I love red onions because even just a few slivers of fresh red onion can truly transform a recipe (see Thai Curry Vegetable Soup and Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Lentils) and there’s no substitution that is really quite like it. BUT I can rarely find a red onion that is smaller than a softball and I usually only need 1/4 or less of it for a recipe. Because I hate to waste the rest of the onions, I always use the leftovers to make a batch of these Pickled Red Onions
What Are “Quick” Pickles?
There are two methods for pickling vegetables: through fermentation or by using a vinegar-based brine. Both methods use a salty and acidic liquid to prohibit the growth of dangerous bacteria. With fermentation, the acid is created by microorganisms, but this can take days or even weeks to accomplish. Store-bought vinegar creates this brine almost instantly, hence the name quick pickle.
The trade-off for this quick process is that quick pickles do not contain probiotics, like fermented pickles, and the flavor can be a little more one-dimensional. Fermented pickles are a bit more of an exact science and can take some practice to get right (here’s a recipe for Fermented Sour Pickles, if you’re interested), whereas quick pickles are pretty hard to mess up.
How to Use Pickled Red Onions
Pickled red onions are AWESOME on tacos, sandwiches, carnitas, salads, pizza, nachos, flatbread, avocado toast, burgers, and lots of other things (practically any Mexican dish). Instead of thinking of these pickled red onions as a substitute for fresh red onions, think of them as a non-spicy alternative to pickled jalapeño. That tangy pickled flavor tastes great anywhere you’d normally use a pickled jalapeño.
How long do They Last?
Keep your pickled red onions refrigerated and in the brine and they’ll last 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator! The flavor gets better over time as the onions marinate in the brine. Just make sure to keep your pickled red onions refrigerated in a non-reactive, air-tight container, like a mason jar or other food-safe storage container.
Customize Your Onions
There are a million different ways to make pickled red onions, so I’ve provided a very basic version below. As you begin to make them more often, you can start to tweak the flavors to match your preferences. Experiment with the seasonings and spices by adding ingredients like bay leaf, star anise, sliced jalapeño, or red pepper flakes.
What Kind of Vinegar to Use for Pickled Red Onions
The recipe below uses white vinegar, but you can use different kinds of vinegar in your pickled red onion recipe to change the flavor. I suggest not using vinegar with strong flavors so they don’t overpower the onions or the other ingredients. Try using rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar in your pickled red onions!
(Tacos made with Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork, fresh jalapeño, pickled red onion, and cotija.)
Pickled Red Onions
Servings 10 1.5 cups totalIngredients
- 1.5 cups sliced red onion ($0.32)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 3 Tbsp white sugar ($0.06)
- 1.5 Tbsp salt ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp peppercorns ($0.05)
- 1 cup white vinegar ($0.06)
Instructions
- Thinly slice the red onion into 1/8-inch slices. Peel the garlic. Place the onion and garlic in a large glass or ceramic bowl.
- Add the sugar, salt, and peppercorns to a small sauce pot. Add the vinegar and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Place a lid on the pot and bring the mixture up to a boil over medium-high heat.
- When it reaches a boil, pour the vinegar over the sliced onion and garlic.* Press the onion down so all the pieces are submerged, then let the mixture cool to room temperature. I sometimes place a piece of plastic wrap over the onions to help push and hold them below the surface of the brine (see step by step photos below).
- Once cool, use the onions immediately or transfer the onions and all the brine to a covered non-reactive container (glass, ceramic, or plastic) for storage in the refrigerator. The onions can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Pickled Red Onions – Step by Step Photos
This recipe works for up to about 2 cups of sliced red onion, but you can use less if you have less. It’s great for using up a leftover half onion, but I’ve used a whole onion for demonstration purposes here. Slice the onion into ⅛-inch slices.
Place the sliced onions and one clove of peeled garlic in a large ceramic or glass bowl.
Add 1.5 Tbsp salt, 3 Tbsp sugar, ½ tsp whole peppercorns, and 1 cup white vinegar to a saucepot. Stir to dissolve as much of the salt and sugar as possible. Place a lid on the pot and bring it up to a boil over medium-high heat.
Carefully pour the boiling vinegar brine over the sliced onions and garlic in the bowl. Stir to combine and press the onions below the brine. Allow the mixture to come to room temperature. I like to take a piece of plastic wrap and press it down onto the onions to help them stay below the brine just as soon as it’s cool enough to touch.
As the onions soak in the brine they’ll begin to turn an incredibly vibrant shade of pink. The pigment in red onions and red cabbage is a natural pH indicator. Don’t you just love food science??
Once the onions have come to room temperature and are a vibrant pink color, transfer them to an air-tight food storage container and refrigerate until ready to eat, or up to 4 weeks. The flavor gets even better after a few days!
(Tacos made with Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork, fresh jalapeño, pickled red onion, and cotija.)
I just pickled these onions for carnitas, and my tacos turned out restaurant quality. The onions were tangy with just the right crunch to balance the fatty and rich carnitas. I don’t think the leftovers will last the week.
I tried but couldn’t pop the top from my pepper mill. The onions tasted just fine without the peppercorns for those folks having similar difficulties with their pepper mill.
I have tried several other recipes, but this one is the one! Love it !
