This super easy Pickled Onions Recipe uses only 3 ingredients. The perfect condiment for tacos, burgers, salads, and sandwiches.
A simple method to make onion pickles in a jar. Beginner-friendly, fail-proof, perfect results without canning.
Do you like pickling and canning? I am not into all the work involved in traditional canning. This shortcut method is right up my alley. A great way to make pickled zucchini too! Speedy, made easy pickles in minutes.
Quick pickle recipes are great to have in the fridge during grilling season. The perfect topping to lots of great burgers, like in this homemade burger roundup.
RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for these quick pickled onions can be found at the bottom of this post.
Recently I shared a cucumber and onion salad recipe, and I had a visitor comment that they would like the recipe for the onions I used in the post. This is it, the perfect pickled onions for salads.
If you are like me, for the most part, I love things to be relatively simple when it comes to cooking. Yes, I do experiment and spend hours in the kitchen sometimes. Those are the days that I am trying out a new cuisine or technique.
My mom was all about pickling and canning. The cold room was full of glass jars. Fruit, jams, pickles, sauerkraut, and even pickled eggs. It was quite the ordeal watching her get everything ready. Wash and sterilize the jars, make the brine, fill the jars and then seal them.
Weeks of work during harvest kept the shelves stocked all winter long with delicious, homemade preserves. Canned tomatoes for pasta sauce and soups, jam for your toast, and my hubby’s favourite, pickled beets to eat with a meal.
3 Ingredient Pickled Onions
This shortcut pickled red onions recipe is super fast, and you can even eat the onions in about 15 minutes if you like. The longer you keep them, the vinegar will turn a beautiful pink colour, and the onions will soften slightly. They will always be crisp and have a nice tang to them, even after weeks in the fridge (if they last that long).
You will need:
- red onion
- rice wine vinegar
- sugar
You can even turn this into 2 ingredients if you omit the sugar. I like to balance out the flavour a bit, so adding sugar helps with that.
My husband’s family was from England, and as you know they do love their pickled foods. My first experience was a store-bought variety of traditional English pickled onions. I am not a fan of malt vinegar, so although he liked these very much, they were not my cup of tea.
Raw onions can be a bit hard to eat, even red ones. Hubby does not like raw onions at all, so I wanted a quick and easy way to pickle onions. I didn’t want to involve any special equipment.
He does however LOVE my Crispy Air Fryer Onion Rings.
Stress-Free Pickled Onions Process
These pickled red onions are made in minutes, I am not kidding. I just use a plain old sharp knife to slice the onions. If you want perfect slices, by all means, use a mandolin. I am all about the simple here. No equipment, no cooking brine, no fuss!
- thinly slice the onion
- pack the slices in a glass jar
- mix the rice vinegar and sugar in a measuring cup
- pour over the onion slices
- put on the lid
- DONE!
Quick Pickling Tips/Suggestions
Be sure to thinly slice the onions. The easiest way is with a (affiliate) mandoline. You can also use a very sharp knife. Thinner slices will absorb the vinegar quickly. The thicker the slices, the more time it will take to fast pickle the onions.
I need to try these in my Snap Pea Salad Recipe. I bet they would be awesome.
Choosing different kinds of vinegar. For this recipe, I used rice wine vinegar. Feel free to experiment. Other choices could be distilled white vinegar, sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
I used red wine vinegar in this Smoked Salmon Plate to quickly pickle a cucumber.
Ways to sweeten pickles: In this recipe, I used white sugar. You can also use maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar. Again have a little fun in the kitchen and see what you like best.
Best onions for pickling: I like red onions. Other great choices would be White onions, Spanish, Vidalia, or Sweet onions. You can even use little pearl onions.
OMG, have you tried my homemade onion gravy from scratch? Seriously it is the best onion gravy in town. Move over HP Sauce, this is the NEW steak topper.
You can see why this quick and easy homemade onion pickle recipe has become a staple. With BBQ season here, they are flying out of the fridge into salads and burgers all summer long.
Do you have a herb garden? Give Fresh Herb Salt a try. A fun way to make homemade seasoning salt. Great as a meat rub, finishing salt and an awesome food gift too.
If you happen to be growing some mint, this flavoured simple syrup is perfect for adding to drinks, ice cream and more.
CLICK THE SUBSCRIBE BUTTON located in the TOP MENU. You will get recipes delivered to your inbox ONCE A WEEK.
