Pickled onions rewards a little know-how: how to choose them, cook them, store them, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 5 recipes to cook with them.

What are pickled onions?

Pickled onions are onions preserved in an acidic brine of vinegar, salt, and usually a little sugar. The acid softens their raw bite and turns them tangy and crisp, often staining red onions a vivid pink.

The name covers two very different things. Quick pickles are sliced onions steeped in warm brine for an hour and kept in the fridge for a week or two.

Traditional British pickled onions are whole small onions packed in malt vinegar and aged for weeks into a sharp, crunchy pub snack.

Both start with the same idea: vinegar tames the onion and keeps it.

How to Use Pickled Onions

Quick-pickled red onions are the workhorse. A forkful on top cuts through anything rich, which is why they finish tacos, burgers, grain bowls, and pulled-pork sandwiches so well.

Spoon them over fatty or smoky food and the acid resets your palate between bites. They lift an antipasto platter alongside olives and cured meats, as in this Best Antipasto or a Make-Ahead Antipasto.

Don't waste the brine. That leftover pink liquid is a ready-made dressing base or a splash for marinades like Citrus Chicken.

Making a Quick Brine

A reliable everyday ratio is 1 cup vinegar to 1 cup water, with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon sugar. Warm it just enough to dissolve the salt and sugar, then pour it over thinly sliced onions.

The common mistake is brining onions sliced too thick. Thick wedges stay harsh and crunchy in the middle because the acid never reaches the core. Slice thin, ⅛ inch (3 mm) or less, and they soften evenly in under an hour.

Substitutes

For tang and crunch in a finished dish, a forkful of sauerkraut or pickled shallots covers the same job. Pickled cabbage or quick-pickled fennel also brings the acid-plus-crunch contrast, though without the onion flavor.

In a pinch, raw red onion soaked in cold water for 10 minutes loses some bite and stands in. It won't have the vinegar tang that makes the pickled version work.

Buying & Storage

Jarred pickled onions sit near the olives and condiments. Choose firm, evenly colored onions in clear, not cloudy, brine; cloudiness in a commercial jar can signal spoilage.

Homemade quick pickles keep in a sealed jar in the fridge for about 2 to 3 weeks, fully submerged in their brine. Always use a clean fork, never fingers, to avoid introducing bacteria that shorten their life.

Traditional malt-vinegar onions are shelf-stable once sealed. Once opened, treat any jar like the quick version and refrigerate it.

Quick facts

In Chinese

腌洋葱

British (UK) term

Pickled onions

en français

oignons marinés

en español

cebollas en escabeche

Recipes using pickled onions

There are 5 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 5 recipes