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    Home » Recipes » Sides and salad recipes

    How to pickle red onions

    Published: Mar 30, 2023 · Modified: May 24, 2024 by VJ · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

    Jump to recipe

    Find out how to pickle red onions with this simple and speedy recipe. These quick and easy pickled red onions are both sweet and tangy, making them a fantastic accompaniment to a cheese board or a ploughman's platter. With a preparation time of only 10 minutes and a quick 30 minutes in the fridge, you'll have a delicious and versatile condiment in no time.

    A forkful of pickled red onions being lifted from a jar.
    Jump to:
    • Easy pickled red onions
    • What to serve with pickled red onions
    • What you will need
    • What to do
    • How to sterilise jars
    • Pickled red onion FAQs
    • Save for later
    • Related recipes
    • 📋The recipe

    Easy pickled red onions

    If you've always wanted to make pickled red onions, but have been put off by the thought of how difficult they are to make, then this is the recipe you have been looking for. This is such a quick and easy recipe, that you'll wonder why you've not made pickled red onions before!

    These pickled red onions take only 10 minutes to get into the jar, and another 30 minutes in the refrigerator to chill, and they are ready to eat. Seriously - if you can slice an onion you can make a jar of these pickled red onions. Other than boiling up the pickling liquid, these pickled red onions require no cooking whatsoever!

    What I love about them is that you don't have to spend what feels like hours peeling mounds of tiny pickling onions to make these pickled red onions. All you have to do is peel 2 or 3 large red onions, cut them into slices and pop them into a jar with the pickling liquid.

    In addition, these pickled red onions are ready-sliced so there's no danger of your onion jumping off your plate and onto the floor when you try to stab it with a fork and miss 🙂

    And oh my goodness, they are so delicious. They are sweet and tangy all at the same time, exactly the way a pickled onion should taste. And because they are not cooked at all, they retain their crispiness and give a satisfying 'crunch' when you bite into a mouthful. No soft and squishy pickled onions on my watch!

    A sealed jar of pickled red onions.

    Another thing I love about them is that they will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator without the bother of sterilising the jars first. Of course, you can sterilise the jars and store the onions for up to a year, and I've provided instructions further down the post on how to sterilise jars. But because these pickled red onions are so quick and easy to make, I'm quite happy to make a fresh batch every two weeks or so.

    What to serve with pickled red onions

    You would typically eat these pickled red onions anywhere you would eat a normal pickled onion:

    • Spread them on a sandwich - pickled onions add a tangy crunch to any sandwich, especially ham and cheese.
    • Add them to a ploughman's platter or a charcuterie board - they complement a pork pie and a slice of cheese perfectly.
    • Serve them as a salad with a barbeque - I'm drooling at the thought of these onions topped on a piece of perfectly cooked steak or sausage and sandwiched in a crusty bread roll.
    • Pickled onions are also commonly served as a condiment in Indian cuisine. Why not serve them next time you make a biriyani?
    • Serve them as a side dish next time you make a pasta salad bar.

    If you want to make a quick batch of pickled red onions yourself, this is how to make them.

    What you will need

    Equipment

    You don't need very much. If you have a mandolin, this will make short work of slicing the onions. If you don't have a mandolin, then you will need a sharp knife and a chopping board and you can simply slice the onions with those.

    You will also need a small saucepan for boiling the pickling liquid, and some mason jars to store the onions in. I found a jar in Asda with a pretty pink lid (the same colour as my website colours) and thought I'd be clever and store the onions in that. It did the job, but didn't make for good photos - it looks a bit lopsided 🙂 .

    Ingredients

    All you will need to make these pickled red onions are 5 simple ingredients, and two of them are salt and water!

    **You can find the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making these pickled red onions on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

    This recipe will make one pint or approximately 2 cups of pickled red onions.

    Ingredients for making pickled red onions.

