Quick and Easy Pickled Red Onions

These quick and easy pickled red onions take about 5 minutes to make, 8-12 hours to cure, and provide you with a week of delicious toppings for salad, tacos, and more!

This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy for details.

Hey Internet, I was updating my old Vegan Kale Caesar Salad with Chickpea Croutons and Pickled Onions with new photos (!!!!) and decided that the pickled red onions deserve their own post because they're THAT. DANG. GOOD.

While I don't yet have the supplies to can goods at home, I love to make quick refrigerator pickled items.

Note: these onions are not fermented or preserved--they will last about a week in your fridge, so if you don't think you'll eat them all, make a half batch!

What Do I need to Make Quick and Easy Pickled Red Onions?

You only need four things to make these beautiful pink bites of deliciousness:

Onion

Obviously you'll need an onion. I generally use a small to medium red onion and that fits perfectly in my 16 oz mason jar.

You can use another color onion if you like. I find that the pickling takes the "bite" out of red onion, so if you're worried about it being spicy, it doesn't taste like typical raw red onion.

Vinegar

You'll need some kind of vinegar. I prefer apple cider vinegar because of the subtle sweetness, but feel free to use what you have (though I'm not sure Balsamic would taste good with this). I've had good results with white wine vinegar, too.

Salt

In this recipe I tend to use pickling salt because of its purity (table salt can have minerals that have negative reactions with the vinegar). You can also use Kosher salt or I've heard sea salt.

Water

To dilute the vinegar, you'll need some water. I use a 1:1 ratio with the vinegar.

How to Make Quick and Easy Pickled Red Onions?

Making the pickled onions is, as I've mentioned about 100 times, super easy.

First, add the water and vinegar to a small sauce pan (I like using one with a spout) and turn the heat up to high.

Slice your onion in half lengthwise, then peel off the outer skin. Slice the onion thinly, separating the slices and adding them to a mason jar.

When the liquid in your pot has little bubbles, stir in the salt until it dissolves. Once the mixture comes to a boil, you can pour it over the onions.

Depending on how big your onions are, you may have a little leftover liquid. Fill it to just below the brim and dump the rest.

If you do not have enough liquid to cover the onions, try pushing them down with a spoon. If they still aren't covered, add a splash of vinegar.

Let them cool until they're just warm, close the lid and place in the fridge. They should be cured in about 8-10 hours.

How to Use Pickled Red Onions

My favorite way to use pickled red onions is for a tang and crunch in salads! While not as crunchy as straight-up raw red onions, they're definitely not as soft as cooked onions.

I especially love putting pickled red onions in my Vegan Kale Caesar Salad! I love the contrast in flavors and textures with the creamy salad dresing, crunchy chickpea croutons, and tangy pickled onions.

They're great in other salads too, and I also love to eat them in tacos (with roasted cauliflower mmmm) or on baked sweet potatoes for a great flavor contrast.

Anything else?

As always, I hope you love this recipe--I know I do.

Let me know in the comments below if you make these onions, tag me @Zardyplants on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)

Also, one quick request: if you love how this recipe looks or tastes, please leave me a 5-star rating and a nice comment–ratings help more people find my recipes which helps me keep providing them! Thank you!

<3 Liz

Follow me on Social Media!

---

---

Other Recent Content!