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Quick and tangy Pickled Red Onions are a delicious addition to salads, sandwiches, and grain bowls, and they take only 4 ingredients and a little bit of chilling time.
Megganโs notes
I started pickling onions in culinary school and this is the recipe we used, but there are lots of different ways to make pickled red onions. You can use different types of vinegar, play around with the amount of sugar, and you can add herbs or spices to flavor the brine.
I see this as a starter pikcled onion recipe ripe for your customizations, but personally, I love these as-is. They truly need nothing else unless you are feeling inspired. And because they are โquick pickled,โ theyโre ready fast.
You can use this brine for other types of onions or shallots. Pickled veggies add a nice sour flavor and fantastic crunch to all kinds of different recipes: sandwiches, wraps, salads, grain bowls, eggs, all of it! They take just 3 ingredients (plus an optional pinch of salt) and need only rest as long as it takes to chill them.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Red onions:ย This recipe will also work with yellow onions, white onions, and even shallots. Slice them with a knife or mandoline.
- Red wine vinegar:ย I love the taste of red wine vinegar, but you can use any vinegar that you prefer or have on hand such as distilled white vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
Step-by-step instructions
- In the bottom of a pint-sized mason jar (16 ounces) or other airtight container with a lid, pack sliced onions tightly.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt to simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour over onions.
- Cover and cool completely, about 30 minutes, then refrigerate until chilled and the flavors have blended, about 30 minutes longer. Store in brine in an airtight container for up to 1 week.ย
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield:ย 8 ounces of raw onion will yield about 2 cups sliced onion. Itโs enough for 8 servings of this pickled red onion recipe, ยผ cup per serving.
- Storage:ย Store pickled red onions covered in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Hand-helds: Try pickled shallots on burgers, sandwiches, and wraps. They are excellent on salads and grain bowls. Anywhere you are seeking a sour crunch, or just extra veggies, pickled onions fit the bill.
- Mexican dishes: This pickled onion recipe is epic on tostadas, tacos, quesadillas, chicken enchiladas, burritos, and nachos.
- More flavors: Swap out the red wine vinegar and try distilled vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or even rice vinegar. Squeeze fresh limes for lime juice. Add fresh herbs and spices like whole peppercorns, cloves, juniper berries, a bay leaf, whole garlic cloves, fresh dill, rosemary, oregano, thyme, or red pepper flakes.
- Sweet: This recipe uses granulated white sugar, but you change your sweetener and add it to taste. Try maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, or monk fruit.
- Pickled Shallots: Learnย How to Pickle Shallots, a quick and easy way to add bright flavor and fresh crunch to so many recipes. Just 3 ingredients!
Frequently Asked Questions
Pickling is an ancient way of using a brine, in this case a combination of vinegar, salt, and sugar, to preserve food and make it last longer. Before refrigeration, people had to figure out a way to preserve their harvest to feed them throughout the year. Pickling (and canning) is a wonderful way to do this. This technique is more of a quick pickle, where you can start consuming the shallots right away instead of allowing them to ferment.
Properly stored in the pickling liquid in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid, pickled onions should keep at least a week in the refrigerator.
More pickled vegetables
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Pickled Red Onions
Equipment
Ingredientsย
- 1 medium red onion peeled and thinly sliced (about 8 ounces or 2 cups, see note 1)
- 2/3 cup red wine vinegar (see note 2)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 pinch Salt
Instructionsย
- In the bottom of a pint jar (16 ounces) or other airtight container with a lid, pack sliced onions tightly.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt to simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
- Pour over onions, cover, and cool completely, about 30 minutes, then refrigerate until chilled and the flavors have blended, about 30 minutes longer. Store in brine in an airtight container for up to 1 week.ย
Notes
- Red onions: This recipe will also work with yellow onions, white onions, and even shallots.
- Red wine vinegar: I love the taste of red wine vinegar, but you can use any vinegar that you prefer or have on hand such as distilled white vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
- Yield:ย 8 ounces of raw onion will yield about 2 cups sliced onion. One batch is enough for 8 servings, ยผ cup per serving.
- Storage: Store pickled red onions covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
I donโt have a food processer and my sliced onions donโt look like the ones in your picture. What is the correct way to hand slice onions into slivers? Thanks
Hi Connie, thank you for your question. I usually use a mandoline to slice them evenly, but you can slice them by laying a halved onion cut-side-down onto the cutting board. Using a sharp knife, make a series of cuts, slicing them to the desired thickness. I use a claw-like grip on the onions and use my knuckles against the side of the knife to guide it to cut the thickness I want. I have a tutorial on the different ways to cut an onion here: https://cash-surge.live/how-to-cut-an-onion/%3C/a%3E. I hope you try this recipe! โ Meggan
Just wondering if you ever used this recipe and swapped the onions for cabbage?
I havenโt tried cabbage but I think it would work great. I used this recipe for shallots but those are a whole lot like onions. Iโm thinking cabbage would be delicious, I just havenโt tried it. Thanks โ Meggan