My Quick-Pickled Red Onions recipe is the easiest homemade condiment YOU NEED to keep in your fridge at all times. With just a handful of simple ingredients and about 5 minutes of active time, you can make a batch of these beautifully bright and briny slivers of deliciousness—perfect for adding pep to all your favorite savory meals.
People, I can tell you without shame that I love all things pickled. Sure, I love me a good dill spear. Hit me with sauerkraut on that sausage. Kimchi is one of my favorite workhorses in the kitchen. Jalapeño pickled soft-boiled eggs? Yes, please. Well, these quick pickled red onions are just one more item in the long list of briny, flavorful things I love.
They add flavor, color, and crunch to anything they touch. I literally get mad if I don’t have them on hand. They go on or in just about anything I make, from chili to sandwiches, burgers to brats, quesadillas to tacos, grain bowls to savory oatmeal, shrimp and grits to salads.
They’re a key component on my harissa roasted carrot salad and my Mediterranean chicken tostadas. They go beautifully on my sesame peanut noodle bowls. You'd honestly be hard-pressed to find a savory dish that pickled red onions don't make yummier with a lovely punch of flavor.
They’re briny, spicy, and somehow a bit sweet. They’re crunchy, and they have a vibrant pink color. They take less than 5 minutes to make, and they’ll keep in your fridge for weeks at a time (though, if you’re like me, that will never happen). In short, they are glorious. Do yourself a favor by making these no cook pickled red onions. I promise you won’t regret it.
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Why You’ll Love This Quick Pickled Onions Recipe
- Easy Recipe - Just slice the onions, toss with a few whole spices, cover with vinegar, and let the fridge do the heavy lifting. All in, you’re looking at just 5 minutes of hands-on time—including cleanup. No cooking required!
- Wildly Versatile - From sandwiches and wraps to soups and salads, burrito bowls to Asian curries, pickled onions are an easy addition to just about anything you can think of!
- Cheap DIY Upgrade - You can make a batch of these perfect pickled onions for just a couple of dollars, but the flavor dividends are huge!
Ingredients & Substitutions
These quick and easy pickled red onions require just a handful of ingredients and a few minutes of your time to make. Here's what you'll need:
- Red Onion - Technically speaking, you can make onion pickles out of any kind of raw onion, but the red ones are my favorite. They're beautiful on the plate, and their flavor is my personal favorite for eating raw. Feel free to swap in whatever you've got on hand—white onions, yellow onions, or shallots also work.
- Kosher Salt - Kosher salt is the gold standard in most restaurant kitchens because the larger flakes make it easier to season without oversalting. If you are using table salt or fine sea salt, be sure to adjust your pinches accordingly.
- Black Peppercorns - Whole black peppercorns are tiny little flavor explosions. Just a few are enough to flavor your whole jar of red onion pickles.
- Allspice Berries - Allspice has a flavor that is reminiscent of a mix of other warming spices like cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. If you don't have any on hand, don't worry about it. If you do, a little will go a long, nuanced way. Feel free to swap in another whole spice like star anise or a cinnamon stick if that's what you have on hand.
- Fresh Chili - Joe and I love spicy things, pickles included. Feel free to omit this ingredient if heat isn't part of your food love language. Any type of chili will work here—jalapeño peppers, serrano, habanero... it all just depends on how spicy you want to get. You can also swap in a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Garlic - Everybody likes to play with their family, alliums included. Fresh garlic cloves give these red onion pickles a pungent boost of almost spicy flavor.
- Bay Leaves - The fresh menthol scent of dried bay leaf tempers after a bit of time in the vinegar, giving the onion pickles a subtle infusion of tea-like flavor.
- Granulated Sugar - You don't need a bunch of sweet here, just enough to balance out the acidic tang of vinegar. Feel free to swap in your favorite sweetener—maple syrup, agave, brown sugar, jaggery, cane sugar, or coconut sugar will all do the trick.
- Rice Wine Vinegar - I love the light, floral, borderline sweet flavor of rice wine vinegar for my pickled red onions. Feel free to swap in red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar if you prefer, though you may want to increase the sugar content just a smidge.
How to Make Pickled Red Onions
Making red onion pickles is a snap; it only takes 5 minutes of active time! Here's how it's done:
Step 1: Slice Onions. Thinly slice 1 large red onion and place in an appropriately sized mason jar or delitainer. Be sure to slice the onion vertically – the texture is far superior to onions sliced horizontally, as kitchen science guru J. Kenji Lopez-Alt explains. (Thin slices will pickle more quickly than thick ones!)
Step 2: Add Flavors. Sprinkle onion slices liberally with kosher salt, cover and shake. Let rest while you assemble other ingredients. You should see the onions begin to sweat a bit. Add in black peppercorns, allspice berries, dried chili, garlic, bay leaves, and granulated sugar.
