Some foods stand out on their own while others are all about the little details. Quick Pickled Red Onions are one of those details. With this add-on, your sandwiches, salads, and burger will seriously level up. With only 5 ingredients and 10 minutes on the stovetop you can impress with this zingy treat!
What are Pickled Onions?
Pickling is a method of food preservation using salty brine or vinegar to ferment said food. Both the vinegar and brine create a liquid base with a pH level lower than 4.7, which keeps most harmful bacteria from growing in your food. Commonly pickled food types include veggies, fruits, and animal products. You can find pickled foods in every region’s cuisine. Some well known pickled items include, well, pickles, but also kimchi, sauerkraut, and jalapeños.
Pickled red onions originated in England but are popular in many countries. Plain red onions have many health benefits. They contain high antioxidant levels and antibacterial abilities, both of which help you stay healthy. They also have prebiotic fibers, which aid in gut health. When red onions ferment, all their original benefits remain while adding on the health benefits of probiotics and digestive enzymes.
Ingredients
- Red onion
- Vinegar
- Sugar
- Peppercorns
- Salt
. Red onion has a different flavor than yellow or white, so stick to this type for this recipe. There are recipes for other types of pickled onions.
. While there are many varieties of vinegar, white distilled is the kind to use here for both color and balancing purposes.
. Peppercorns may feel like a weird item, but in fact they are typically used in pickling since they release flavor but don’t coat your food. You can find peppercorns in the spice section of the grocery store. If you plan on doing a lot of pickling, I recommend purchasing a larger container from Costco.
How to Make Pickled Onions
This recipe takes no time at all. First, bring the vinegar, sugar, salt, and peppercorns to a boil. Stir it while it boils until the sugar and salt dissolve, then turn the heat off. Set aside to cool a bit. The cooler your brine is, the crunchier the onion slices will be, so that’s up to you. I personally enjoy some crunch, so I put my brine in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
While the brine cools, cut your onion. Slice off the top and bottom, then slice it in half lengthwise. Lay the halves flat side down and slice strips lengthwise all the way across.
Pack the onions into a airtight container and once the brine’s cooled some, pour it over the onion. Once the onions are all covered, let them sit and pickle at least an hour.
What to Pair these With
Pickled onions add a nice, vinegar zing to whatever you’re eating. They go great on most kinds of salad, although my personal favorite is to include them in a side salad with walnuts, goat cheese, and balsamic alongside a grilled chicken breast.
These also are wonderful on veggie sandwiches, beef, pork, or turkey burgers. For an easy and healthy low fat burger, try my recipe for Turkey Burgers.
Another great use for them are in rice bowls. Rice bowls are entirely customizable, making it easy to incorporate almost anything. The key to a good bowl is a balance of flavors. Try a bowl with white rice, edamame, shredded carrot, tofu, and these onions!
Quick Pickled Red Onions
Ingredients
- 1 red onion, large
- 1/2 cups white distilled vinegar
- 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp salt
Instructions
- Combine and boil vinegar, sugar, salt, and peppercorns.
- Once sugar has dissolved, turn heat off.
- Slice red onion in half from base to top, then make thin slices lengthwise.
- Stuff onion slices to a sealable container, then pour the slightly cooled brine over the onions until they're covered.
- Let onions sit and pickle in the brine at least 1 hour before serving.