Pickled Red Onions
With just a few, simple pantry staple ingredients, you can easily make Pickled Red Onions. They’re a nice tangy and sweet onion to add to salads, sandwiches, burgers and more!
AN EASY PICKLED ONION RECIPE
In my house, these Pickled Red Onions are a staple! They’re silly simple to make and I could put them on just about everything. They have a nice tangy crunch with just a hint of sweetness that can really take a normal, everyday meal and turn it up a notch by adding this little, special ingredient that packs a whole punch of flavor!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
I’m obsessed with these things! They’re so good on so many things like salads or sandwiches. I really enjoy them in my Italian Grinder Pasta Salad or in Spaghetti Salad. I toss a few on my Tuna Salad Sandwich or Chicken Salad Sandwich. I’d also put it on some Shrimp Tacos, a Chicken Sandwich or on some Pulled Pork Bbq Sandwiches. The sky is the limit!
Sugar plays a crucial role in pickling recipes by balancing out the acidity from the vinegar. It also helps to enhance the flavors of the pickled ingredients and is an important part of the fermentation process when pickling these onions. While I haven’t experimented with using a sugar substitute with this specific recipe, I think you would be able to, as long as it were a 1:1 sugar substitute, like Splenda granulated sweetener, or something like that.
Yes, you can. If you’d like to store these at room temperature, follow the proper canning procedures to sterilize your jars and to properly water bath can your pickled onions. To do so, it’s important to follow proper canning recommendations.
You can mix up the flavor by adding garlic cloves, your favorite hot pepper, or chili flakes to the jar.
Thinner onions pickle the fastest, they are ready when they turn pink and soft. If you want, you can slice them larger but they will need to sit for longer to soften up.
Keep sealed in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Or, freeze for up to 4 months. You can preserve these to keep at room temperature only if using the safe canning practices shared at the link a few questions above.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- red onions – I use about one large red onion. But, this will also work with other onions of your choice if you’d like to use this process on other onion varieties.
- water
- apple cider vinegar– I think this adds more flavor, but, regular distilled white vinegar could be used.
- granulated sugar – this is necessary to give these that distinct pickled red onion flavor we’re all familiar with (plus, it’s only 2 Tablespoons for this entire batch.) See my Frequently Asked Questions above about sugar substitutes.
- salt
HOW TO MAKE PICKLED RED ONIONS
Using a mandolin, place it on the thinnest setting, slice the onion down to the root, and discard the root. (This can be cut by hand, I just found it easiest to slice them evenly and thinly with a mandolin slicer). Add the sliced onions to 2 (11-ounce jars) and set aside. Place the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and whisk to combine. Stirring occasionally, allow it to come to a simmer. Once at a simmer, take off the heat.
Pour the liquid into each jar. Gently press the onions down with a spoon so they are submerged in the liquid.
Allow to come to room temperature for about 1-2 hours. After this time, they are ready to enjoy, or cover and refrigerate before serving.
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Pickled Red Onions
Ingredients
- 10 ounce red onion (peeled, root on) (about one large red onion)
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Using a mandolin, place it on the thinnest setting, slice a 10 ounce red onion (peeled, root on) down to the root, and discard the root. (This can be cut by hand, I just found it easiest to slice them evenly and thinly with a mandolin slicer).
- Add the sliced onions evenly to 2 (11-ounce) jars and set aside.
- Place 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan.
- Place over medium heat and whisk to combine.
- Stirring occasionally, allow it to come to a simmer. Once at a simmer, take off the heat.
- Pour the liquid evenly into each jar.
- Gently press the onions down with a spoon so they are submerged in the liquid.
- Allow to come to room temperature for about 1-2 hours. After this time, they are ready to enjoy, or cover and refrigerate before serving.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Delicious! I made the recipe as printed. I’ll experiment with different spices in the future.
There are so many options for these. I like keeping them in the fridge for burgers and other uses. Love it!
Thank you!! We really love them too!
Made today. So good!!
Yay!! Thanks so much Tina!!