Pickled Red Onions | easy refrigerator recipe

These quick pickled red onions call for just 5 ingredients and take less than 20 minutes to make. My easy recipe makes delicious refrigerator pickled onions that are perfect for topping burgers, chicken, sandwiches, or adding to any of your favorite dishes!

I don’t know about you, but around here we are big fans of pickles, from classic pickles to pickled garlic and rhubarb. There isn’t much my family won’t eat and doesn’t love the pickled version of. And these tangy sliced onions are no exception. 

But to be perfectly honest, I’m not actually a huge fan of making pickles, or canning in general. I’ve nothing against homemade canned goods, but let’s just say there are certain things I don’t trust myself to make.

And aside from helping my late grandma and then my mum make our family’s recipe for dill pickles, I’ve never actually pickled anything that involves canning.

And I feel it’s probably safe to say that a lot of us don’t have the time to make anything pickled very often. Enter refrigerator pickles, you can imagine my delight when I learned how to make refrigerator pickles a couple of years ago. 

At first, it was just pickled rhubarb, but when a fast food place near us had a limited edition burger topped with lots of tangy, crunchy pickled red onions, I realized it was high time that I gave pickling another try.

This pickled red onion recipe calls for simple ingredients, ones you likely have in your kitchen already, takes less than 20 minutes to make, and the best part is it’s beyond easy.

Simply put your onions and pickling liquid into a jar, pop it in the fridge, and you’re good to go, no canning required! 

How To Make Pickled Red Onions

Ingredients

• ​large red onion, peeled and sliced into 1/4-1/2 inch rings
• apple cider vinegar. You can also use white vinegar for this recipe, but personally, I prefer using ACV.
• sea salt
• Honey, I like to use raw honey for all of my recipes, but any kind of honey will work. See the notes for other sweetener options.
• water

Directions

​Place your sliced onions into a pint-sized mason jar(I like to use a wide-mouth jar.) And set aside.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Continue to simmer the mixture, stirring often until the salt and honey are completely dissolved. 

Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes. You can also allow the mixture to cool to room temperature before pouring it into your jar. 

After your pickling brine has cooled, pour it over your sliced onions, push the onions down with a fork or the back of a spoon, to make sure they are completely submerged in the liquid.

Cover your jar tightly and transfer to the fridge. Allow the onions to sit for at least 20 minutes before serving. I usually let mine sit for 2 hours or overnight before eating. 

Use these pickled onions to top any of your favorite burgers, hot dogs, or sandwiches; they are also great on salads, avocado toast, or as part of a charcuterie board. 

Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Pickled red onions can be stored in an airtight container or jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. 

As I said above, I love using raw honey in this recipe, but you can also use white sugar or even maple syrup as a sweetener in this recipe. 

I find that white vinegar or apple cider veingar work best for most pickle recipes, but you can also make these pickled onions with red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar. Some people also use a blend of rice vinegar and apple cider vinegar to make pickled onions. 

You can also make this pickled onion recipe with yellow onions or white onions, but the flavor will not be quite as sharp. Personally, I enjoy pickled red onions better, as I feel they have a better flavor to offer, not to mention a beautiful color!

Looking for pickled recipes? Be sure to check out these delicious recipes!

Sweet and Spicy Refrigerator Rhubarb Pickles

Baked Brie with Pickled Rhubarb and Maple Pecans