Step 3: Add Vinegar. Cover sliced onions with rice wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar works here too, as will plain white vinegar, but add in an extra ½ teaspoon or so of sugar to compensate for the extra acidity.)
Step 4: Mix & Wait. Cover, shake a few times to disperse the flavorings and pop in your fridge for at least two hours for the flavors to develop.
Step 5: Enjoy! This delightfully fast and easy quick pickled red onions recipe will pep up any meal you add them to, so go nuts!
Optional Variations & Dietary Adaptations
- Citrus Kick - Swap out a portion of the vinegar for fresh orange or lime juice for a brighter, fruitier red onion pickle that pairs beautifully with tacos and fish.
- Herbaceous Twist - Toss in a few sprigs of fresh herbs like dill, oregano, or thyme along with the other flavorings for an herby depth that's fantastic on sandwiches and grain bowls.
- Extra Spicy - Double up on the chili, or add a splash of your favorite hot sauce to the vinegar mixture for pickles with some serious heat.
- Sweet & Tangy - Add an extra tablespoon of sugar (or a drizzle of honey) for a more balanced, almost bread-and-butter-pickle vibe.
- Mustard Seed Crunch - Stir in a teaspoon of yellow or brown mustard seeds for a little pop of texture and a subtle tang.
- Turmeric Golden Onions - Add a pinch of ground turmeric to the jar for a warm, earthy flavor and a gorgeous golden-purple hue.
- Garlic-Forward - Double the garlic and let a few cloves get slightly pickled themselves—delicious minced up and added to dressings or aiolis.
Expert Tips
- Slice with the grain, not against it. Cutting your onions vertically (root to tip) rather than into horizontal onion rings gives you a better bite and helps them hold their shape and crunch in the brine instead of going limp.
- Don't skip the salt step. Salting and letting the onions sweat for a few minutes before adding vinegar softens their sharp bite and helps them absorb the brine more evenly.
- Warm vinegar = faster pickles. If you're short on time, gently warm your vinegar (don't boil) before pouring it over the onions—this speeds up the pickling process so you can enjoy them in under an hour instead of waiting the full two.
- Let them rest for maximum flavor. While these quick-pickled onions are technically ready in 2 hours, the flavor keeps improving overnight and beyond—if you can plan ahead, you won't regret the wait.
- Use a non-reactive container. Stick with glass jars or food-safe plastic instead of metal bowls or containers, since the acidic vinegar can react with certain metals and affect flavor.
- Keep the vinegar solution. Don't toss it once the onions are gone! Strained pickling liquid makes a fantastic instant vinaigrette base or a quick flavor boost for marinades.
- Adjust acidity to taste. If your pickles taste too sharp after chilling, stir in an extra pinch of sugar; if they're too sweet, a small splash of extra vinegar will balance things back out.
Serving Suggestions
I feel a bit like Ron Swanson with his bacon and eggs or Bubba with his shrimp when I talk about these red onion pickles. I am not lying or exaggerating when I say they make just about EVERY savory dish taste better. Here are a few ways I love to use this perfect condiment:
- In santa fe chicken sandwiches, grilled chicken pitas, or egglife egg white wraps
- On spicy potato chorizo tacos or in quesadillas or burritos
- Mixed into potato salad for a pop of vinegary zing
- On a charcuterie board to help cut through meat and cheesy richness
- On top of a simple avocado toast for a pop of color
- On Greek lamb burgers, hot dogs, or any other grilled items
- In salads, grain bowls, or my BBQ Chicken & Sweet Potato bowls
- With spicy avocado tuna salad or deli meat on a Wasa cracker
- On chicken black bean chili or copycat Panera Mexican corn chowder
- With scrambled eggs, in an omelette, or on huevos rancheros
- On nachos (make sure you use the pickled jalapeños in the jar, too!)
Honestly, you'd be hard pressed to find any savory meal that these pretty purple and punchy beauties don't play nicely with!
Did you come up with a genius way to use these red onion pickles? Let me know in the comments below or tag me in your social media posts so I can cheer you on!
Storage Instructions
- Fridge: Store your pickled red onions in an airtight container or mason jar in the refrigerator, where they'll keep well for up to 2 weeks. Make sure they're fully submerged in the brine to maintain the best flavor and texture.
- Make-ahead friendly: These are perfect for meal prep. Make a batch (or two!) at the start of the week and add them to whatever you're eating all week long.
- Freezing: Not recommended. Freezing breaks down the onion's texture, leaving you with mushy, waterlogged pickles once thawed—so stick to the fridge for these.
- Signs they've gone bad: Toss the batch if you notice a cloudy or slimy brine, an off or unpleasant smell, or any mold. Properly made and stored, though, they should stay fresh and crisp for the full 2 weeks.