You may also like these pickle recipes:
Easy Pickled Red Onions
Ingredients
- 10 ounces red onion (1 onion)
- 1 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
- Get a glass jar with good fitting lid. I used a mason jar.
- Peel the onion and thinly slice.
- Place the onion slices into the jar.
- Mix the vinegar and sugar in a measuring cup until the sugar dissolves.
- Pour over the onion slices.
- Put on the lid.
- Place in the fridge till ready to use.
Tina
I love quick pickles too. When we have an abundance of a certain crop, usually fruit, we go straight to canning and freezing. But whenever I can, i like the quick pickling method. Your easy method is really perfect. I don’t like the sharpness of raw onions so your recipe sounds like it really cuts the sharpness out of it. Saving this!
Homemade & Yummy
Yes this takes the sharpness out for sure.
swathi
I am planning to make pickled onions for this grilling season, your recipe is perfect I need to try it. great with burger or sandwiches.
Homemade & Yummy
ENJOY….I always have a jar of these in the fridge.
Catherine
Pickling is so easy and delicious…I need to do it more often! I love this idea for pickled onions…it’s perfect for summer grilling season. This would go with so many dishes!
Homemade & Yummy
A must for grilling season for sure.
Arlene Mobley
Pickled onions are great in so many recipes.
Homemade & Yummy
I know, and I love how easy these are to make too.
Kathy McDaniel
I love red onions and pickled red onions even better! I love the fact that this is a quick an easy recipe too. Maximum flavor with little effort is my kinda recipe! A must try for sure!
Homemade & Yummy
Hope you give this super easy recipe a try. I always have a jar of these in the fridge.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
I love pickled onions and I always take a huge heap of it when eating at Indian restaurant. It is so simple to make and I love the flavor and the color of the red onions. It looks absolutely gorgeous. I can’t wait to try it.
Homemade & Yummy
These are super easy to make….and delicious too.
Veena Azmanov
I must admit I have never pickled onions. I have eaten them but never thought of doing it myself. So easy I must try soon. I love pickle so would be great to have on hand.
Homemade & Yummy
You really have to give this recipe a try. So easy….you will always have a jar in the fridge for sure.
Marisa Franca
I love to can — at least I used to. When we lived out in the country I canned so many jars of veggies and fruit I couldn’t wait to move and not have to. Now, I miss it. I love the idea of having jars and jars of preserved foods. I even canned broths and soups. Well, with all the canning I did, I never pickled onions. We enjoy eating onions so this is definitely a recipe I have to try.
Homemade & Yummy
Well I am NOT a canner…..so these quick pickle things work best for me. These are super easy to make….and a must for BBQ season. We use them all the time.
Pavani
I am not a big fan of raw onions or making elaborate pickled ones. So this recipe is just perfect for me. Using rice vinegar sounds interesting.
Homemade & Yummy
I totally agree. Honestly it does not get easier than this!! Hope you give this recipe a try.
Claudia Lamascolo
I can think of so many great ways to use these onions. I have never tried anything like this. I just love how pretty they look to and to have on hand for garnishing. I bet they are perfect for any salad toppings!
Homemade & Yummy
We use them all the time. Perfect for salads, burgers, sandwiches, pizza…the list goes on. Hope you give them a try.
Lizzie
Funny, I made pickled onions/cucumbers just before I came across your post!. I do basically the same thing, but add a tiny — repeat tiny — amount of pickling spice. We love this combo with pickled herring, Ry-Krisp, potato salad with lots of dill, and Aquavit. Yummy!
Homemade & Yummy
HAHAH….well there you go….you know how easy and delicious they are. ENJOY!!
Sandi
I love all of the easy to follow directions. This will be perfect for our summer BBQs.
Homemade & Yummy
Well it certainly does not get easier than this.
Danielle
We love making these every year. They are perfect on a BBQ burger.
Homemade & Yummy
A total must for BBQ season, I totally agree.
Tina Dawson | Love is in my Tummy
I’ve always wanted to make pickled onions at home and now I know how! Thanks so much!
Homemade & Yummy
Well here is the easiest recipe ever. ENJOY!!
Sue|theviewfromgreatisland
Yum, I love pickled onions! They really are so versatile. This looks like such a great simple method!
Homemade & Yummy
I never liked them….TILL I made these.