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Pickled Red Onions

By Snejana Andreeva

on Nov 24, 2025

Pickled Red Onions are my favourite way to make any meal feel and taste a little more elevated. One minute they’re just plain sliced onions 🧅 and the next they’re neon pink, tangy, and acting like they make the whole meal (they do!). A dip in the hot brine softens them just enough and they’re well on their way to making tacos 🌮 better, and salads less boring. I love keeping a jar in the fridge because they somehow make everything that much better, not to mention how easy and fast they are. Once you start making these, don’t be alarmed 🚨 when you start putting them on absolutely everything.

Key Takeaways

Pickled Red Onions add a vibrant tangy flavor, elevating any meal instantly.
The quick-pickle method is easy; it combines thinly sliced red onions, vinegar, boiling water, sugar, and salt.
You can adjust the taste by swapping vinegar or adding ingredients like jalapeños or garlic.
These onions last 2–3 weeks in the fridge and are ready to eat in just 20–30 minutes.
They pair well with various dishes, including tacos, burgers, salads, and sandwiches.
Key Takeaways
Why You’ll Love Pickled Red Onions
Ingredients
Nonna’s Tip 🧅
Variations and Substitutions for Pickled Red Onions
Best Served With
Similar Recipes
Common Questions
Pickled Red Onions Recipe

Why You’ll Love Pickled Red Onions

Thinly sliced red onions 🧅 soak in a tangy brine that transforms them into bright pink ribbons with the perfect bite that is just acidic enough to wake up anything you put them on. The quick-pickle method gives you all of the flavor with the satisfaction of making it yourself. The balance of vinegar, sweetness, and salt makes these onions both punchy and refreshing, and you can easily adjust the flavour by swapping the vinegar, adding jalapeños for heat 🌶, or tossing in garlic cloves or herbs for something a little more aromatic 🌿. They’re the perfect condiment that makes every meal taste punchier and adds a gorgeous pop of colour✨.

Ingredients

🧅 Red Onion: Thinly sliced so it softens quickly in the brine and takes on that gorgeous bright-pink color we all love. 🤍 White Vinegar: Adds the tangy backbone. It’s sharp, clean, and gives the onions their signature bite. 💧 Boiling Hot Water: Helps dissolve the salt and sugar instantly, and slightly softens the onions so they pickle faster. 🍯 Sugar: Balances the acidity and rounds out the flavor. You can swap this for maple syrup or honey if you prefer. 🧂 Salt: Enhances the flavor, draws moisture out of the onions, and helps everything pickle evenly.

Nonna’s Tip 🧅

If you prefer a milder taste , use rice wine vinegar instead of white vinegar.

A glass jar with a handle, filled with bright pink pickled red onions, sits on a rustic surface with a blurred, festive background of warm lights. - 4

Variations and Substitutions for Pickled Red Onions

Instead of sugar, you could use maple syrup or honey 🍯 for a naturally sweet , softer-flavored brine.
If you like a little heat 🌶, you could add sliced jalapeños, red pepper flakes, or a few whole peppercorns to give your onions a gentle kick.
Use the brine with any veggies you prefer — cucumbers, carrots, radishes, cabbage, jalapeños, bell peppers, green beans, turnips, and so on. Slice harder veggies thin so they soften faster.
Instead of white vinegar, you could use rice vinegar 🍚 for the mildest flavor, or swap in apple cider vinegar for something a little brighter.
If you like extra crunch , you could slice 🔪 the onions a little thicker so they hold their bite even after pickling.

Best Served With

On top of a bagel with some Smoked Salmon Jerky 🍣.
Tacos 🌮, burgers , or pizza as a topping.
In a Simple Green Salad 🥗.
On avocado toast 🥑 to punch it up a little!
Your favorite sandwich 🥪 as the perfect condiment.

Similar Recipes

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Common Questions

They keep for 2–3 weeks in the fridge as long as they’re fully submerged in the brine.

Yes! You can do this with absolutely any veggies you like! Harder vegetables just need to be sliced thin so they soften quickly.

Yes! For the mildest, smoothest flavor, rice vinegar is best. Apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar are also great. White vinegar is going to be the sharpest.

They’re ready in 20–30 minutes, but the flavor becomes stronger and smoother if you let them sit overnight.

Absolutely. You can use maple syrup or honey instead of sugar. Start with the same amount and adjust to taste.

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Equipment

▢ Nakiri Knife
▢ Cutting Board
▢ Measuring Cups + Spoons

Ingredients

▢ 1 large red onion , thinly sliced
▢ 1 cup white vinegar , or white wine vinegar
▢ 1 cup hot water , I boiled mine
▢ 1 tablespoon sugar , or maple syrup
▢ 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

▢ Thinly slice your large red onion and put it in a jar.
▢ Mix the vinegar, hot water, sugar, and salt until dissolved, then pour over the onions.
▢ Cool it completely, lid on, and place it in the fridge.
▢ Let it sit for at least 60 minutes (overnight for the best flavor).
▢ Keep for 2-3 weeks in the fridge. Enjoy on bagels, wraps, salads, or any way you like!

Nonna’s Notes

Sweetener swap: Replace the sugar with maple syrup or honey for a naturally sweet, softer-flavored brine.
Vinegar options: Use rice vinegar for a mild pickle, or try apple cider or white wine vinegar for a brighter taste.
Spicy twist: Add sliced jalapeños, red pepper flakes, or whole peppercorns for a little heat.
Aromatic boost: Slip in whole garlic cloves or some herbs of your choosing to deepen the flavor.

My Notes

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.