Okay okay now this is a staple! So quick, so easy, and it lasts weeks in your fridge. Quick pickled red onion adds:
A Whopping Pop Of Colour
Crispness
A Slight Crunch
And Instant Fanciness
To the top of any dish!
Do you find that throwing some quick toppings on a fresh bowl, a savoury breakfast, an open faced sandwich... just makes the food so much more satisfying? It looks pretty, it feels like you're treating yourself, and it's so quick and simple to whip up!
What's Involved?
We make these quick pickled red onions:
Without needing the stove-top
No fancy tools required
And with simple ingredients you likely have on hand
How To Make Quick Pickled Red Onion
- Grab a mason jar or bowl with a lid.
- Thinly slice your red onion.
- Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and hot water.
- Add your onion slices.
- Give it all a stir.
- And store in the fridge!
Most recipes for pickling will direct you to heat your vinegar, sugar, and salt on the stove-top to make sure everything dissolves and all the flavours nicely combine. You can certainly take the time to do this, allow your mixture to cool, toss in your sliced onions, and refrigerate.
But... in a quest to minimize tools needed and effort required, we discovered that this, no-boil method, produces perfectly satisfying pickled onion without the added time.
Is this expert pickling? No. But I've yet to venture into the real world of properly pickling so for now... this totally satisfies!
Which Vinegar Is Best
The taste and colour will vary depending on the type of vinegar used. This recipe suggests white wine vinegar as it's a little more mild in flavour and light in colour. But to be honest... we've tried various combinations depending on what vinegar we have in our pantry and most do the trick.
- Apple cider vinegar will be a little sweeter.
- Red wine vinegar will darken the colour.
- Distilled white vinegar will be a little harsher.
- Rice vinegar will be light and sweet.
- Combine a couple if you'd like BUT...
- Just maybe stay clear of balsamic and malt.
Recipe Cost
What kind of cost does quick pickled red onion add to your dish? Well, the red onions we buy tend to be quite large so half of one will come close to filling a medium sized jar.
Making this recipe as written costs us approximately, CAD $1.46. With the two of us topping our meals with it here and there, it will last us about 3 weeks in the fridge.
Totally worth it for some satisfying drama and restaurant feel!
Do you think you'll give these pink beauties a try? Let us know in the comments below! Check out how we use them to top our colourful and oh so tasty Miso Avocado Toast, Lox Bagel Sandwich, and Lox Crostini Appetizer!
Print
Quick Pickled Red Onion Recipe
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 500 ml 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Oh boy do these add colour, a crisp burst of flavour and so much fun to the top of your dish! Quick, no-boil, and no-fuss pickled red onion!
Ingredients
- ½ large red onion*
- ½ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp cane sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup very hot water
*Fresh ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
- Peel your onion. Cut it in half lengthwise, and slice as thinly as possible, either using a mandoline or by hand. This will create thin, half moon slices.
- In a medium sized mason jar, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and very hot water. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Press your onion slices into the jar until they are fully submerged, adding more hot water if needed.
- If desired, add a few full peppercorns, cloves of garlic or sprigs of rosemary, dill, or thyme.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before using but best left overnight.
- Your pickled onions will keep for about 3 weeks or so in the fridge!
Notes
*Cost Comparison: CAD $1.46
*In lieu of white wine vinegar, most vinegars will work well. There will be slight differences in the taste and colour. Just stay clear of balsamic and malt as they will be too strong in flavour.
*Feel free to experiment with the amount of sugar and salt based on your preference.
- Category: Thrifty How-Tos
- Method: No-Boil
- Cuisine: American
Maria
I can’t believe how quickly I was able to make these pickled onions. Can’t wait to experiment with different herbs the next time. I have a feeling this jar won’t last very long
Kathryn Alexandre
haha I'm glad to hear you'll experiment with adding in herbs and changing up the subtleties of the flavour with your next batch. I add these into so many of our meals so I hope you find lots of uses for them. Thank you so much for the review and star rating!
Patricia Chamberlain
So easy. So tasty. I wanted to try a little heat to my current batch; so I used half apple cider and half white wine vinegar; added thin slices orange bell pepper for a splash of color.
Now I have to wait for them to cool. Yum!
Kathryn Alexandre
I love those additions! Thank you so much for letting me know you’ve been enjoying them and you’re having fun making them your own! I’ll add some heat to my next batch!
Alice
Made two jars one with distilled vinegar and one with apple cider vinegar. Easy to make and tasty.
Kathryn Alexandre
It's great to know that you liked both versions! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a star review Alice! Enjoy your quick pickled onions!
Maggie
The quickest easiest and without doubt tastiest pickled onion recipe I have ever made! I will be trying out with herbs in next batch. Thank you.
Kathryn Alexandre
I'm so glad you love it Maggie! Thank you so much for letting me know it will be a go to for you!
Jake
Great easy brine that can be used for just about anything you want to pickle. I bumped the salt up to 1 1/2 tsp since I like my brine a little more salty.
Kathryn Alexandre
I'm glad you liked it and can see yourself using it for other things you want to pickle too! It definitely doesn't hurt to bump up the salt a bit 👍🏼
Doreen
So easy, so fast and so delicious! I used ACV and didn’t add anything else. I am hooked. Thank you for sharing.
Kathryn Alexandre
Fantastic! I'm so glad you're hooked Doreen. I love having these in the fridge for sprucing up so many different kinds of meals. Thank you so much for writing a 5 star review. That really means a lot! Enjoy!
Jen
My first time pickling at 50 years old! Why did I wait so long? I love pickled onions, these are great and so easy!! I think this will be a new habit, having on hand is game changing!!
Kathryn Alexandre
I'm so glad to hear these will be a new habit Jen! I've had a constant batch on the go this summer and they're such a great way to jazz up so many meals. Thank you for taking the time to let me know you love them. (I've been able to reuse the brine for a second batch too... as long as the brine isn't too old)!