These easy pickled red onions are delicious and versatile. They add a tangy, slightly sweet, and crunchy element to steaks, sandwiches, tacos, burrito bowls and more!
Easy Pickled Red Onions Recipe
Pickled Red Onions are so simple to make, and add the perfect touch to so many recipes. They’re a tangy and flavorful condiment made by soaking thinly sliced red onions in vinegar, water, sugar, and salt, which infuses them with a sweet and acidic taste and softens their texture.
This simple recipe has a distinctive flavor that combines the red onions’ natural sweetness and slight spiciness with the pickling liquid’s tanginess and acidity. I keep them in my fridge and use them as a topping for sandwiches, burgers, avocado toast, enchiladas, nachos, tacos, salads, and grain bowls. And if you love onions, don’t miss my Hot Dog Onions!
Keep Pickled Onions In Your Fridge To Use On Everything!
Pickled onions are a delicious and versatile condiment that can be used on a variety of foods. I make a batch of this pickled red onion recipe every month. It’s my secret to add a tangy zip to everything from avocado toast, to salads, tacos and more. Here’s what makes this recipe great:
- Simple Ingredients: It only calls for a few pantry staples like vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and bay leaves.
- Easy to Follow: The recipe is straightforward and requires minimal cooking.
- Quick or Overnight Pickling: Choose between pickling for a bolder flavor overnight or a quicker 30-minute option for a slightly milder taste.
- Dietary Friendly: It’s vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and low-carb, making it a versatile condiment for many diets.
What You’ll Need
Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need to make this pickled red onions recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card for a printable list.
- Sliced Onions: Peel and slice red onion into rounds with a sharp knife or a mandoline.
- Pickling Liquid: Apple cider vinegar and water create the brine.
- Sweetener: Cane sugar, honey or maple syrup to balance the acidity.
- Salt: You’ll need one teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Bay Leaf adding bay leaves enhances the flavor
How to Make Pickled Onions
- Boil the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves.
- Cool: Put the onions into a heat-safe bowl with the bay leaves, pour the liquid over them, and let them cool. Then transfer them to a glass mason jar, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Quick Pickled Red Onions: If you need them sooner, let the onions cool for 30 minutes to an hour before serving them room temperature. They will have a slightly more intense flavor than soaking them overnight, but they will still be good.
Variation Ideas
There are endless possibilities when it comes to pickling onions. You can add herbs, spices, and try different kind of vinegar. Here are some ideas to try:
- Vinegar: Use different vinegar like white vinegar, red wine vinegar, or rice vinegar, for slightly different profiles. Don’t try to use malt vinegar of balsamic vinegar.
- Herbs and Spices: Play around with different spices by adding black peppercorns, red pepper flakes, coriander seeds, fresh herbs, mustard seeds, star anise, etc to the pickling mixture.
- Garlic: Add a few cloves of garlic, either whole or sliced.
How to Use Pickled Red Onions
Pickled onions are a versatile condiment that can add a pop of flavor and color to a wide range of dishes. They are eaten in many cuisines, including Mexican, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean. Here are some ways I like to use pickled onions:
- Sandwiches & Wraps: Pickled red onions add a delightful kick to any sandwich or wrap, especially those with rich fillings like avocado, cheese, or deli meats.
- Avocado Toast: The perfect zing for avocado toast, and it’s pretty too!
- Classic Burger Topping: Ditch the boring ketchup and mustard combo and add a spoonful of pickled red onions to your burger for a burst of flavor and a delightful crunch. They pair especially well with richer burger toppings like cheese, or avocado.
- Salads: Salads of all kinds benefit from pickled onions. They add a burst of flavor and color to green salads or salad platters.
- Mexican Food like Burrito Bowls, with Enchiladas, over Tacos or Nachos, or in Quesadillas
- Charcuterie Boards & Cheese Plates: The tang and vibrancy of pickled onions make them a perfect accompaniment to cured meats, cheeses, and crackers.
- Baked or Grilled Salmon: Top your baked salmon with a spoonful of pickled onions for a pop of flavor and acidity. They cut through the richness of the fish and add a delightful crunch.
- Grain bowls: Make a bowl with quinoa, chickpeas and roasted veggies and add these onions for flavor.
- Grilled meats and steaks: Pickled red onions are a perfect match for grilled meats! Their tangy acidity cuts through the richness of grilled meat and adds a refreshing brightness.
How to Store
Pickled onions typically last a few weeks when stored in the refrigerator. The longer they sit, the softer they will become, and their flavor may intensify. If you like a milder taste, rinse them briefly under cold water before eating.
More Condiment Recipes You’ll Love
Pickled Red Onion Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- In a small saucepan heat the vinegar, water, sugar and salt until it boils and the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer the onions to a heat safe bowl with the bay leaves and pour liquid over the onions.
- Set aside to cool then transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate overnight. For quicker onions, you can leave around 30 minutes to 1 hour. The onions will have a slightly less intense flavor compared to leaving them overnight, but they will still be tasty.
This recipe is so easy and delicious! 😋 My husband is obsessed with these pickled red onions! He eats them with almost everything! The next batch I make will definitely need to be doubled!😉
Make them regularly! Love them…thanks!
Just wondering if you leave the bay leaves in when the onions are refrigerated.
Either way. I leave them in since a batch is used up quickly.
Use this all the time! Super easy and pickled red onions are so good in sandwiches and salads!
Easy and delicious!
The best
These are delicious and no points! I love to keep some in the fridge for salads, tacos, chili…the list keeps going!
These pickled onions are great and easy to prepare. I have added them to this site’s broccoli salad which works well.
REALLY loved this!! Used 1/4 c white vinegar & 1/4 c apple cider vinegar, with regular table salt…..and put them on EVERYTHING…have to make more!
I usually don’t like raw onions but these are delicious. I love them.
Worked perfect! I used swerve for the sugar… no points! Thanks!!
Would you use this same recipe to make pickled sliced carrots? Would you add the carrots raw or would you have to parboil carrots before adding them to the pickling solution?
Sure I would leave the carrots raw.
These are so good on EVERYTHING!!
I am very excited to try this as I have some red onions to use and was recently introduced to the concept of pickled onions. Question – I don’t have bay leaves on hand right now. Can I leave them out or will it be a substantial difference??
Love these
This is the best recipe I have made with red onions, this is my second time make it that’s how much I like it. Thank you 😊
I usually dont like raw onions but these are great!. love them on a quinoa burger or tacos.
Can you warm water bath can then to preserve for months?
Assuming yes? I don’t can so I am not the best person to ask.
We’re having your carnitas pork on tortillas with refried black beans, avocado and pickled onions.
Yum!
Delicious—these will be a new staple in my refrigerator!
Great!!
Excellent. I’m going to use it on beets today. Can’t wait!
I made these this morning, I used a few about an hour after for avocado toast…10/10. Can’t wait to see what the flavor is like tomorrow after a full day of pickling.
This recipe was super easy and very delicious! My family loves them on their sandwiches.
GREAT!
This recipe was great! I added sliced jalapeño. I added the onions and jalapeño to my steak fajitas.
Yum!
Made the pickled red onions today. Excellent!!!!
Love all your recipes.
Thank you, Joan
These are perfect on tacos! I keep them in my fridge all the time!
Can ariticial sweetener be used? I don’t have monkfruit?
Sure
Love this easy recipe. Always have a jar in my refrigerator
Looking to make this diabetic friendly. Suggestions please to make it sugar free? Thank you!
Use monk fruit (most of this doesn’t get absorbed)
What is monk fruit?