These pickled red onions are a beautiful and easy condiment using only 5 ingredients (4 if you don’t count the salt) and take only a few minutes to make. A no-added-sugar, versatile topping that adds color and flavor to tacos, salads or burgers.
Pickled red onions are handy to have on hand, and when the onions are gone you have a flavored vinegar to use in salad dressings.
There are only two quick cooking steps, and the prep is simple too. Use a small red onion or half a larger one (about ⅔ cup). Slice it thinly - with a small onion I'd have sliced it in rings.
Blanch the onions in boiling water for 1 minute, and drain. Combine the vinegar, salt and water in the same pan, return the onions to it, and simmer for 1 minute.
Place a smashed garlic clove and one sprig of oregano into the bottom of a pint Mason jar. Pour the onions and brine over that and top with the remaining garlic and oregano. Let the onions and brine cool about a half hour.
Now cover and place the jar into the refrigerator. The onions and the brine mixture will take on a beautiful magenta tone.
How long do these pickled onions last?
These pickled onions will last for 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator. They get pinker as time goes on. 
What vinegar can I use for pickling?
I use apple cider vinegar to give a very slight apple flavor. Of course ACV has a slight golden color. If you don’t want to have any color in addition to what the red onions give the mixture, you can use distilled vinegar.
You could use red wine vinegar for pickling, though it’s usually more expensive than the other two - if you like it and don’t mind it adding red to the color of the onions.
Are pickled onions healthy?
These are healthy in the sense that no sugar is added, unlike many recipes for pickled onions. They can’t be considered a probiotic food, however, which a fermented pickled onion would be. And they probably don’t count as one of your 5-a-day, either, because they are in brine - though there are some electrolytes in the pink sea salt.
What makes the onions turn pink?
Anthocyanins are the pigment that gives the color to the outer layers of the red onion. Though they're red-purple when in the onion, the anthocyanins turn red when they are in a more acidic environment like this vinegar brine. The pigments diffuse into the vinegar and then into all parts of the sliced onions. Anthocyanins are anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial, so are good for you!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #amealinmind on Instagram. I’d love to see what you come up with. Thank you so much!!
Beth
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Pickled Red Onions - 5 ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 small red onion peeled and thinly sliced (about ⅔ cup)
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ to 1 teaspoon pink sea salt
- 2 cloves garlic sliced or smashed
- 1 teaspoon oregano or 2 sprigs fresh oregano
Instructions
- Blanch the sliced onions in boiling water for 1 minute.
- Drain and return the onions to the pan with vinegar and salt. Add enough water to just cover (about ¼ cup works for me), and simmer for 1 minute.
- Pour the onions and the brine into a clean glass jar (I used a 1-pint Mason jar).
- Add the smashed garlic and oregano and allow to cool before placing in the refrigerator. For best results, chill for at least 2 hours.
- Serve as a side dish for tacos, quinoa salad, or burgers.
- Keeps refrigerated for 2-3 weeks.
Notes
Please pin for later!
Megan
This is great! I love picked onions whenever a restaurant uses them on my dish. Now I can make them myself!
Beth
Megan, it is such a quick and easy recipe, really a great one to make at home.
Ashley
Your pictures make these look good! Great recipe.
Beth
I so appreciate comments about my photos, Ashley - I hope to make them look as good as they are.
Holly
Fantastic recipe! I will be making these this week! Thank you!
Beth
Thank you, Holly! I hope you like them as much as we do!
Siobhan
Great recipe! We make pickled red onions a ton in our home too. They’re so great to have in the fridge!
Beth
Siobhan, they're relatively new to us but now we make them all the time too.
Sydney Delong
So simple, but so delicious!
Beth
Thanks, Sydney, and we love the pink color on tacos!
Lisa Manderino
What a great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Beth
Thanks, we love how easy it is!
Christina Siwik
Looks really good. I may have to give it a try.
Beth
Christina, they are very good, I hope you enjoy them.
Alyssa
Pickled red onions are delicous! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Beth
It's become a favorite at our house and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Alyssa!
Leeandra
I love pickled foods! I'm gonna have to try this out!
Beth
Thanks, Leeandra, we do too, plus how pretty they are. Hope you enjoy them.
Sabrina
I already have all the ingredients so I am going to try this week. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe. I love onions.
Beth
These are so easy and so tasty, plus the onions last so long this way!
Laura
I’ll have to share this with my husband. He would love it.
Beth
Great, Laura, good to hear it.
Sabrina DeWalt
I love pickled onions. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Beth
Sabrina, we do too, thanks.
Danielle Ardizzone
Looks great! My fiance loves onions and would probably like these.
Beth
Danielle, anyone who likes onions already would be a good bet for this recipe.
Kristin
I've never tried pickled onions before--can you believe it? I think I would like it if given the chance. I may have to try this!
Beth
Thanks, Kristin, we like how mellow they get when pickled - worth a try for sure.
Debbie
So pretty and looks fairly simple too!
Beth
It's that easy!
Barbara
I recently had these at a local restaurant on my cobb salad and fell in love with the idea! Thanks for the recipe!
Beth
Thanks, Barbara, that sounds like a great use for them. You're so welcome!
Marianne
Ohhh!! My hubby would absolutely love this recipe! Thanks for posting!
Beth
Marianne, I'm so happy to hear that!
Maria Gustafsson
I always enjoy pickled onions, but forget about them at the same! This looks easy to do.
Beth
Thanks, Maria, they are that easy.
Beth Shields
This is perfect. I love pickled onions and just have never pulled up a recipe or made them. But will do now! Thanks for the recipe. Pinned for sure.
Beth
Thanks, Beth. It's such a basic recipe - I hope you'll enjoy them as much as we have!
Chelsea
I enjoy pickled onions but have never made them on my own. This looks so easy! Thanks for sharing!
Beth
Chelsea, they are so easy - a perfect starter recipe and I can't wait until my grandson is old enough to appreciate the color changes they do!
Suz
Pickled onions - never had 'em. Don't know if I need 'em. I guess having more concrete suggestions on how to use them in the beginning of the post may entice people to try them. But, I don't cook - at all - so, I'm sure I'm in the extreme minority! Great photos, and very clear directions.
Beth
Thanks, Suz - I have added today a post showing how we use the red onions in tacos, so I read your mind there. It's interesting who's run across them and who never has. Thanks for the kind words!
Lisa
Wow, this is way easier than I ever imagined. I have some pink salt too that would be perfect to use for this. Thanks for sharing
Beth
Thanks, Lisa. We love the pink sea salt and hope you'll enjoy the onions.
Suzan | It's My Sustainable Life
You know me, Beth, I love my pickles 🙂 This looks like a simple, refreshing pickle and one I will make with the addition of a bit of crushed red pepper for me 🙂
Beth
Suzan, I see you as a pickling maven, of course, and I can imagine that adding crushed red pepper to this recipe would be fabulous!
Erica
These look delicious! Thank you for the recipe! They would be delicious on a salad! YUMMM
Beth
Thanks Erica, salads, tacos and casseroles are what we like them on so far.
Alice
Wow that's easy to do and I bet they are yummy.
Beth
Thanks, Alice, I also love how easy they are, and we put them on everything!
Cindy
These pickled onions look amazing! I’ll try the recipe.
Beth
They are amazing! I hope you enjoy them.