Easy Pickled Red Onion Recipe
This pickled red onion recipe is super easy to make. We love to serve these onions on tacos, burgers and burritos all summer!
We are absolutely loving these sweet pickled onions on everything, from our lettuce wrapped burgers to chicken taco salad. They also make a great addition to avocado toast, hot dogs, and egg salad. The sky’s the limit!
Too busy to make this right away? Pin it for later! Pin this post to your favorite board on Pinterest and it will be there when you’re ready!
I love this pickled red onion recipe. We have a taco truck in town that makes the most AHmazing tacos! Seriously, to-die-for tacos! They are that good. I take all of my friends to visit YLW Taco in Kelowna whenever I can. I always order the lunch platter, with no rice, for a low carb, super-filling meal.
Well, the tacos come with a delicious bit of pickled onion that I thought I would make at home. Pickling removes the harsher flavors of raw red onions and takes them to the next level.
This post contains affiliate links.
CANNING SUPPLIES:
- 12 Quart Water Bath Canner with Lid – best for foods with high acidity like salsa, tomatoes, and fruit.
- Ball Mason Jars – sterilized wide mouth pint sized jars work best for this recipe.
- Snap Lids and Rings – new, unused snap lids are needed to get a good seal on your jars.
- Canning Jar Lifter – this is used to lift the hot jars safely out of the boiling water bath.
- Magnet Snap Lid Lifter – this makes pulling the snap lids from the water after being sterilized much easier.
- Over the Sink Strainer – this is my go-to strainer for processing a lot of vegetables.
- Rubber Tongs – for grasping hot jars and lids when sterilizing.
- Tea Towels – used for cleaning and handling hot jars.
- Stock pot – for boiling the salt water mixture.
- Jar Canning Funnel – perfect for pouring the brine into mason jars.
- Ladle – for scooping brine into the jars.
- Cutting board – for slicing onions.
- Sharp knife – these are my favorite for slicing and dicing.
- Measuring spoons and cup – for measuring ingredients.
- Paper towel – perfect for wiping down the jars and cleaning up.
I typically make a double batch of this recipe and place the sliced onions in half pint jars, because I simply will not use an entire pint of onions that quickly. You don’t actually have to can these onions.
Canning and sealing the pickled onions is only needed if you want to extend their shelf life and store them at room temperature. Otherwise, you can just place the ingredients into an airtight container and store in the fridge for a month or more.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 large red onions, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp white sugar (I use granulated Stevia for a low carb, keto friendly version)
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
HOW TO MAKE PICKLED RED ONIONS
- Peel and thinly slice red onions.
- Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan.
- Heat the pickling liquid until boiling and stir until salt and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
- Place onion in a pint-sized mason jar, pour vinegar mixture overtop.
- Process glass jars in a canner for 10 minutes to seal.
This easy recipe only has a few basic ingredients and takes just a couple of minutes to prepare. Once you are comfortable with the original, why not experiment? Try white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or a combination of vinegar types.
Add seasonings like red pepper flakes, bay leaf, mustard seeds, star anise, garlic cloves, or cumin seeds. You could even try pickling watermelon rinds!
Just typing this post makes me want to hit up YLW Taco again as soon as possible. If you’re visiting the Okanagan, be sure to swing by and check them out! The taco truck is located just off of Hwy 97 by One Boardshop.
I love canning all of the fresh fruit and vegetables that are grown in our little valley. Make sure to check out more of my well-loved canning recipes.
Easy Canning Recipes:
- Crunchy Dill Pickles
- How to Can Pears
- The Best Salsa for Canning
- How to Can Peaches
- Canning Tomato Sauce
- Easy Pickled Onions
- Apple Pie Filling
If you love this easy pickled red onion recipe, please give it a five star review and help me share it on Facebook or Pinterest so that others can enjoy it too!
Pickled Red Onion Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large red onions thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp white sugar
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
Instructions
- Peel and thinly slice red onions.
- Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan.
- Heat the pickling liquid until boiling and stir until salt and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
- Place onion in a pint-sized mason jar, pour vinegar mixture overtop.
- Process glass jars in a canner for 10 minutes to seal.
