Update: Hey guys, I’ve been getting questions about these Pickled Onions so I added a video to the post. You’ll find the video down below, right before the recipe box (or if you’re on a desktop it will be at the top of the post). It’s a super easy technique so give it a whirl if you’re new to it. Enjoy!
You can make a batch of delightful pickled onions faster than you can read this post.
Ready?
How To Make Pickled Onions
(Note: these instructions are not meant for long-term canning.)
If you’re ever hesitant to slice into a fresh onion just to use a single ring for your sandwich, you can now think of that as Step One to keeping a jar of these beauties in your fridge.
In addition to livening up a wide range of Mexican dishes, these pickled onions also come with the side benefit of thoroughly impressing family and friends when you pull that pink jar out of the fridge. You made those? They are one of those condiments that for some reason people don’t expect to see in homes. Yet.
In a saucepan over medium heat bring 3/4 cup vinegar, 3/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of sugar to a light boil. Kosher, sea, or pickling salt are usually recommended for pickling as table salt typically has additives that can negatively affect the brine.
Meanwhile, chop up the rest of the onion. It only takes about 3/4 of a normal-sized red onion to fill a pint-sized Mason jar full of pure zip.
Slice a quarter of the onion lengthwise and you’ll end up with half moons that work well for sandwiches and tacos, but of course you are a free chopper so feel free to get creative.
Give them a quick toss so the rings separate from each other and stuff ’em in a Mason jar. Since we are using vinegar for the pickling a non-reactive container will work best, i.e. glass jars for the win.
Pour the vinegar solution into the jar and add a single clove of garlic chopped in half and some cracks of black pepper.
You could also use whole peppercorns.
It’s also worth mentioning that I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so I like these best when they are barely sweetened. For most of the other pickled goods on the site I don’t add any sugar at all (see Pickled Jalapenos).
But taste buds vary so you can definitely add more sugar if you want a sweeter batch. One teaspoon of sugar would probably be a decent starting point for that option.
Let this mixture cool on the counter for a bit, cover, and then store in the fridge overnight.
Tomorrow your mostly white onions will have transformed into some pink delights that will be magnetically attracted to your next lunch. And dinner. And breakfast.
Use liberally on tacos, sandwiches, tostadas, or just about anything that needs a final dash of zip.
You can get creative too; we use our pickled jalapenos on this Chicken and Jalapeno Pizza and you could do something similar with pickled onions.
These will keep in the fridge for at least a few weeks, after which you can joyfully slice into a brand new red onion and make a new batch in a matter of minutes.
Click Play to see how easy it is to make Pickled Onions!!
Buen Provecho.
Easy Pickled Onions
Ingredients
- 1 red onion
- 3/4 cup vinegar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 clove garlic
- freshly ground pepper
- pinch of sugar (optional)
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 3/4 cup vinegar, 3/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of sugar (optional). Bring to a light boil or until all of the salt is dissolved.
- Chop up the red onion (you can peel and discard the outer skin). I cut it into quarters and then slice lengthwise.
- Give the slices a quick toss and then stuff them in a pint-sized glass jar. Add the vinegar mixture along with 1 garlic clove chopped in half and some freshly ground pepper (or whole peppercorns).
- Let cool on counter for a few minutes. Then cover and store in the refrigerator.
- The pickled onions will have most of their flavor after a few hours of resting in the brine.
Notes
You can use a similar technique to make some Mexican Pickled Carrots.
Or some Pickled Tomatillos.
Want to read our latest post? Fiery Chimichurri Sauce.
Jeff
What a great idea. I often have lrftover onions.
Patrick
Awesome. Cheers Jeff 🙂
Carol Bowman
Surprise to me. I loved this simple recipe and these are great in salads.
Patrick
Thanks for the feedback Carol!
Brad
I like to add fresh jalapenos in with mine. I like the way they blend together instead of making them seperatly. Generally ill use both anyways. Might as well skip a step.
Patrick
I’ve been considering this as well but haven’t pulled the trigger yet 🙂 Good to know it is working for you.
Karen
The BEST! Perfect flavor ..I do add the sugar. Been wanting a recipe for this & I hit the jackpot finding this recipe! I eat these pickled onions on everything or by themselves as if they were candy 😊 I have to have at least one jar in my fridge at all times! And everyone loves these…..Thx a bunch 😘
Patrick
Awesome, so glad these pickled onions are working out for you. It’s been at least a month since I ran out of them, prob time for a new batch heh.
Thanks much for leaving feedback Karen and for mentioning the sugar as I know lots of peeps will prefer to add it in. Cheers.
Karen
Looking forward to making more of your recipes! Thx a bunch Patrick 😊
Patrick
Thanks Karen!
mary
I added chili petins to give a little hotness and they are wonderful. Thanks!
Patrick
Wow awesome, pequins are a great way to give these a bit of heat, can I have some?!! Glad they worked out for you!
Lisa
Currently eating tostadas to eat these. So good. Thanks!
Patrick
Ha awesome, I like your priorities i.e. making tacos or tostadas so you can eat the pickled onions heh. Thanks much for the feedback Lisa!
estelle
Do I have to peal the red onion or do I just use it as it is with the skin on.
