I make these quick pickled red onions when you and I want a fast, tangy topping that instantly makes Taco Tuesday, weeknight grain bowls, and meal-prep salads taste like restaurant food. You slice one or two red onions, pour a hot brine of vinegar, water, sugar, and salt over the top, and in about a day you have a big jar of crisp, bright-pink onions ready for tacos, burrito bowls, burgers, sandwiches, avocado toast, and grilled meat.
Why You’ll Love These Quick Pickled Red Onions
These easy refrigerator pickled onions use just five basic ingredients and no canning, so you get a low-effort, high-impact condiment that lives in your fridge for busy weeknights. The flavor hits that sweet spot U.S. readers look for: a little sweet, nicely tangy, and just punchy enough to cut through rich foods like carnitas tacos, smash burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, and loaded grain bowls.
Quick pickled red onions are also a trendy “healthy-ish” topping all over social media, because they add big flavor and color without heavy sauces. You can batch a jar on Sunday meal prep and use it all week on taco bowls, chicken salads, breakfast eggs, Mediterranean wraps, and sheet-pan dinners.
Continue to the next page to get the full ingredients and steps