The pungent heat from the red onion dissipates into a sweet crunch and a vibrant pink color. The flavor of these quick pickled red onions is as bright as its appearance.
Sometimes it seems easy to forget as a blogger that you need to set aside time to, you know, blog. It seemed easy before, when I first started this blog three years ago. Back then I blogged just because I enjoyed having a creative outlet and didn’t really care how often I posted or how many people came to read it. When you first start blogging it is essentially an easy way to talk to your mother without having to actually call her, since she is probably the only one who reads it early on.
Fast forward three years. Now I am married, have a daughter, and a house to take care of. There is a lot more competing for my time. Then on top of that I made the crazy decision that I wanted to start taking my blog seriously and grow it into whatever its potential is. Now my readership is bigger than just the family Christmas card mailing list and blogging is more than just blogging. Blogging is also monetizing, analytics tracking, optimizing, pinning, photo editing, researching, and so much more. Sitting down to write an actual blog post is only a small fraction of the time I spend working on Fox Valley Foodie.
With a newborn baby demanding my attention in the bassinet next to me in-between keystrokes it is easy to be reminded why I am trying to grow Fox Valley Foodie. I would rather Lillian be raised by her mother, instead of a daycare. With my wife cutting back her hours to part time so she can stay home and raise our child, a spare dime is going to be more scarce in the Fox Valley Foodie household than a COEXIST bumper sticker in Pakistan. Having a little extra revenue from this blog would sure go a long way. So here I sit, faithfully plugging away… in-between the interruptions of a baby’s cry of course.
Today is my day off from my full time job, and I have been looking forward to sitting down this morning with a cup of coffee and typing up a blog post on my pickled red onions recipe all week. After spending much of my free time over the past few days dealing with the technical side of the website it felt like a big breath of fresh air to open up Microsoft Word and be greeted with a blank canvass awaiting my instruction.
So, a long tangent and five paragraphs later, maybe we should start talking about the purpose of the post, the pickled red onions recipe.
Quick Pickled Red Onions Recipe
This is such a simple recipe and the perfect accompaniment to Mexican and Caribbean meals, or even a twist on a classic chicken salad recipe. The pungent heat from the red onion dissipates overnight into a sweet crunch and a vibrant pink color. Its flavor is as bright as its appearance.
Also, since it is soaking in vinegar it keeps fresh in the fridge for a long time. I use these over the course of a couple weeks to add on top of chicken sandwiches, pork burgers, salads, or of course my cilantro lime chicken tacos. With a little advance planning this pickled red onion recipe is one of my favorite ways to brighten up a dish.
How to Cut Onions
As you know, chopping red onions is hard on your eyes. This is why you need a sharp knife in your kitchen. A dull knife bruises the onion with its pressure as you attempt to cut through it which releases more of the onion’s renowned tear-jearking properties, whereas a very sharp knife can cut cleanly through the onion with very minimal irritation. This is why I highly recommend purchasing a good quality chef’s knife. It’s a little pricy but you won’t regret it. A good knife will be your most used tool in your kitchen. I own the Wustof Ikon chef’s knife and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Apparently I am not the only one either, if you click the link you will see it boasts an almost perfect 5 star rating.
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- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 cup water
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Whisk vinegar and seasonings with 2 cups of water until fully dissolved.
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Place onion slices in a container and add liquid until covered. 1 quart mason jars work perfectly for this.
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Let sit for at least 1 hour, but it is best if left in the fridge overnight.
This can be made two weeks ahead.
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Your pickled onions look lovely! Since I wear contact lenses the onions don’t even faze my eye, but you are right, a good knife is an essential tool. I also have the wustof chef knife. Love it!
Haha, yes! One of the few things I miss my contacts for is onion cutting.
The eyes only water when cutting Onions, if you cut them wrong! Don’t cut off the Top part, then it won’t release the oils that causes you pain! 🙂
Really liked this recipe. So quick and easy! Thanks.
Thanks! It has been a favorite of mine for years! It is such a versatile recipe to have on hand, I’m still finding new dishes to include it in!
This looks so simple and delicious, I’m making some tomorrow!
Do you think you could sub honey or maple syrup? I don’t use sugar. This looks so yummy!
I would use honey over maple syrup. Heat the honey and vinegar together in a saucepan and stir to dissolve and let cool before adding the onions. I suspect it would work just fine.
Have used your recipe several times now and it’s my go-to one. Used it on burgers and pulled pork and in my macaroni salad! Thanks for sharing!!
Using it on a burger and pulled pork sound like amazing ideas! I’ll have to try that as well!
When you say it keeps for a long time, how long exctly? I was hoping to make a lot and keep jars of them in the pantry.
This recipe is meant to be kept in the refrigerator. Though the recipe is high in vinegar and sugar, I don’t recommend storing it in your pantry as you could risk food poisoning. Even if you canned it I wouldn’t recommend it because the heat from canning would degrade the texture of the onions. Regardless, even though they keep in the fridge for a couple weeks, I find the texture of the onions is best if enjoyed within a few days anyhow.
The recipe says it makes one quart. Is this correct? ONE onion makes a quart of pickles?
Yes, you can see I used a quart jar in the pictures too. When sliced the onions take up more space.
i thought it called for cloves??
Nope, I wouldn’t recommend them in there.
I am reading comments, but not finding the recipe.
I just double checked and it is still there. Scroll down and you’ll see it. Otherwise, click the “Jump to Recipe” link right under the title.
I cannot tolerate sugar. It gives me dumping syndrome, if you know what that is, then you know it’s miserable and painful. Can I substitute a sugar replacement such as Dplenda or Truvia for the sugar in this?
Give it a try. I never use the stuff, so I can’t really say. It would be a worthwhile experiment. Let me know how it turns out!
I am diabetic and I used Splenda with excellent results.
Good recipie we in India make it regularly to serve with roast chicken.
We also use it to make Kathia Kababs.
Hope to see more nice recipis.
These look so great! I love pickled red onions. The color and taste of the end product is absolutely intoxicating. They are great on a sandwich or as a condiment on the side of a dish. Thanks so much for your recipe! Can’t wait to try them at home!
Great easy recipe! I make this to top some Honey Lime Sweet Potato, Corn, and Black Bean tacos I make! Yum!
I’m trying this recipe today. I noticed on other recipes the instructions were to heat the ingredients first then pour over onions. This recipe doesn’t say that. So, do I need to heat the ingredients first? Thanks!
Heating can help the sugar and salt dissolve, but it isn’t needed if you whisk good enough. You can heat the ingredients, but you will need to cool it off completely before pouring it over the onions so you do not cook them.
Do you think I could use this same recipe except for carrots instead of red onions?
It wouldn’t hurt to try!