Quick Pickled Onions
With only one red onion, you can make three jars of our small batch, sweet and tangy Quick Pickled Onions! We used two kinds of vinegar and mixed peppercorns to add dimension of flavor to this pickled condiment. This ridiculously simple 5-ingredient recipe is ready in as little as 1 hour, and produces the most glorious bright pink garnish for your tacos, burgers, sandwiches, tartines, bagels & lox, and more! It not only provides a beautiful pop of color, but it’s absolutely yummy as a garnish on our Avocado Toast with Smoked Salmon.
If you have more time, let them marinate overnight for an even softer, and more intense color and pickled flavor. Take a look at our Blog Comments & Tips for more recommendations on how to make the best Quick Pickled Onions.
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RECIPE
(Check out our Step by Step Instructions below the recipe card.)
QUICK PICKLED ONIONS
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a 2.5 quart nonstick sauce pan, add water, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and sea salt. Turn heat to medium, and using a silicone spatula, stir until salt and sugar have dissolved (about 1-2 minutes). Remove from heat, and allow brine to cool while you prepare the onions.
- Using a mandoline (see Note #1), very thinly onion (paper thin slices - see Note #2). Evenly distribute sliced onions among three 12 ounce glass canning jars (packing down the onions, if needed). Add peppercorns to the jars, distributing evenly amongst them.
- Pour cooled brine over the onions (see Note #3). Using a fork, submerge all the onions so they are covered completely. Leave the jars uncovered on the countertop until they are completely cool. Then seal tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (overnight for best results).
Notes
- If you are not skilled with using a mandoline, use the slicing guard and try these cut resistant gloves (level 5 protection) for extra protection.
- The thinner you slice the onions, the quicker they will pickle. The color will be more vivid, the texture will be a little softer (still crunchy but very pliable), and the flavor will be a little sweeter. If you don’t have a mandoline, use a freshly sharpened chef’s knife and slice the onions manually and as thin as possible.
- You may have more liquid than you need for the three jars. Just discard the leftover brine, or pickle another vegetable, like carrots. Just thinly slice some carrots, add to another jar, and pour remaining brine over carrots!
- Recipe can be made ahead of time, and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
15.97Fat (grams)
0.03Sat. Fat (grams)
0Carbs (grams)
3.22Fiber (grams)
0.15Net carbs
3.08Sugar (grams)
2.77Protein (grams)
0.08Sodium (milligrams)
525.04Cholesterol (grams)
0Nutritional information provided is strictly an estimate and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods.
Step by Step Instructions
PREPARATION
Organize all your tools and ingredients before you begin. Getting all your ingredients in one place at the beginning will shorten your prep time.
STEP 1
In a 2.5 quart nonstick sauce pan, add 1 ½ cups filtered water, ¾ cup white vinegar, ¾ cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, and 1 ½ tablespoons sea salt. Turn heat to medium, and using a silicone spatula, stir until salt and sugar have dissolved (about 1-2 minutes). Remove from heat, and allow brine to cool while you prepare the onions.
STEP 2a
Using a sharp knife, cut off the root and top of the onion, and slice lengthwise (see Note A below) through most of the onion (leaving about ½ inch uncut). With a mandoline, very thinly slice 1 large red onion (paper thin slices - see Note B below).
Note A: We like using half rings of onions, but you can keep the onion rings whole if you prefer. For whole onion rings (and easier slicing) on the mandoline, just slice onion in half crosswise. If you are not skilled at using a mandoline, use the slicing guard and try these cut resistant gloves (level 5 protection) for extra protection.
Note B: The thinner you slice the onions, the quicker they will pickle. The color will be more vivid, the texture will be a little softer (still crunchy but very pliable), and the flavor will be a little sweeter. If you don’t have a mandoline, use a freshly sharpened chef’s knife and slice the onions manually and as thin as possible.
