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How to Make Pickled Red Onions

These beautiful and vibrant pink-colored pickled red onions are crunchy, tangy, and perfect for sandwiches, salads, or wraps.

Pickled red onions are sliced red onions that have been soaked in a vinegar solution and sugar, giving them a tangy and sweet flavor. They are a little crunchy and super easy to make. You can batch-make them for a couple of weeks and enjoy with your favorite meals. They can be used as a topping for sandwiches, tacos, salads, or wraps.

Pickled Red Onions Ingredients

All you need are a few simple ingredients to make this quick and easy pickled onions recipe.

1. Red Onions

Use red onions as they give bright pink color than the normal onions when dissolved in a vinegar solution. Very thinly slice them using either a sharp knife or a mandoline. Note that if you slice the onions thick, you will need to let them sit in the vinegar solution for at least twice the amount of time.

2. Vinegar

I prefer a combination of apple cider vinegar and white vinegar, but you can use just white vinegar instead. Apple cider vinegar gives a slightly sweet taste so there’s no need to add much sweetener.

Remember to keep the amount of vinegar almost similar to the amount of water, as vinegar provides a certain level of acidity that is essential for safe pickling.

3. Water

Dissolves salt and reduces the acidity of the brine.

4. Salt

Add about a teaspoon to balance the flavors.

5. Sugar

Balances the tartness of the vinegar. Sugar is most commonly used to pickle onions, but feel free to use honey or any other natural sweetener.

6. Other Optional Ingredients

These pickled onions will be delicious even if you use the basic recipe, but if you’d like to add more flavor then add garlic, cloves, black peppercorns, cinnamon stick, or red chilli flakes to the glass jar with sliced onions or you can boil these ingredients along with the vinegar solution.

pickled red onions ingredients

How to Make Pickled Red Onions

To make pickled red onions, you’ll need to follow these easy steps:

Firstly, very thinly slice the onions. Use a sharp knife or a mandoline for quick and uniform slicing. Then transfer the sliced onions to a mason jar.

sliced red onions in a glass or mason jar

Secondly, combine white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, water, salt, and sugar (or any other sweetener), or additional seasonings in a pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil until the salt and sugar dissolve.

boiled vinegar water sugar and salt in a saucepan

Now, pour the hot mixture over the onions in the mason jar. Cover, tightly seal, and shake to combine. Allow to cool down to room temperature before transferring to the fridge.

sliced onions soaked in vinegar solution in a glass jar
photo taken from top of sliced onions soaked in vinegar solution in a glass jar

The onions will be ready to serve when they are tender and pink in color. This could take about 10-12 hours or more, depending on the thickness of your onions. Once ready, enjoy them with almost any savory dish.

You can keep them tightly sealed in the fridge to last for up to 2-3 weeks.

pickled red onions in a glass jar
pickled red onions in a glass jar photo from top
pickled red onions in a glass jar taken out with a fork

More Condiments or Sauces to Try

Spring Rolls Dipping Sauce

Asian-Inspired Sesame Dressing

Chilli Oil

Sweet and Tangy Tamarind Chutney (Imli Chutney)

South Indian Style Tomato Onion Chutney

Pickled Red Onions

Course: CondimentsCuisine: VeganDifficulty: Easy
Servings

10-12

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

5

minutes
Resting Time

12

hours 

Make these vibrant and delicious pickled red onions easily at home with just a few basic ingredients!

Ingredients

  • 3 medium red onions

  • 1 cup white vinegar

  • ½ cup apple cider vinegar

  • 1 ½ cups water

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 2 tsp sugar

Directions

  • Very thinly slice the red onions and add them to about 1L heat-proof jar or a mason jar.
  • To a saucepan over medium heat, add vinegar, apple cider vinegar, water, salt, and sugar. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, and pour over the onions.
  • Cover the jar and seal it tightly. Shake gently a few times to mix everything well.
  • Store in the fridge overnight before serving. The pink color will get deeper the longer the onions sit.
  • Enjoy these pickled red onions on sandwiches, salads, or wraps, or serve them with roti and sabzi.
  • Keep the sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2-3 weeks.

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