Name: Quick Pickled Onions
Prep time: 2 min
Ingredients: 300ml red wine vinegar.or any of the following vinegars: apple cider, white wine or rice vinegars.; 1 teaspoon caster sugar. Or granulated.; ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt; bay leaf; ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes .; ¼ teaspoon whole peppercorns; ¼ teaspoon coriander seeds; ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds; 150g/1 large red onion, peeled. Or use a brown or white onion.; 100ml – 200ml boiling water, as required

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Piquant and spicy, these quick pickled onions take only 5 minutes to make and are ready to eat in 20 minutes. Using a handful of store cupboard ingredients, this pretty and very tasty condiment will keep for up to a month in the refrigerator and can be used in many different ways. For example:

try adding to salads such as this Feta and Avocado Salad.
on top of cooked pizza.
in hot or cold sandwiches. Add to a hot cheese toastie or add some to Taid’s Chicken Butty.
wonderful on burgers – beef, chicken or vegetarian.
serve with Mexican food such as tacos, burritos and nachos.

Photograph of Feta and Avocado Salad with Quick Pickled Red Onion and Pomegranate Seeds — Feta and Avocado Salad.

Can I make this recipe even more quickly?

Yes you can! If you are short of time or ingredients, simply thinly slice the onion and toss with 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar, in a non-metallic mixing bowl. Let it sit for 20 minutes and serve. Transfer any leftovers into an airtight jar, squash the onion down and cover with more vinegar. Store in the fridge.

Whilst the sugar, salt, bay leaf and spices add a subtle flavour boost, they are not really strictly necessary, particularly if you are looking to save time or you don’t have them in your cupboard. Any extra ingredients you don’t have, simply leave them out.

How to make Quick Pickled Onions

Please see the printable Recipe Card below for the exact, yet condensed, quantities and instructions.

Collect all the ingredients together:

red wine vinegar. If you don’t have any red wine vinegar, you can also use any of the following vinegars: apple cider, white wine, rice vinegars
caster sugar. Or use granulated.
fine sea salt
bay leaf.
chilli flakes .
whole peppercorns
coriander seeds
cumin seeds
red onion. You could also use a brown or white onion.
boiling water, as required

NB Simply omit any herbs/spices you do not have immediately to hand or you do not like.

How to make this wonderful condiment:

NB You need to start making this a minimum of 25 minutes, but preferably at least 2 hours, before you want to eat the pickled onions.

Heat the vinegar in a pan, over a moderate heat, with the sugar, salt, bay leaf, chilli flakes, whole peppercorns, coriander and cumin seeds. When the sugar and salt are dissolved, take off the heat.
Meanwhile, peel, halve, and thinly slice the onion. Tip into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Immediately use a a sieve to drain well.
Transfer the onion to a sterilised jar with a lid. Pour over the vinegar and spices but remove the bay leaf. Top up the jar with boiling water, if it is not full. (See Recipe Notes for details on how to sterilise jars.)
Seal the jar tightly, shake to mix and leave to cool. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

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