STEP 2b
Evenly distribute sliced onions among three 12 ounce glass canning jars (packing down the onions, if needed). Add 1½ teaspoons whole rainbow peppercorns (or more) to the jars, distributing evenly amongst them.
STEP 3a
Pour cooled brine over the onions (see Note below). Using a fork, press down on the onions to submerge them so that they are completely covered in brine. Leave the jars uncovered on the countertop until they are completely cool.
Note: You may have more liquid than you need for the three jars. Just discard the leftover brine, or pickle another vegetable, like carrots. Thinly slice some carrots, add to another jar, and pour remaining brine over carrots!
STEP 3b
Seal tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (overnight for best results). The longer they sit in the brine, the softer and sweeter they will be. Also, the color will intensify and become more vivid. Photos below show results after refrigerating overnight (after 12 hours).
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Our Quick Pickled Onions are a great garnish for your tacos, sandwiches, tartines, bagels & lox, and more! It’s an absolutely delicious garnish on our Avocado Toast with Smoked Salmon.
Note: Recipe can be made ahead of time, and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
VIDEO
How to Make These Small Batch Quick Pickled Onions!
Blog Comments & Tips
Perfectly Pickled!
There are so many ways to use our Quick Pickled Onions, and we couldn’t resist pairing them with our yummy Avocado Toast with Smoked Salmon. We highly recommend trying them on tacos, burgers, tartines, cold sandwiches, bagels & lox, pulled pork, and our BBQ Pork Sandwiches, too!
Even if you don’t like the taste of raw onions, we think you will love this recipe. Personally, I do not like raw onions, but I love these Quick Pickled Onions because they are sweet, tangy, and not too strong.
I do love pickles, but pickled vegetables are typically not my thing, that is until a recent trip to Arizona. Both our avocado toast and pickled onion recipes were inspired by LaCo Tuscon, a quaint little restaurant in Tuscon, Arizona. During a family visit in Tuscon, we had brunch in their outdoor patio. They had a southwestern menu that was quite eclectic. After eyeing their breakfast tacos with pickled onions on the menu, I ordered their avocado toast with salmon, and then the idea hit.
This one meal inspired us to create two dishes for PMR. We topped our Avocado Toast with Smoked Salmon with our own version of Quick Pickled Onions. The acidity of the pickled onions really complements the saltiness of the smoked salmon, and balances the creaminess of the avocado.
Now you have the recipe, ingredients, and equipment, but how do you ensure the best results from our recipe?
Our 4 tips to making our Quick Pickled Onions:
Use organic products when possible. For the vinegar, we prefer using Bragg Organic Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar. We also love the quality of these Viva Doria Rainbow Peppercorns.
Although you can use a white or yellow onion, we prefer using red onions for a sweeter pickled onion flavor. Plus they look so pretty!
Use a mandoline to get the thinnest slices and the best results from this recipe.
Once you pour the brine, let it cool completely. Then refrigerate overnight before tasting. You will find that the longer they pickle in the brine, the sweeter and softer they will become.
Have any dietary preferences that won’t quite work with our recipe? It’s time to customize and Pimp Our Recipe.
Pimp Our Recipe:
Make More: If you have extra onions and don’t want them to go to waste, just multiply the recipe by the number of large onions you have. Since we are not using the canning method, keep in mind that these onions will only last in your fridge for 3 weeks. So you’ll need to figure out ways to use them, or you can just give some as a gift to your friends and neighbors!
Have Some Extra Brine? Use any extra brine leftover from this recipe to make other pickled vegetables. Try pickled carrots! Just use the same method to thinly slice carrots, place them in a jar (omit the peppercorns), and pour the brine over the carrots!
Play with Different Vinegars: Try using only red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, or even a flavored vinegar to change the flavor.
Enjoy and let us know what you think by commenting below, rating our recipes, subscribing, following, and liking us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! Don’t forget to subscribe to get updates on new recipes and tips & tricks.
Happy Cooking!
Mich
Footnote: Remember to slice the onions as thin as possible (paper thin is great!) to get the best results.
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