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Pickled Red Onions

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Pickled Red Onions are a staple condiment that goes perfect on so many dishes!
Always have this on hand in your fridge- it’s the perfect way to add a gourmet flavor without the gourmet cost

Quick Pickled Red Onion is a tasty way to dress up your salads, sandwiches, wraps, burgers, and more! This is a great way to preserve your onions and have a quick condement that is ready to go!
A glass bowl filled with pink, pickled red onions on a wooden serving board with red onions in the back and foreground, with another jar of red onions in the background on a rustic white table covered in flower petals.

Pickled Red Onions is perfect on sandwiches, burgers, on fancy toast, in quesadillas, burritos, Buddha bowels, salads and more!

A jar of pickled red onion on a white rustic table with flower petals, with a red onion in the background and another jar of red onions in the forground.

It will last months in your fridge in a tight fitting jar- making it a perfect way to preserve red onions in the tastiest of ways.
If it’s summer and you like to eat seasonally, stock up and make a big batch of this.

Pickled Red Onions is a very basic recipe that you can make with what you have in your pantry right now.
Yet, it is primed for your personalization and customization.

Making these onions is very simple, simply boil water, pour over your sliced onions, let sit, drain, then put it in your brine, jar it up- Bam!
That’s it!

The customization you can do with this is endless, you could add in cloves of garlic, chunks of ginger, slices of red pepper, swap out the type of vinegar, swap the type of sweetener, or play with different spices.

Here are a few ideas for you to customize your pickled red onions

  • Asian inspired with rice vinegar, chunks of ginger, red pepper flakes/ powder, and lemon grass (or try adding a tsp of red thai curry paste), then sweetened with 50/50 mirin and sugar
  • Meditarian inspired with balsamic vinegar, cloves of garlic, and red pepper
  • Herb infused with rosemary and thyme
  • Sweet apple with apple cider vinegar and vegan apple honey
  • Make it smokey with a little smoked salt, smoked paprika, or a few drops of liquid smoke
  • Make it spicy with a tsp of sriacha, gochujang, red pepper flakes/powder, fresh chilis, or fresh jalapenos
  • Try other sweeteners like dark maple syrup, brown sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, apple honey, dandelion honey, agave, xylitol

Just because there are endless ways to customize it to your personal preference don’t be afraid to try the basic recipe!
This basic recipe is extremely versatile for topping burgers, salads, burritos, or as a side to your characterize board.
Over flavoring them with your customization could potentially limit you on how you can use these onions.
Consider this, if you make a huge batch of these pickled onions and add red thai curry paste, ginger, and garlic- you might not want to use that to top your bbq burger or in your southwest style burrito. (But imagine how amazing it would be paired with kimchi!!!)

What I love about this recipe is that you can easy reuse your brine to make tasty, quick, and healthy salad dressings.

When I make my basic pickled onion recipe I’ll make it into a dressing by adding some toasted sesame oil, coconut amnions, garlic powder, and sriracha-
creating a sweet, spicy, nutty, yet tangy dressing perfect for my Buddha Bowls or Salads.

Do not skip the step on letting your onions soak in boiled water- this helps remove that raw onion bite, creating a sweeter overall flavor.

Do not replace red onions for white or yellow onions, even when you soak them in boiling water, they do not loose that sharp bite.

Pickled Red Onion

Quick Pickled Red Onion is a tasty way to dress up your salads, sandwiches, wraps, burgers, and more! This is a great way to preserve your onions and have a quick condement that is ready to go!
Print Recipe
CourseCondiments, Vegan Recipes, Vegan Staples
CuisineAmerican
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Servings12 servings
Calories19kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 Medium Sized Onions
  • Enough Boiling Water to Cover the Onions
  • 1 cup filtered water
  • 1 cup White Vinegar
  • 2 TBS Sugar
  • 2 Tsp Sea Salt
  • 1 Tsp Black Peppercorns *optional depending on spice choices listed above*

Instructions

  • Thinly slice your red onion, then place in large bowl
  • Pour enough boiling water to cover your onions, let them soak for at least ten minutes
  • In another large bowl mix together your filtered water, choice of vinegar, choice of sugar, sea salt, and spices
  • Strain your onions out of the hot water and put them in the bowl with your vinegar spice mixture and let soak for another ten minutes
  • Jar up your onions with the brine and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before eating

Notes

  • For adding mirin add 1 TBS mirin and 1 TBS sugar
  • If adding balsamic vinegar consider adding brown sugar or maple syrup for a more malty flavor
  • Nutrition

    Calories: 19kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 0.02g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.003g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.003g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 27mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 0.4IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.05mg

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    By on April 16th, 2020

    About Jessica Flowers

    Jess Flowers is a multimedia specialist who creates vegan recipes using local and wild ingredients. Being plant based for over a decade, it is her mission to share delicious recipes that are made without animal products!

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