Patrick
Hi Estelle, yes it’s best to peel the red onion and discard the skin before chopping it up. Feel free to holler if you have any other questions. Cheers.
Talia
How long can they remain in the pickled jar? How long can they last in general? Also, can I skip the salt? Thanks for your help. I’m excited to find this recipe.
Patrick
Hi Talia thanks for stopping by!
Hmmm to be honest I’ve never kept them longer than a couple weeks as mine disappear fast 🙂 But with the vinegar I would think they would keep even longer than that. You can skip the salt and you’ll still probably end up with a good result. Hope that helps a bit. Cheers.
Samantha
Hi there,
I can’t wait to try this recipe. One quick question, what type of vinegar should I use?
Thanks so much!
Patrick
Hi Samantha! I use plain ol’ white vinegar when pickling these onions. I hope they treat you well!
Nicke
I love recipe! I was really tired of seeing my red onions go to waste after only needing a couple slices and always loved marinated onions. I put these on avocado toast and they were perfect!
Patrick
Ahh awesome, thanks Nicke. You’re right, making up a quick batch is perfect for using those leftovers!
Cynthia Proctor Proctor
I tried this today and it was so easy! I’m super excited to be able to make my own pickled onions and this is one of my favorite snacks so I’ll definitely be doing this again!
Patrick
Thanks for the feedback Cynthia! Glad you found a keeper recipe.
Nancy Plamann
Wow, we loved this recipe. I did add the sugar. I made cuban roast pork sandwiches and topped them with these pickled onions. It was delicious. It made all the difference. Thank you!
Patrick
Wow those sound like some awesome sandwiches, glad the pickled onions were a hit!
Aimee
These are amazing! We had shredded chicken and prawn soft tacos and these just made the dish! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Patrick
Thanks Aimee, so glad you found the recipe — I make these all the time and always find new ways to use them.
Jan
I live in England but love TexMex and American dishes! I made this last weekend and we had it last night with carne asada wraps. My hubby ate so much of the pickled onions! Thank you.
Patrick
Thanks Jan!
Jan
An update: I made double the recipe a week ago and my hubby and I (but mostly my hubby) had finished the entire jar by lunch time yesterday. I have made another batch today lol.
Patrick
Ha awesome was just going to mention that you could double the recipe and use a quart-sized Mason jar but you already did that! I know, they are surprisingly satisfying even just munching on them out of the jar.
Suze
First time I heard of these was in a restaurant I ate at about two weeks ago. I had them on loaded fries. Can’t stop thinking about them. Making them right now! Quick query – can you reuse the brine to make them again and again?
Patrick
Hey Suze! Hmmm I’ve never tried re-using the brine as I think you would probably get a significantly less pickled batch the second time around. Could be worth a try though!
Tim Lister
Amazing and so simple to make, we love them so much.
We are from the UK and your website is brilliant, will be trying a lot more of your wonderful dishes.
Thank you 🙂
Patrick
Thanks much Tim, I hope you find some other keepers on the site! Cheers.
Bill Ruffin
Made a batch of these for the wife and had to make a second batch as I ate most of the first one.
Patrick
Heh awesome 🙂
Lorette
Sounds yummy! I think I will try this THAI style. With rice vinegar and sesame oil and more sugar.
Katie
I have just made these, they are sitting on the counter cooling before they head to the fridge overnight. I can’t wait to try them tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe.
Patrick
Thanks Katie I hope they are a repeat for you!
Jim
Hey Patrick,
Love this site! I have been making these for a year or two. The only difference is that I use about half onion/ half shallot and put a sliced-open, seeded habanero in the bottom of the jar. I don’t use much sugar either.
Thanks for all the great tips and recipes. A++
Patrick
Ahh nice adding a bit of heat is a great tip for peeps, thanks much for your note. Cheers.
PATRICK J SHEEHAN
I made a complete Mexican dinner for family and friends and included the Pickled Red Onions. What a hit. Now I have to make them for one guest to take to her family. Good food never ends.
Amen
Patrick
Ha awesome thanks for your note Patrick — this is the only downside of serving good food to your fam and friends, i.e “more please!”
Colleen Kuhlmann
Elevated our dish to the point our dinner guests were quite literally gushing. (We made chichen itza pibil) Some next level stuff for real!
Patrick
Oh nice sounds like a great meal! Cheers.
Dawn
Thank you so much for this recipe! They add so much flavor to my black bean dishes. I just shared the recipe with one of my sisters!
Patrick
Hey thanks Dawn, so glad you found this recipe 🙂
Rachel
I’m not usually a fan of raw onions….does pickling them take out that bite and aftertaste?
Loving the site…I’m printing several of your recipes to give a try in the next few weeks. First off homemade corn tortillas! Yay 😀
Patrick
Hi Rachel, thanks for stopping by!
Hmmm yes pickling your onions will take out some of the bite but to be honest they will still taste like onions, but with some tangy acidity from the pickling. But given how easy they are to make it’s probably worth a go to see if they work better with your palate. Cheers.
Nancy
Hi Patrick- I can’t seem to find that video link you mentioned above…?
Patrick
Hi Nancy! Hmmm it should be autoplaying towards the top of the post when the page loads. But if it’s not for some reason you can always see it on Youtube here:
Pickled Onions Video
Cheers.