Pickled Red Onions are my favourite way to make any meal feel and taste a little more elevated. One minute they’re just plain sliced onions 🧅 and the next they’re neon pink, tangy, and acting like they make the whole meal (they do!). A dip in the hot brine softens them just enough and they’re well on their way to making tacos 🌮 better, and salads less boring. I love keeping a jar in the fridge because they somehow make everything that much better, not to mention how easy and fast they are. Once you start making these, don’t be alarmed 🚨 when you start putting them on absolutely everything.

Why You’ll Love Pickled Red Onions

Thinly sliced red onions 🧅 soak in a tangy brine that transforms them into bright pink ribbons with the perfect bite that is just acidic enough to wake up anything you put them on. The quick-pickle method gives you all of the flavor with the satisfaction of making it yourself. The balance of vinegar, sweetness, and salt makes these onions both punchy and refreshing, and you can easily adjust the flavour by swapping the vinegar, adding jalapeños for heat 🌶, or tossing in garlic cloves or herbs for something a little more aromatic 🌿. They’re the perfect condiment that makes every meal taste punchier and adds a gorgeous pop of colour✨.

Ingredients

🧅 Red Onion: Thinly sliced so it softens quickly in the brine and takes on that gorgeous bright-pink color we all love.
🤍 White Vinegar: Adds the tangy backbone. It’s sharp, clean, and gives the onions their signature bite.
💧 Boiling Hot Water: Helps dissolve the salt and sugar instantly, and slightly softens the onions so they pickle faster.
🍯 Sugar: Balances the acidity and rounds out the flavor. You can swap this for maple syrup or honey if you prefer.
🧂 Salt: Enhances the flavor, draws moisture out of the onions, and helps everything pickle evenly.

Variations and Substitutions for Pickled Red Onions

1. Instead of sugar, you could use maple syrup or honey 🍯 for a naturally sweet, softer-flavored brine.
2. If you like a little heat 🌶, you could add sliced jalapeños, red pepper flakes, or a few whole peppercorns to give your onions a gentle kick.
3. Use the brine with any veggies you prefer — cucumbers, carrots, radishes, cabbage, jalapeños, bell peppers, green beans, turnips, and so on. Slice harder veggies thin so they soften faster.
4. Instead of white vinegar, you could use rice vinegar 🍚 for the mildest flavor, or swap in apple cider vinegar for something a little brighter.
5. If you like extra crunch, you could slice 🔪 the onions a little thicker so they hold their bite even after pickling.

Best Served With

• On top of a bagel with some Smoked Salmon Jerky 🍣.
• Tacos 🌮, burgers, or pizza as a topping.
• In a Simple Green Salad 🥗.
• On avocado toast 🥑 to punch it up a little!
• Your favorite sandwich 🥪 as the perfect condiment.

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