I’m not exaggerating when I say that these quick-pickled red onions are the best!

They’re sweet, vinegary, slightly salty, and pack a lot more flavor than your average pickled veggie. Plus, these sweet pickled onions go well with everything — throw them on avocado toast, a sandwich, a salad, the applications are endless.

Quick-Pickling 101

Quick-pickling refers to jarred veggies in a liquid brine solution that uses some sort of acid (vinegar, lemon juice, etc.), water, sugar, and salt. Usually, the veggies are ready to enjoy within 1 hour, but as with most things, pickled veggies taste best the next day and even better as they age.

Quick note, you can use the technique for these pickled onions for almost any type of veggie; like cucumbers, carrots, radishes, beets, etc. 

Ingredients Quick-Pickled Onions

  • Red onions or sweet white onions: The best onions for pickling are red onions, but sweet white onions also taste great. 
  • White vinegar (distilled): Feel free to use any acid, such as apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, rice vinegar, or red wine vinegar. 
  • Honey or maple syrup 
  • Fresh garlic
  • Spices: Including dried oregano and black pepper. 
  • Kosher salt 

Notes 

  • Store the pickled red onions directly in the brine solution as it’ll preserve the onions and help build flavor as they sit.
  • Thinly slice the onions. Not only do thinly sliced onions taste better, but they also speed up the time in which the onions pickle. And yes, they’re just as crunchy as thicker onion slices.
  • Throw in extra flavor agents into the pickled onions. If you like a nice spicy kick, add some thinly sliced jalapeno pepper or red pepper flakes. I love throwing in some dill and parsley for some freshness!
  • The onions are ready to eat as soon as the brine solution has cooled (about 1 hour), but the flavor will continue to improve the longer the onions sit. I recommend letting the onions sit overnight for best results! If you’re in a rush, thinly slice the onion (I’m talking translucent thinness) and the onions will pickle in about an hour as opposed to overnight for a thicker-cut onion. 
  • While I love using red onions for this recipe, you can use any type of onion you have on hand — shallots are amazing. But red onions will always be the top choice because of their beautiful pink color. 
1 hour (left) vs overnight (right)

Serving & Storing

  • I love adding a handful of pickled onions onto my avocado toast; they make it more filling and substantial, kind of like an open-faced sandwich. Speaking of avocado toast, my go-to combo is sourdough bread, mashed avocado, pickled onions, and microgreens, finished with balsamic glaze, flaky salt and black pepper. It’s an elite combo! 
  • Beyond serving these quick-pickled red onions on toast, they also taste great in salads, wraps, grain bowls, etc.
  • Regarding storage, these pickled onions will keep in the fridge for up to 1 month, but they taste best within 1 week.

Happy pickling! 

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Quick Pickled Red Onions

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Yasmeen Ali
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Marinate Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: American
Print Recipe

Description

These quick-pickled red onions are sweet, vinegary, slightly salty, and pack a lot more flavor than your average pickled veggie. 

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise (~200g sliced)
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
  • 1/2 cup (115g) white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup (115g) water 
  • 3 tbsp (48g) honey or maple syrup
  • 1 tsp (5g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt  
  • 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp oregano, dried (optional)*

Instructions

  1. Thinly slice the red onion and garlic, and add to a large jar. 
  2. In a simmer pot, pour in the vinegar, water, honey, kosher salt, oregano, and black pepper. Place on the stove, and heat on medium-high heat until the mixture starts to foam. Pour the pickled solution over the jar of onions and garlic and stir around as much as you can to distribute the brine solution. Make sure the onions are fully submerged in the brine — you could add a glass weight on top if needed. Screw the jar lid on tight. 
  3. Let the onions sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or until the brine solution has cooled completely before enjoying, but they taste best pickled overnight. They’ll keep well in the fridge in an airtight glass jar for up to 1 month, but taste best within 1 week.

Notes

*Feel free to use a different dried herb or another flavor agent — like sumac.

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