Thanks for the recipe. I gave it a shot, and while it was good, it’s sweeter than I usually like my pickles. Will the brine still work ok if I reduce the sugar or even leave it out? Will I need to replace it with more salt?
Hmm, I’m not 100% sure.
I made these for the first time today and I only used 2 traps of sugar and they are really good. My wife went bonkers over them.
I only used 3/4 TBSP. of sugar in mine and I think I will enjoy the taste more as well. Thank you for asking about the sugar/sweetness factor because I prefer it less sweet too.
It was nice to see directions for a crisper outcome, I personally like them with a little cruch. This recipe was simple and very easy! Thank you for posting it.
If you don’t have time to make these, you could just stick the leftover onion in the fridge. That’s what I usually do. I peel the outer papery layers off the whole onion, then just chop as much as I need for a single meal. The rest goes into a sealed container and into the fridge. I usually use them within a week or two and haven’t had any issues!
Do you think this recipe would still work with apple cider vinegar? I already have that one in my pantry. :)
Hmm, it depends on how much you like the flavor of AC vinegar. :) That extra flavor will most likely come through in the end product. Technically speaking, though, it will work.
How in the heck did you get the lid off that grinder? Those little guys are tough!
Yes, it WAS tough… and honestly I’m not sure how safe it is. I think the key is to pry it off kind of sideways, instead of straight off, so that one side gets pulled above the lip first.
crazy thought but.. you COULD just get peppercorn without the grinder; they are usually sold in generic bulk packages for a lot less than those small glass bottles; I get a pepper blend from a local farmers market that has black, red, pink and white peppercorns and the package is less than $2 and has easily 4 times more peppercorn than you get with the mccormick glass containers sold at most grocery stores.
cracked or crushed peppercorn is better than ground peppercorn in many situations (such as rubs for meat) – i just roll them out on the cutting board and use the flat side of a butcher knife to crush them when needed.
Do you think this would be good with regular white or yellow onions?
You know, I’ve never seen pickled yellow or white onions and there must be a reason… I’m just not sure what the flavor would be like.
I’ve pickled vidalia onions quite a bit and they are excellent. Vidalia onions are sweeter and not quite as crisp but they are quite good pickled. – I like using red onions for the visual effect as well as being delicious but you can certainly pickle other types of onions.
Pickled white onions are very popular here in the UK. I still prefer red, though.
If you ever buy jalapeños from the Mexican aisle, you’ll see cans of jalapeños pickled with white onions and carrots.. my mom soaks chopped white onions in the vinegar mixture from the jalapeños for sandwiches .. yum😋
I love pickled red onions! I had never had them until I traveled to Peru, where they were served at almost every meal. :-) Now I am just going to have to make them myself!
As soon as I saw the photo of your tacos, I ran out to get the pork. I had everything for the pork rub and pickled onions (and other toppings) on hand which is why I love Budget Bytes recipes. I’d love to see more recipes like this that turn leftover scraps that would normally go to waste into useful alternatives.
Could you skip the step of soaking the onions in a bowl, and let them soak directly in the jar you’ll be using later?
Also, how did you get your peppercorns out of that grinder? I can get the same disposable McCormick peppercorn grinders up here in Canada, but for the life of me I can’t act actually open them to access the peppercorns. This also means I can’t just refill them. Maybe it’s a regional difference in the design.
I’m having the same problem with a McCormick peppercorn grinder that I bought in California.
Yes, you could just transfer the hot brine and onions directly to a jar to cool, but it’s a bit easier to pour it into a large bowl when it’s hot. :) The cap of the grinder is fairly difficult to get off. I just basically pulled it off… Instead of pulling straight up on the cap I kind of pried it off sideways. I’m not sure how safe it is to do that, though. I kept imagining the glass breaking. :P
LOVE pickled red onions! I actually do a lacto-fermented version with pickle pipes – they’re PERFECT on salads!
Beth, Thanks! I just made a batch with an onion that I grabbed at a farm stand on my way home. It came out great, as it has the perfect salty/sweet/sour combination of ingredients. I am now going to try it with some pickling cucumbers.
I put the mixture directly into a wide-mouth quart jar and skipped the bowl. One trick I learned is to put a much smaller, /small-mouth jar inside the larger jar on top on top of the mixture and then put on the lid. This pushes the onions down and keeps them submerged when you put them in the fridge.
I’ve often pickled radishes, but not onions. This is a great idea, thank you!
Oooh, radishes sound delicious!
Try using Daikon Radishes and Carrots – both sliced into thin strips. This is a common mix used in Vietnamese Banh-Mi sandwiches (and also just makes a great side dish on it’s own). You can get Daikon radishes at most asian grocery stores. they don’t look anything like the small round things we call radishes here so you might not recognize them in the store so if you aren’t familiar with them you might want to look at this before you head to the store -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daikon
I know you’re from my area and fyi. ideal Market carrys pickled red onions. Must have on Mexican night at the house.
Do you feel these onions could be frozen with this method?
Hmm, I suppose, although I don’t know if vinegar freezes… Interesting question!
Vinegar freezes. There’s an old recipe for freezer slaw that uses vinegar.
Freezer slaw! Now that sounds interesting! Thanks for the tip. ;)
I bet they could be frozen. My mom does “freezer pickles” with cucumbers and they actually turn out really yummy.