Pickled Red Onions

My Pickled Red Onions are made with just 5 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep. They can be served on the table to accompany any breakfast, lunch, or dinner! Or, you can just eat them straight out of the jar. I won’t judge.

I don’t know if anyone adores pickled onions as much as I do! The process of letting the onions sit in this super easy and flavorful brine keeps the onion fresh and crisp, while taking away the potent raw onion flavor. It’s replaced with a nicely balanced garlic and peppercorn flavored brine.

Add them to a charcuterie board, throw them on a sandwich or taco, toss them into some scrambled eggs! This versatile ingredient will brighten up any meal you add it to.

Ingredients

• Red onion – While you can use yellow or white onion, the stronger flavor of red onion works best here.
• White vinegar – White wine vinegar would work too.
• Peppercorns – Make sure to use whole peppercorns. I used a mixture of red, black, and white.
• Garlic – Fresh garlic cloves, crushed.
• Salt and sugar – You can use more or less.

I like my pickled red onions with more of a savory vinegary bite. If you prefer your pickled items sweeter, simply add more sugar to the brine.

How to make pickled red onions

• Prep the onion and garlic – Slice the onion in half from the stem, then in thin 1/8″ slices. Use your knife, flattened on its side, over the garlic cloves. Use the palm of your hand to crush the garlic under the knife. Add the onion to a mason jar.
• Make the brine – Add the vinegar, peppercorns, garlic, salt, and sugar to a small saucepan. Bring everything to a simmer over medium heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and salt dissolve. Remove the pan from the heat.
• Pickle the onions – Pour the brine into the mason jar, making sure to get all the garlic and peppercorns in there as well. Give the mixture a quick mix and let it cool for 10 minutes before securing with a lid and transferring to the fridge for 1 hour.

What else can I put in the brine?

This recipe is a simple and basic version of pickled onions. There are so many ways you can switch it up and add amazing flavors to the brine! Add these ingredients when the brine is simmering.

• Hot peppers such as jalapeño or habanero
• Mustard seeds
• Bay leaves
• Fresh or dried herbs, such as dill
• Citrus peel

How to serve pickled onions

I’ll be honest, I could put these pickled onions on everything I eat. I guess maybe not a slice of cake, but you know what I mean! Try them served over any of these recipes:

• Easy Chicken Fajitas
• Crockpot Pork Carnitas
• The Best Homemade Burgers
• Tex Mex Chilaquiles
• Cheesy Beef Quesadillas
• Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
• Class Potato Salad

Storage instructions

Keep your pickled onions sealed in a jar stored in the fridge. They’ll last you 2 weeks.

If you’re thinking about freezing them, I suggest just freezing the sliced onion and pickling them when you’re ready. Sliced onion will last about 1 year frozen.

Looking for more homemade and less store-bought? Try these!

• Homemade Mayonnaise
• Thousand Island Dressing
• Gnocchi Recipe
• Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
• Deviled Ham
• Easy Homemade Pesto Recipe
• Pancake Mix Recipe
• Easy Cornbread Recipe

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4.75 from 16 votes

Pickled Red Onions

Prep 5 minutes minutes

Refrigerate 1 hour hour

Cook 5 minutes minutes

Total 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

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My Pickled Red Onions are made with just 5 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep. They can be served on the table to accompany any breakfast, lunch, or dinner! Or, you can just eat them straight out of the jar.

US CustomaryMetric

8

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 red onion (sliced thin)
• ▢ 1 cup white vinegar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon salt
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoon sugar

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions 

• Cut the onion in half and slice it into thin strips. Add all the onion into a mason jar.
• Add the vinegar, peppercorns, garlic, salt, and sugar to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar and salt dissolve. Let the mixture come to a simmer, then remove from the heat.
• Pour the vinegar mixture into the jar over the sliced onion. Screw the lid onto the jar and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Equipment

• 1-Quart Saucepan

Notes

1. I like my pickled onions to have a more vinegary flavor. You can add more sugar, up to 3 tbsp in total, if you prefer sweeter pickled onion.
2. Keep your pickled onions sealed in a jar stored in the fridge. They’ll last you 2 weeks.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 22kcal (1%)Carbohydrates: 4g (1%)Protein: 1g (2%)Fat: 1g (2%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Sodium: 874mg (38%)Potassium: 27mg (1%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 3g (3%)Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 9mg (1%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.