    Red onions - red onions have a much milder taste than white or yellow onions so they are ideal for making this recipe. You could use white onions if you wish, but then I would advise that you temper them slightly by slicing them and then placing them in a colander and pouring boiling water over them. This will help to dilute the sharpness of the white onions.

    Vinegar - this is cider vinegar (as sold by my local supermarket). Cider vinegar is less astringent than malt vinegar and has a less sharp taste. You could also use red wine or sherry vinegar, which are both milder than malt vinegar. If you only have malt vinegar you can use that, but you may find that you need to add a touch more sugar to compensate for the extra acidity.

    Salt - I like to add a small amount of salt, but this is purely optional and to your own taste. I found the onions were quite bland without the salt.

    Brown sugar - this adds sweetness and balances the acidity of the vinegar

    Water - this is used to top up the vinegar to the required volume. Vinegar on its own would be too tart so the water helps counteract this.

    What to do

    And this is how you make them in 5 easy steps.

    Vinegar, water, salt and sugar being brought to the boil in a small saucepan.

    Measure the water, vinegar, salt and sugar into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and then remove from the heat.

    A dish of thinly sliced red onions.

    While the vinegar is boiling you can peel and slice the onions. I chose to slice them into rings, but if you prefer to slice the onions from top to bottom that is perfectly fine. Make the onion slices as thin as possible - about one-eighth of an inch is perfect.

    Slices of red onions packed into a glass jar.

    Pack the onions tightly into your container.

    Slices of red onion in a glass jar, covered with pickling liquid.

    Pour over the hot vinegar mixture. Make sure you cover the onions completely.

    A sealed jar of pickled red onions.

    Seal the jar, let it come to room temperature and then store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use. The onions will be ready to eat within 30 minutes, but the flavour does improve with standing.

    If you'd like to be notified of new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter? To say thank you, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.

    How to sterilise jars

    If you would like to make these pickled onions and store them for longer than 2 weeks, I would recommend you sterilise your jars before using them to store the onions. You can store them in a cool place, like your pantry, but do refrigerate them once they've been opened.

    This is how you do it:

    To sterilise jars in the oven:

    • Wash the jars and the lids in hot soapy water, rinse, but do not dry them.
    • Stand them upside down on a baking tray while they’re still wet.
    • Place the tray of clean, wet jars and lids into a preheated oven at 180ºC / 350ºF for 15 mins.
    • Don't place rubber seals in the oven - remove the seals from the lids and place them in a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes.

    To sterilise jars in the microwave:

    • Wash the jars and the lids in hot soapy water, rinse, but do not dry them.
    • Place them in the microwave whilst still wet.
    • Microwave on full power for 2 minutes
    • If the lids are made of metal DO NOT MICROWAVE.  Instead, place the lids in a pot of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.
    Overhead closeup of pickled red onions in a glass jar.

    Pickled red onion FAQs

    What are some variations of this recipe?

    If you would like to vary the taste of the onions, you can add other spices to the pickling liquid:
    - a few black peppercorns
    - a pinch of dried red chilli flakes
    - one or two cloves of garlic
    - half a teaspoon of dried woody herbs such as rosemary or thyme

    Can I pickle other vegetables in the same way?

    Yes, you can use this recipe to pickle other vegetables. Make sure that the vegetables are cut into thin pieces so that the pickling liquid can penetrate easily. Why not try pickling julienned carrots, cucumbers or some thinly sliced radishes?

    Can I freeze pickled red onions?

    I'm afraid I've never tried to freeze them - I think the texture would alter on defrosting. If you do freeze them successfully I'd love to know.

    How do I make a larger batch?

    To make a larger batch you can double or even triple the pickling liquid ingredients so that you have sufficient to cover the onions:
    For every cup of vinegar, you should add one-third cup of water.
    Be careful when doubling up on the sugar and salt - you don't want the onions to be too sweet or too salty.

    Save for later

    If you would like to make your own pickled red onions why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.

    Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

    Related recipes

    If you enjoy making pickles and relishes, you may like these recipes:

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    You can find even more pickle and chutney recipes on my sauces, dips and marinade recipes page.

    📋The recipe

    A forkful of pickled red onions being lifted from a jar.

    How to pickle red onions

    Find out how to pickle red onions with this simple and speedy recipe. These quick and easy pickled red onions are both sweet and tangy, making them a fantastic accompaniment to a cheese board or a ploughman's platter. With a preparation time of only 10 minutes and a quick 30 minutes in the fridge, you'll have a delicious and versatile condiment in no time.
    Recipe by: Veronica
    Condiments, Side Dish
    British
    Calories 234
    Prep 10 minutes minutes
    Refrigeration time 30 minutes minutes
    Cook 0 minutes minutes
    Total Time 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 2 cups (or 1 pint) pickled onions
    Print Pin Comment Bookmark Saved!
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    5 from 1 vote

    (Click the stars to rate this recipe)

    Equipment

    • Mandolin OR
    • Sharp Knife
    • Chopping Board
    • Saucepan
    • Maxon jars

    Ingredients

    • 3 medium red onions
    • 1 cup cider vinegar
    • 1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ⅓ cup water

    Instructions

    • Measure the water, vinegar, salt and sugar into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and then remove from the heat.
      1 cup cider vinegar, 1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ⅓ cup water
    • While the vinegar is boiling you can peel and slice the onions. I chose to slice them into rings, but if you prefer to slice the onions from top to bottom that is perfectly fine. Make the onion slices as thin as possible - about one-eighth of an inch is perfect.
      3 medium red onions
    • Pack the onions tightly into a glass mason jar.
    • Pour in the hot vinegar mixture. Make sure you cover the onions completely.
    • Seal the jar, let it come to room temperature and then store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use. The onions will be ready to eat within 30 minutes, but the flavour does improve with standing.

    Notes

    If you would like to make these pickled onions and store them for longer than 2 weeks, I would recommend you sterilise your jars before using them to store the onions. You can store them in a cool place, like your pantry, but do refrigerate them once they've been opened.
    To sterilise jars in the oven:
    • Wash the jars and the lids in hot soapy water, rinse, but do not dry them.
    • Stand them upside down on a baking tray while they’re still wet.
    • Place the tray of clean, wet jars and lids into a preheated oven at 180ºC / 350ºF for 15 mins.
    • Don't place rubber seals in the oven - remove the seals from the lids and place them in a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes.
    To sterilise jars in the microwave:
    • Wash the jars and the lids in hot soapy water, rinse, but do not dry them.
    • Place them in the microwave whilst still wet.Microwave on full power for 2 minutes
    • If the lids are made of metal DO NOT MICROWAVE.  Instead, place the lids in a pan of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.
    Nutrition - this has been calculated for the entire 1 pint of onions.

    Nutrition

    Calories - 234kcal | Carbohydrates - 46.3g | Protein - 3.7g | Fat - 0.3g | Sodium - 1194mg | Potassium - 676mg | Fiber - 7.1g | Sugar - 28.1g | Calcium - 107mg | Iron - 1mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

    Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
    All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
    Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe I'd love it if you could leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
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    About VJ

    Before I started my food blog I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, mostly made from scratch, using everyday pantry ingredients.

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    1. Sue Ward

      February 22, 2025 at 4:25 am

      Hi the amount of liquid is not quite enough to cover the onion. I only used 3 x small to med onions. Hopefully if I keep striring they will pickle as I do not have any more cider vinegar I tipped the last bit out, darn.

      Reply
      • VJ

        February 22, 2025 at 7:08 am

        Hi Sue - You could ad a little red wine vinegar or other fruity vinegar. But don't worry - they pickle quickly and I'm sure they will be fine, especially if you stir them occasionally. If they are in a screw top jar you could also just give the jar a little shake!

        Reply

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