Learn How to Make Quick Pickled Onions with this easy recipe. These Pickled Red Onions are made with red onions, apple cider vinegar, honey, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. They’re so good, they instantly upgrade any dish they’re added to.  

Pickled Red onions in a mason jar.

You will likely find yourself  eating these completely addicting pickled onions straight out of the jar!  But they’re also delicious added to salads, tacos, burgers or pair them up with grilled chicken or salmon. 

Pickled Red Onions in a mason jar.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Easy to Make. You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to pull these pickled onions together.
  • Upgrade Many Dishes. Instead of using plain red onion, add pickled red onions to salads, sandwiches, burgers, tacos and more.
  • Great Flavor. These pickled onions are great tasting and add so much flavor to any dish you serve them with.

Pickled Red Onion Recipe Ingredients

This pickled red onion recipe uses just 6 ingredients that you’re likely to already have on hand.

  • Red onion
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Sea salt
  • Clover honey (you can use granulated sugar if you prefer)
  • Dried bay leaf
  • Peppercorns

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

Pickled red onions in a mason jar.

How to Pickle Onions

This easy pickled red onions recipe comes together in about 1 hour start-to-finish.

  1. In a medium size glass jar combine the vinegar, salt, honey,  bay leaf and peppercorns.
  2. Stir until the honey (or sugar) is dissolved.
  3. Add the onion slices to the brine mixture. Place the lid on top of the jar and refrigerate for 1 hour before using.
  4. Drain the onions before using.

Slices of red onions scattered on a table.

How Long Do Pickled Onions Last?

Store pickled onions in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored they should last up to one week. 

Slices of red onion in a glass mason jar.

How Do You Serve Pickled Onions?

Adding red pickled onions is an easy way to add a pop of color and boost of flavor to just about any dish, but especially burgers, sandwiches, tacos and salads.

Pickled Red Onions in a mason jar.

More Pickled Vegetable Recipes

Pickled Red Onions in a clear glass mason jar.
Yield: 8 servings

Quick Pickled Onions

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

This Quick Pickled Onions recipe (also referred to as Pickled Red Onions) is easy to make and will upgrade any dish they're added to.

Ingredients

  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons clover honey (you can use granulated sugar if you prefer)
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 6 peppercorns

Instructions

  1. In a medium size glass jar combine the vinegar, salt, honey,  bay leaf and peppercorns.
  2. Stir until the honey (or sugar) is dissolved.
  3. Add the onion. Place the lid on top of the jar and refrigerate for 1 hour before using.
  4. Alternatively, add the onions to a jar and in a separate jar mix the vinegar, salt, honey, bay leaf and pepper corns, then pour over the onions.
  5. Drain the onions before using.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 30Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gSodium: 266mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 0g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.