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.
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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.
Adriana
Super easy to make and delicious. Gotta have pickled onions on everything 😋
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
I know right? So good on sandwiches, burgers and more.
Sherry
These pickled red onions were a hit with my husband. He puts them on everything!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
I have to agree with him. They are great on burgers and sandwiches, in salads and more.
Nicole
Love this! Such an easy way to dress up tacos or sandwiches, and take the flavor to the next level!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Pickled onions on tacos are so delicious.
Amy Liu Dong
Onion Pickled is one of my favorites. It is so easy to make and delicious. I always love to pair this with my fried fish or dried fish.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
We love adding these pickled onions to tacos, burgers and more.
Tristin
We love pickled onions! My daughter and I made your recipe to go on our fish tacos. But we also liked eating them straight out of the jar!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe for pickled onions.
Jamie
This is such a great-looking pickled red Onions! It looks delicious as it is and very fresh! I agree, it’s perfect for our tacos and burgers dishes! Loved it and thanks for sharing this with us!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
You are welcome. Glad you enjoyed this easy pickled onion recipe.
Carrie Robinson
We just love pickled onions on chicken and fish tacos! I will have to make these soon. 🙂
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
This is such an easy recipe for great tasting pickled onions. ENJOY!
Moop Brown
Pickled onions are one of my favorite toppings because of how versatile they are and the way in which they add a nice crunch and sourness to different dishes. Thanks for sharing.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
You are welcome. I love having a jar of pickled onions on hand too.
Alex
I’ve made a lot of fermented food but never pickled. This looks so much easier! I think I’ll give these a try next time we have burgers.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
This pickled onion recipe is so easy to make. Give it a try, I know it will be a hit.
Amy Casey
Thanks so much for this easy pickled onion recipe. I made a batch last week and have already add them to salads, tacos and scrambled eggs. Delish!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Yes, the endless ways to enjoy these yummy pickled onions.
Megane
Love these pickled onions. I constantly have a jar in the fridge. A great recipe.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Me too, the perfect topping for so many things.
Erin
My husband loves all things pickled but I’ve never tried making any for him. I’ll definitely give these onions a try! These look so easy.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
They are super easy to make, and the a great condiment for burgers, tacos and more.
Susan
I made this a few nights ago, and have been using the pickled onions on things every night. The only change I made was to add some allspice berries to the pickling juice. GREAT and easy recipe!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Glad you tweaked the recipe to your liking. I always have a bottle of pickled onions in my fridge.
veenaazmanov
Thanks for a reminder . A Bottle in my kitchen is a must. Simple, easy and a perfect topping.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
I totally agree, the perfect topping for burgers and more.
M Denis
Easy and delicious way to use up leftover red onions! I keep a jar in the fridge at all time!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Me too, so good on sandwiches, burgers or cheese trays.