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Home » Side dish

Pickled Red Onions

July 31, 2018 by Helena 1 Comment

Pickled Red Onions are tangy, sweet and crunchy and make the best and and most beautiful topping to your favorite dishes. They are super easy and fast to make, and keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Pickled Red Onions

The perfect thing to add to a salad, tacos, burgers and what ever more you you like onions on. The color is just beautiful and all natural!

These are some great recipes where I have used this pickled onion recipe:

Chickpea Avocado Salad Sandwich

Summer Watermelon Salad 

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • Substitutions
  • Variations
  • Storage
  • Salads
  • Paring

Ingredients

All you need to make these delicious homemade pickled red onions are just a few, basic ingredients. For the full ingredient measurements, scroll down to view the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Ingredients on a wooden cutting board.
  • Red onion, peeled and thinly sliced or use a mandolin for the thinnest of slices.
  • Apple cider vinegar, or white vinegar can also e used.
  • Water, for the pickle brine.
  • Sugar, white sugar gives the classic pickle taste and the perfect balance between the tangy and sweet.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

This red onion pickle recipe comes together really fast and easy. Follow along with the with the step-by-step photos below. For the full written instructions see the recipe card at the bottom.

Sliced red onions on a cutting board.

Start by peeling the onion and slice it thinly. Use a mandolin if you like. 

The pickling brine in a pan.

In a medium sauce pan, add the apple cider vinegar, water and sugar. Stir well and bring to a boil while stirring and simmer until the sugar is dissolved.

The pickling brine and red onions in a pan.

Take off the heat and add the onions to the hot liquid. 

The pickling brine and red onions in a pan.

Let the onions cool down for about 10 minutes and then transfer to a jar or airtight container. Let the onions pickle for at least 1 hour if you are in a rush, but they taste even better the next day.

Hint: For thin and even slices of red onion, use a mandolin.

Pickled Red Onions

Substitutions

  • Onion – instead of red onion, you can use white vinegar, rice vinegar or even red wine vinegar. The flavor will be a little different, but still delicious. Taste and add more sugar if needed.
  • Sugar – These quick pickled red onions uses white sugar, but brown sugar also works. For a refine sugar free recipe, use maple syrup, agave or coconut sugar. You might have to add a little more to get the same balance of tangy and sweet. Tase and adjust to your liking.

Variations

These are some suggestions for flavor additions to customise this pickled onion recipe to your liking.

  • Garlic, peal a clove or two and add them whole to the jar of onion pickles.
  • Bay leaf, add a whole leaf and let the flavours infuse with the red onions while they pickle.
  • Black pepper corns, ads a little peppery spice that goes so well with the onion flavor.
  • Spicy, add some sliced jalapeños, a little hot chilli flakes or a whole chill for some spice.
  • Salt, a pinch of salt helps bring out all the flavours.
  • Fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon of whole fennel seeds ads another flavor dimension to these onion pickles. So if you are a fan of fennel, give it a try.

Pickled Red Onions in a jar with a fork.

Storage

Store these pickled red onions in a jar or airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. This recipe makes a small jar and is easy and fast to make. It can easily be doubled for meal-prep.

I don’t recommend freezing these onion pickles.

Salads

These easy apple cider pickled red onions tastes great in a salad.

  • The pasta salad in the salad bowl topped with fresh basil and lemon slices.
    Lemon Basil Pasta Salad
  • The dressing in a small jar surrounded by avocado and herbs.
    Avocado Green Goddess Dressing
  • The pasta salad in a large bowl.
    Sun dried tomato pasta salad
  • The salad in a big bowl with a bowl of dressing on the side.
    Chickpea Orzo Salad

Paring

These are my favorite dishes to serve with these pickled red onions:

  • Avocado toast with grilled asparagus and tomatoes
    Avocado Toast with Tomato
  • Smoked Salmon Sushi Bowl
    Easy Smoked Salmon Sushi Bowl
  • Mexican Street Corn Avocado Toast topped with cilantro on a pice to parchment paper.
    Mexican Street Corn Avocado Toast
  • Mexican Black Bean Burger
    Mexican Black Bean Burger

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! 

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment, rating, and tagging me at @thedeliciousplate in your picture on Instagram. Your feedback is so helpful! Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter to be sure not to miss my latest recipes!

5 from 1 vote
Pickled Red Onions in a jar.
Print
Pickled Red Onions
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 

Pickled Red Onions are tangy, sweet and crunchy and make the best and and most beautiful topping to your favorite dishes. They are super easy and fast to make, and keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Servings: 1 small jar
Author: Helena
Ingredients
  • 1 large red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
  • ½ Cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Cup water
  • 2 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
  1. Start by peeling the onion and slice it thinly. Use a mandolin if you like.

  2. In a medium sauce pan, add the apple cider vinegar, water and sugar. Stir well and bring to a boil while stirring and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Take off the heat and add the sliced onions to the hot liquid. 

  3. Let the onions cool down for about 10 minutes and then transfer to a jar or airtight container. Let the onions pickle for at least 1 hour if you are in a rush, but they taste even better the next day.

    Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

More Side dish

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Al

    May 15, 2024 at 5:48 pm

    5 stars
    It’s super super good!

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Helena!

Welcome to my blog, The Delicious Plate!

Here you’ll find some of my favourite recipes that your family will love! Cooking and baking is my passion so please follow along and share what I create!

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