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Quick pickled red onions are possibly my favorite way to add a bright, colorful crunch to just about any dish. They’re so quick to whip up, easily customizable, and add the perfect amount of acidity to salads, tacos, sandwiches and wraps, grain bowls, and more. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that they’re kind of gorgeous.
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QUICK PICKLED RED ONIONS INGREDIENTS
While you can certainly pickle any onion, I prefer red onions for both their bright color and their milder flavor. They tend to be a good balance between sweet onions and the more pungent options.
I like to lean into the red color by using red wine vinegar to pickle the onions but you could use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar in its place. Basically whatever you have on hand. I generally use a 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water. I don’t like to add sugar to my quick pickles and I’ve found that this ratio creates a pickle that isn’t overly acidic.
My base aromatics and flavoring for quick pickled onions are whole peppercorns, sea salt, garlic cloves, and dill. You can use fresh or dried dill interchangeably here, too. From there, feel free to get creative with your spices, if you want. I’ve added thyme, fennel, and rosemary with good results.
The beauty of this recipe is that it’s incredibly flexible once you have the basic ratio down. In fact, this basic ratio works on a lot of different vegetables. You can use the quick pickling method on carrots, radishes, cabbage, beets, cucumbers, corn, asparagus… whatever floats your boat!
SUPPLIES YOU’LL NEED
You won’t need much to whip up some quick pickles other than a small pot and glass jars. Ideally, you’ll want to use plastic lids for these pickles since vinegar will corrode metal.
Quick Pickled Red Onions
Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and gently smashed
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon while peppercorn
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the sliced onion, garlic cloves, dill, and peppercorn in a clean pint jar. Depending on the size of your onion, it might not all fit. You don’t want to overpack the jar but feel free to stuff it pretty well.
- In a small saucepan, combine the water, red wine vinegar, and salt. Heat until just simmering, stirring to dissolve the salt.
- Carefully pour the hot vinegar mixture over your vegetables. Give the vegetables a quick stir to make sure there aren’t any air pockets hiding. Discard any leftover vinegar mixture. On the other hand, if you don’t quite have enough vinegar mixture to cover the vegetables, top the jar off with more vinegar.
- Cover the jar with a plastic lid or place a square of wax paper between the jar and a metal lid so the vinegar doesn’t corrode the metal. Let the pickles cool to room temperature before placing them in the fridge.
- Once chilled, the pickles are ready to use! They’ll last in the fridge for a few weeks and continue to develop their flavor as they sit.
There’s something about garnishing a dish with homemade pickled vegetables that makes it feel extra fancy. And they’re so cheap and simple to make, it’s easy to get creative with them.
Personally, I’m looking forward to giving pickled shredded beets a try this summer once my crop comes in.
I’m also incredibly intrigued by the idea of pickling baby peaches. Seems like the perfect way to use the unripe fruit I’ll be left with after I thin my peach tree this summer!
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