- Double batch it: Since they keep so well and get used up fast once you start adding them to everything, don't be afraid to double the recipe right from the start.
FAQs
Rice vinegar is a great choice for pickled red onions—it's milder and slightly sweeter than white or apple cider vinegar, giving the onions a softer bite while still providing enough acidity to pickle them properly. That said, feel free to swap in other types of vinegar depending on what you’re after. White vinegar is the sharpest, most acidic, and gives the most "classic" tangy pickle bite. Apple cider vinegar adds a subtle fruity, slightly sweet undertone with a bit more complexity than white vinegar. Red wine vinegar adds a deeper, slightly fruity, tannic note and can also darken the brine color a bit.
You can, but the flavor will be milder since some of the salt, sugar, and acidity was already absorbed by the first batch—it's better used as a vinaigrette base than for repickling. If you want to replenish your stores, start by pouring out your brining liquid and pulling out whatever onions you have left. Simply slice another onion, put it in the jar and sprinkle with salt. Cover and shake, then let rest 2-3 minutes. Add your remaining pickled onions on top (because FIFO), then pour the brining liquid back in. If your onions aren’t covered, simply add a bit more vinegar to the jar to cover them up. Voila!
You can either dump it (which would be a shame!), or feel free to use it to make a simple oniony vinaigrette. For the vinaigrette, I suggest using roughly 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil plus a smidge of mustard to help emulsify for the best results.
More DIY Condiment Recipes
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Quick-Pickled Red Onions
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion sliced
- kosher salt to coat
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns whole
- 5 allspice berries (optional)
- 1 small red chili halved, (optional for extra heat)
- 3-4 cloves garlic halved
- 1-2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- rice wine vinegar to cover
Instructions
- Thinly slice 1 large red onion and place in an appropriately sized mason jar or delitainer.1 large red onion
- Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt, cover and shake. Let rest while you assemble other ingredients.kosher salt
- Add in black peppercorn, allspice berries, dried chili, garlic, bay leaves, ½ teaspoon granulated sugar1 Tbsp black peppercorns, 5 allspice berries, 1 small red chili, 3-4 cloves garlic, 1-2 bay leaves, ½ tsp granulated sugar
- Cover onion slices with rice wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar works here too, as will plain white vinegar, but to make up for some of the sweetness add in an extra ½ teaspoon of sugar if you do)rice wine vinegar
- Cover, shake a few times to disperse the flavorings and pop in your fridge.
Notes
- Slice with the grain, not against it. Cutting your onions vertically (root to tip) rather than into horizontal onion rings gives you a better bite and helps them hold their shape and crunch in the brine instead of going limp.
- Don't skip the salt step. Salting and letting the onions sweat for a few minutes before adding vinegar softens their sharp bite and helps them absorb the brine more evenly.
- Warm vinegar = faster pickles. If you're short on time, gently warm your vinegar (don't boil) before pouring it over the onions—this speeds up the pickling process so you can enjoy them in under an hour instead of waiting the full two.
- Let them rest for maximum flavor. While these quick-pickled onions are technically ready in 2 hours, the flavor keeps improving overnight and beyond—if you can plan ahead, you won't regret the wait.
- Use a non-reactive container. Stick with glass jars or food-safe plastic instead of metal bowls or containers, since the acidic vinegar can react with certain metals and affect flavor.
- Keep the vinegar solution. Don't toss it once the onions are gone! Strained pickling liquid makes a fantastic instant vinaigrette base or a quick flavor boost for marinades.
- Adjust acidity to taste. If your pickles taste too sharp after chilling, stir in an extra pinch of sugar; if they're too sweet, a small splash of extra vinegar will balance things back out.
- Fridge: Store your pickled red onions in an airtight container or mason jar in the refrigerator, where they'll keep well for up to 2 weeks. Make sure they're fully submerged in the brine to maintain the best flavor and texture.
- Make-ahead friendly: These are perfect for meal prep. Make a batch (or two!) at the start of the week and add them to whatever you're eating all week long.
- Freezing: Not recommended. Freezing breaks down the onion's texture, leaving you with mushy, waterlogged pickles once thawed—so stick to the fridge for these.
- Signs they've gone bad: Toss the batch if you notice a cloudy or slimy brine, an off or unpleasant smell, or any mold. Properly made and stored, though, they should stay fresh and crisp for the full 2 weeks.
- Double batch it: Since they keep so well and get used up fast once you start adding them to everything, don't be afraid to double the recipe right from the start.
Lisa Starr says
I LOVE all things onion and pickled quickly. This was simply as delicious have to have with almost everything. I changed it up with a few things and added medium sliced cucumbers and more garlic on some other batches. So glad I came across your recipe. It’s very versatile
Ash, The Grocery Addict says
That sounds delicious, Lisa!! I love your improv work 😉
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