still have vibrant color and crunch..
I did the same and they were amazing. We ate them all within a week
Sooo good!
Great taste but just wondering why 4 cups of liquid is necessary? Other recipes with one large red onion (basically equivalent to 2 small) use a total of one cup. I had enough left over liquid to make 3 more batches! I fit one large red onion in a 32 oz mason jar, filled it with the brine, perfect, but tons of left over liquid!
Can i reuse the pickle juice foe another batch of onions. Thanks
Hi Paulene, you could – I re-use it about 1 extra time, it loses it’s flavor beyond that.
I used this recipe with sweet onions and yellow onions and both turned out delicious!! Only let it sit for 1 hour in the fridge. Thanks ?
A winner every time. So simple, and makes such a great topping on almost everything. Love this recipe
I love pickled onions on BBQ sandwiches or Sloppy Joe sandwiches. Also, I top BBQ pizza with pickled onions.
I will definitely be making these pickled red onions again and again. I add them to so many dishes that just need that little extra something.
Hi Linda, I’m so glad you love them!
I have made this once already and am preparing to make it again. Let’s just say, absolutely LOVE it! Gonna let the husband try it this time, as I ate it all myself before!
Hi Karen, amazing! So glad you love the pickled onions.
We made these a few times. They are delicious, easy to make, and taste great on sandwiches, burgers, salads, etc.
Can you something other then sugar? I am diabetic. Dang.
Hi Ross, the sugar helps balance the flavors in this recipe, but you could reduce or skip it if needed. You could also substitute a reduced amount of another sweetener.
Could you use coconut or brown sugar as a substitute?
I used brown sugar, the colour of the brine is definitely weird, however it doesn’t affect the appearance of the onions.
For white vinegar did you use distilled white or white wine vinegar? Thanks
distilled white vinegar!