Pickled red onions are a great garnish for food, giving you a tangy kick of flavor and a bright pop of vibrant color. This quick recipe for pickled red onions has them ready to enjoy within a few hours.

🛒 Ingredients
- 1 Red onion (or purple onion, depending on where you're from)
- 240ml (1 cup) water
- 240ml (1 cup) apple cider vinegar (ACV), or plain white vinegar.
- 50g (¼ cup) raw cane sugar
- Flaky sea salt
- Whole pink or black peppercorns
- Star anise
See the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for full quantities and step-by-step directions on how to make pickled red onions.
👩🏼🍳 How to make pickled red onions
Measure the water, vinegar, and sugar into a saucepan and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring to help the sugar dissolve.
Finely dice the red onions. The finer they are, the quicker they will pickle. Very finely diced pickled red onions can be enjoyed after 1-2 hours. If they are chunkier red onion pieces, it can take much longer.
Place the red onions into clean, sterilized jars and add a teaspoon of peppercorns and a couple of star anise to each one. Pour the hot pickling solution over the top so they are completely covered, but there is still a bit of space at the top of the jar.
Let the onions cool completely, then screw the lids on and refrigerate. The quick pickled red onions are ready when the onions have turned a vibrant pink. I would wait at least 2 hours on average, but it's better if left overnight.
Top tip
Sterilize your jars by washing them and then placing them on a tray in the oven for 15 minutes at 160°C/320°F
❄️ Storage and Freezing
Store pickled red onions in sterilized jars in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
🍽 How to serve
Serve pickled red onions as an easy garnish idea for dishes like chicken shawarma salad with harissa yogurt dressing. They're also great in sandwiches or wraps or on top of dips.
🍷Wine Pairing
Rather than wine, I'd use the leftover pickle juice to make a Pickle Martini. The vinegar breaks down the color of the red onions and turns the pickled onion pink, giving you a lovely colored drink.
🥣 Equipment
You will just need a saucepan and some clean jars, which is easy!
📝 Related sauces, seasonings, and garnish ideas
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Pickled Red Onions Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Saucepan
- 2 sterilized jars
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion
- 240 ml (1 cup) water
- 240 ml (1 cup) apple cider vinegar or white/ white wine vinegar
- 50 grams (¼ cup) raw cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
- 4 star anise
Instructions
- Measure the water, vinegar, and sugar into a saucepan and add a generous pinch of salt.
- Bring the pickling solution to a boil, stirring to allow the sugar to dissolve.
- Finely dice the red onions into thin strips and place them into prepared sterilized jars.
- Pour the hot pickling liquid over the red onions. Make sure the onions are completely covered but that there is still around a finger width margin of space at the top of the jars.
- Let the pickled onions cool before screwing on the lids and placing them in the fridge. Leave them overnight and then consume within 2 weeks.
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