Quick Pickled Red Onions

One jar. Sixty minutes! This no-boil pickled onions recipe will give you tangy, crisp pickled onions in just under an hour. They are the perfect topping for tacos, burritos, nachos, burgers and more.

After testing these extensively and using them in my real-life meals, I came to the conclusion that keeping it simple is the way to go when it comes to pickling onions. A red onion, vinegar, a little sweetness and some salt is all you need!

Pickling transforms raw red onions from pungent and aggressively crunchy into something irresistibly tangy, bright, and crisp. A small jar in your fridge is the difference between a sad desk lunch and a bowl that feels intentional. Adding these onions to your leftovers gives you a burst of flavor and color.

Tips for Success

Slice thinly! The trick to truly quick pickled onions is to keep the onion slices thin - about ⅛ - ¼ of an inch. This lets the vinegar penetrate fast, which means they are ready in about 60 minutes instead of several hours later. If you plan to make a larger batch, you might want to grab a mandoline but for this small batch recipe a sharp chef's knife works fine.

Use hot water ⇢ I created this recipe without using boiling water so you don't have get out a pan and wait for the water to boil. As long as your kitchen tap water gets quite hot, this will work fine. If you happen to have instant hot water in your kitchen, you can use that too. You'll add the hot water to a heat-safe measuring cup like this Perex version.

Best vinegar choice ⇢ Apple cider vinegar adds a tangy yet slightly sweet flavor to the onions. It's less acidic than plain white distilled vinegar so I think it gives you a better end flavor.

Add a little sweetener ⇢ Maple syrup instead of plain white sugar brings a subtle depth that rounds out the acidity. Without any sweetener, the brine is a bit sour and one-dimensional. With it, the flavors are more balanced. If you skip the sweetener the onions end up with a pretty vinegary taste.

Let the onions ferment ⇢Once you've got the sliced onions in the jar, carefully pour the brine over them, filling the jar to the top. Let it sit at room temperature until cooled - this should take about 30 minutes. Then stash the jar in the refrigerator. They’ll be ready after about 15 minutes in the fridge, but I almost always wait a couple of hours as I generally meal prep earlier in the day. The onions will turn bright pink as they pickle, and the flavor will settle into a nice tangy sweet balance.

How to Use Them

Tacos are the obvious answer, but don't stop there. Pickled onions are particularly good on almost all Mexican or Tex-Mex inspired dishes, they add a fun pop of brightness to something like these Black Bean Nachos.

• Layer on your salads. Add some zip to your entree salads like this grilled steak salad or this Chopped Salad in a Jar. You can also dice them up and add an extra punch to a creamy chicken or tuna salad.
• Upgrade burgers and sandwiches. They are a great addition to anything you normally top with sliced red onions. I especially love them on these pulled pork sliders or these open-faced grilled steak sandwiches!
• Elevate your eggs. Whether it's simple cheesy scrambled eggs, some avocado toast or creamy chillaquiles, pickled red onions instantly add a pop of flavor!

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