Quick Pickled Red Onions

This the best (and quickest) pickled onion technique you need to know. These Quick Pickled Red Onions make just about all your dinners more delicious, and after you're done with the pickles, an amazing onion vinegar is leftover perfect for making salad dressings.

The Best Pickled Red Onion Recipe

As a recipe developer with two websites and about a dozen years of professional cooking experience, it is pretty clear that I love food and cooking. But would you believe me if I said the recipe I repeat most at home is....pickled red onions? I know it sounds silly, but pickled red onions make just about everything more delicious, so when I think about it, I'm pretty sure that this is "the recipe" I've made the most in my lifetime. Yes, even more than pies! And, I put "recipe" in quotes because it's less of a recipe and more of a technique, and uses only two ingredients. Trust me when I say, that if you like flavorful food, then you have to give these Quick Pickled Red Onions a try.

Ingredients and Tools Needed

This will be a really short list. Are you ready?

• red onions
• red wine vinegar
• salt (if you want)
• a sharp knife

When I say this is a simple recipe, I really mean it. The above list is the bare bones of what you need in order to make this recipe.

That being said, this recipe is also infinitely adaptable. You can change the type of onions you use! You can change the type of vinegar you use. You can add in dried herbs or spices. Sometimes I use Italian seasoning, or red pepper flakes to shake things up.

Once you know the technique (more on this below), feel free to experiment to make your ideal pickled red onion.

Let's Talk About Pickles

Pickling is traditionally a way of preserving foods. Typically, the process involves creating a brine by mixing vinegar and water along with salt or sugar. This mixture is heated and poured over the fruits or vegetables that are being pickled.

There are two main types of pickles: quick pickles and fermented pickles.

Quick pickles are ready fast, typically within a few hours or overnight. Fermented pickles require an extended period of time to sit and undergo a natural fermentation process.

This red onion pickle recipe is considered a quick pickled recipe, but it has an interesting twist. Instead of creating a brine using water and vinegar, the recipe utilizes the natural liquid found in the onions. Red wine vinegar is poured over the onions and this naturally draws the moisture out from the onions, forming the pickling solution. As a result, the pickled red onions have a more pronounced oniony flavor that is bright and tart.

In some pickling recipes, the vegetables or fruits are cooked beforehand to make them softer in texture. However, this is not necessary for this quick pickled onion recipe. When vinegar is added to onions, the acid breaks down the proteins, altering their texture (which is similar to what happens when you cook onions with heat). Additionally, osmosis occurs, causing the moisture in the cells of the onion to move out and into the vinegar, resulting in onions that are more tender and soft.

Some Variables in this Recipe

Like I said, I've made this recipe a ridiculous amount of times. I've changed the type of onion (sometimes I don't have red, though red is my preferred), I've changed the vinegar, I've added salt, spices, and other elements to change the flavor, including oil (though I don't recommend this).

The other variable? How you slice the onions. Slice them too large and they have too much of a bite (but maybe you want that?) Slice them too thin and they feel a bit stringy after they go through the pickling process. I find slicing them fairly thin, about 1/16" to be just right. But you might prefer a different texture, so just keep that in mind!

They can also be left as whole rings, or diced! Or some other variation of slicing. I most often slice the onion in half and then cut the onion crosswise. Feel free to experiment and see what works best for you.

Using Pickled Red Onions

The question is not what to pair with pickled red onions but instead, what shouldn't I pair with pickled red onions, because this savory bright condiment goes with so many things!

All hyperbole aside, I truly use this in so many of my daily recipes. Here are a few of the ways I use this recipe:

• Straight up as a topping for dishes such as tacos, nachos, grilled meat, pizza.
• In salads, sandwiches, and burgers
• Chopped up and cooked in any dish calling for onions. The vinegar flavor once it is cooked isn't prominent, but instead just adds a slight flavor enhancement to a dish
• The leftover vinegar can be used in salad dressings or just to jazz up any dish

How Long Will Pickled Red Onions Last?

While these pickled red onions are lightly preserved because of the acid from the vinegar, they are not properly preserved pickles. While I've never had pickled onions actually go bad or get moldy, I do find that after a week or so they decline in quality. They are best on days 2-5. After that, I try to use them up and make a fresh batch.

Again, these can be chopped up and used in place of onions in any recipe, so there is no need to toss any leftover week-old onions. But generally speaking, I refresh my refrigerator batch about weekly.

Making the recipe? Be sure to leave a comment with a star review on your experience! Have a question? Leave a comment below and I'll get back to you as quickly as I can!

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