I keep on making things that when I think about it, would be enhanced with some pickled red onions. Bean soup, liverwurst, salmon, and especially hot dogs and hamburgers would all be terrific with some pickled onions on the side.
All you really need to make pickled red onions is some sliced red onion, vinegar and sugar. There’s lots of leeway with the spices and herbs used.
For this batch I used cinnamon, cloves, star anise, bay leaf and red pepper flakes. You could easily thrown in some ginger, swap out the chile flakes for some cumin, or allspice for the cloves.
How to Make Pickled Red Onions
PrintIngredients
- 1 lb red onions (about 2 med or 1 large), thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
Spices
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 star anise
- Dash red pepper flakes
More spices (optional): Fresh ginger slices, allspice berries, oregano, garlic, cumin seeds, mustard seeds
Method
1 Blanch red onions in a saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain in colander.
2 While the water is heating in step 1, in a separate saucepan combine the vinegar, sugar and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
3 Add blanched, drained onions to the vinegar mixture. Simmer for 1 minute.
4 Transfer to a glass jar. Allow to stand until cooled. Will keep several weeks refrigerated.
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Links:
Molly's pickles based on the Zuni Cafe recipe from Orangette
Avocado Sandwich with Pickled Onions from Tartine and Apron Strings
Carnitas Tacos with Pickled Onions and Salsa Verde from Shared Appetite
Quinoa Veggie Burgers with Pickled Red Onions from Love and Olive Oil
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Hi Elise,
I am new to pickling. Do you have to put the jars in boiling water with every recipe? Or are there pickling recipes that don’t call for it?
Hi Elise! I’ve been using your site forever and have had great success with your recipes for many years. Thank you! Two questions… would a distilled vinegar be ok for this recipe or would you recommend something nicer like a white wine vinegar? Also, how long should we wait before eating to maximize deliciousness? I imagine we should wait a few days at least.
Looks great, I’ll try this tomorrow. I have a question: what is the purpose of blanching the onions? My guess is that it cuts out the bite of the onions while also making it easier for the brine to penetrate. Also, can I skip that step or is it necessary?
Hi Elise – can you use different onions?
Yes, you might try sweet vidalia onions. Those would be good too. Or any onion, actually. ~Elise
Does this recipe have a high enough acid content to be appropriate for hot water bath canning?
I’m guessing yes, but with canning you never want to guess. I suggest consulting a canning book or website for guidance on this one. ~Elise