Pickled Red Onions

Quick Pickled Red Onions are a breeze to make and add so much flavor to many dishes. I love to add them to my brats, steak, burgers, sandwiches, bowls, and omelets. Enjoy them on all your favorite Mexican dishes like tacos, burritos, quesadillas, huevos rancheros, and fajitas.

Why You’ll Love These

Spice up your meals with this simple and tasty pickled red onions recipe. With a little more than a handful of ingredients, you can easily make these tangy and flavorful onions to add to sandwiches, salads, and more! In less than 10 minutes, you can have a whole batch of these tasty onions at your disposal, ready to add to all your favorite recipes. If you like this recipe, try pickled eggs, pickled jalapenos, creamy dill pickle soup, and dill pickle pasta salad.

Ingredients Needed

• Red onions – this recipe also works with other onions like yellow and Vidalia
• Vinegar – white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, or champagne vinegar in the brine.
• Granulated sugar – I like my pickled onions to taste a little on the sweet side. If you watch your sugar, cut it back to 1-2 tablespoons.
• Salt
• Garlic – fresh, of course
• Black peppercorns – or tri-color
• Red pepper flakes – optional but recommended; they add a little zest

How to Pickle Red Onions

This is the nutshell version, please see the recipe card below for full directions and instructions.

First, slice the onions thinly using a sharp knife or mandoline. While you are cutting the onions, add the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes.

Add the sliced onions to a clean, sealable jar. Then add just a few peppercorns, a clove of garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes to each jar. Fill the jar with the hot pickling liquid mixture, covering all the red onions. Let them cool to room temperature before putting the lids on and placing them in the fridge. They will last about three weeks in the fridge.

Recipe Tips

• If using a quart jar, add 2 garlic cloves, about 1 teaspoon of peppercorns, and about 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
• These quick pickled onions need to be refrigerated. They are not shelf-stable.
• Slice the onions thin but not too thin. I like mine with a little bit of substance for burgers, brats, and sandwiches, but you can slice them thinner if you like. A mandoline comes in very handy for slicing them super thin.
• For a more natural sweetener, use honey or maple syrup.
• Other spices and dried and fresh herbs to experiment with include mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, rosemary, and oregano.

What to Serve Them With

• Sandwiches – add a little sweet crunch to your favorite deli sandwich.
• Tacos – delicious on fish tacos or shrimp tacos.
• Salads – instead of adding plain onions, jazz it up with quick pickled onions.
• Burgers add so much flavor to beef, turkey, and vegan burgers.
• Brats and Hotdogs – these plus spicy mustard equals heaven.
• Eggs – try them on scrambled eggs or omelets
• Tostadas – beef and chicken
• Enchiladas – adds flavor to beef, chicken, and cheese enchiladas
• Potato Salad – takes it to the next level.
• Nachos – one of our favorites
• Quesadillas – delicious nestled in with the cheese
• Cocktail Garnish – pickle some pearl onions and use them in a Gibson, a cocktail made with gin and garnished with pickled onions.

Storage

Store the pickled onions in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. A mason jar works great for these onions.

More Onion Recipes

Air Fryer Onion Rings

Creamed Peas with Pearl Onion

French Onion Soup

French Onion Dip

Roasted Onions

Blooming Onion

Quick Pickled Red Onion Recipe

Quick pickled red onions are so easy to make, and they add flavor and texture to so many dishes. Try them on burgers, brats, sandwiches, burritos, tacos, casseroles, and so much more.

4.96 from 24 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: side dish/other

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 29kcal

Author: Beth Pierce

Ingredients

• 2 small red onions cut in half and sliced thin
• 1 cup white vinegar or cider vinegar see notes
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup sugar see notes
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 small cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional

Instructions

• Add the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and let it cool for 3-4 minutes.
• Add the sliced onions to clean resealable jars.  Add a few peppercorns, a clove of garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes to each jar. Fill the jar with the hot liquid making sure to cover all the red onions.  Cool the jars to room temperature before putting the lids on and placing them in the fridge.
• Store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. 

Notes

• If using a quart jar, add 2 garlic cloves, about 1 teaspoon of peppercorns, and about 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
• These quick pickled onions need to be refrigerated. They are not shelf-stable.
• Slice the onions thin but not too thin. I like mine with a little bit of substance for burgers, brats, and sandwiches, but you can slice them thinner if you like. A mandoline comes in very handy for slicing them super thin.
• For a more natural sweetener, use honey or maple syrup.
• Other spices and dried and fresh herbs to experiment with include mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, rosemary, and oregano.

Nutrition

Calories: 29kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 51mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Did You Make This Recipe?Mention @smalltownwomanfoodnut or tag #smalltownwomanfoodnut!

Are you on the hunt for more delicious recipes?  Follow Small Town Woman on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.