Quick and easy pickled onions add a kick to salads, sandwiches, burgers, tacos, and more! This recipes takes less than 10 minutes to put together and is Paleo and Whole 30 friendly!
Pickled onions are so easy and delicious. I almost always keep a jar in my fridge for salads and sandwiches since they're tasty and a breeze to make. Plus, these require no canning!
Ingredients
Onions
You can pickle any type of onion! Red onions are very common because they turn the onions a pretty shade of pink. But, you can also pickle white onions, yellows onion, or baby pearl onions.
Vinegar
White distilled vinegar is the most common but you can also use white or red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or a mix of different vinegars! I've also heard of people using balsamic vinegar or rice wine vinegar for a unique flavor.
Added spices and flavors
You can add a variety of different flavors to your pickled onions. Often a pinch of sugar is used to offset the tartness but this is completely optional. Other common additions or flavors:
- peppercorns
- garlic
- citrus juice or rinds
- cloves
- bay leafs
- seeds such as fennel, mustard, or coriander
But really, you are only limited by your imagination it's easy to try different flavors to see what you like.
Making Pickled Onions
These pickled onions are made by thinly slicing onions and soaking them in vinegar. No canning is involved. The most skill you'll need to make these is deciding to blanch or not to blanch.
Blanching Onions
The process of blanching onions is to pour boiling water over the sliced onions prior to soaking in the vinegar. I've heard different reasons to do this. Some say it keeps them crunchy and others say it makes the flavor more mild.
I use a tea kettle to boil a few cups of water and then pour it over the sliced onions in a strainer in my sink. But, this is completely optional and they are still delicious without blanching.
How long to pickle onions
You can pickle for little as an hour before using, but ideally 24 hours.
Storing and Uses
You can use pickled onions anywhere you'd use a normal raw onion. That means they are delicious on top of sandwiches, burgers, salads, tacos, and appetizers like this roast beef crostini. If you pickle pearl onions you can use them in cocktails, yum!
The pickled onions last up to 10 -14 days in the fridge.
WANT TO JOIN THE PARTY? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest recipes!
Pickled Onions
INGREDIENTS
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup distilled white, white wine, or apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar optional
- Flavor additions such as peppercorns, garlic, etc. optional
- boiling water optional
Instructions
- If blanching: place sliced onions in a strainer in a sink and pour a few cups of boiling water over the onions. Let the excess water drain off the onions. This is optional.
- Add salt, and optional sugar and other spices to the vinegar.
- Add onions to a mason jar or other food storage container.
- Pour vinegar mix over the onions.
- Cover and let sit in fridge for least an hour before using.
Notes
- Red onions will give you the bright pink color, but any onions can be used
- These will keep up to two weeks in the fridge
Pickled onions is the thing that I want to make it. They are perfect for salads or any meat. Yummy!
My husband pickled onions once before. I’ll send him your recipe to see if he needs an upgrade from what you did. Thanks for the info!
This is such a great staple recipe. I love to have pickled onions on hand at all times. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I’m always looking for ways to make my salads quick nd much more flavorful! Thanks for this Sophia.
These sound amazing on a nice grilled burger! I’ll have to try these this weekend!