Spicy Pickled Onions

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Quickly make spicy pickled onions to top burritos, tacos, taco salad/burrito bowls, sandwiches, and so many other foods. They're bursting with flavor, come together quickly, and are a great way to use up leftover onions.

fork with pickled onions and jar of pickled onions

How will these onions make your life easier?
What makes these pickled red onions so good?
How do I make this pickled onions recipe?
Recipes to add your onions to
Substitutions/Tips
FAQ
What can I make with leftover ingredients?

How will these onions make your life easier?

Pickling vegetables is a great way to add lots of flavor to a vegetable to make it more exciting to eat. This easy flavor adding preservation method makes life better AND easier.

Add these spicy pickled onions to dinner will add lots of flavor and excitement without much effort. Plus they last a few weeks, sealed, in the fridge so you don't have to eat them quickly. BONUS: No canning equipment required.

Try these easy Dill Pickled Carrots too!

What makes these pickled red onions so good?

pickled onion ingredients on cutting board

How do I make this pickled onions recipe?

To start making your spicy pickled onions, add equal parts of white vinegar and water to a microwave safe glass jar/bowl, add sugar and salt. Cover with microwave safe lid, microwave for 60-90 seconds.

Stir. Heat until sugar and salt have dissolved.

While your liquid is heating up, thinly slice 1 medium red onion, and ½-1 jalapeno pepper. Remove jalapeno center and seeds for less spicy, spicy pickled onions.

Once water/vinegar mixture is warmed, sugar and salt have been dissolved, add thinly sliced onions and jalapeno. Press under liquid. Seal jar and refrigerate until use.

Remove your spicy pickled onions with a fork to keep the liquid and onions clean.

I recommend refrigerating your spicy pickled onions for 24+ hours before enjoying, but you can eat them after just 30-60 minutes. They get better with time, and can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

Recipes to add your onions to

Substitutions/Tips

You can substitute the red onions for other types of onions to make these spicy pickled onions. The red onion has a nice sweet flavor and turns a really pretty pink color. But you can use whatever onions you have on hand.
You can use ½ white vinegar and ½ apple cider vinegar (ACV), or even swap a Tablespoon of white vinegar for ACV for slightly less of a bite.
Ways to adjust spiciness: Adjust how much jalapeno you add, remove center ribs and center endocarp that seeds are attached to cut down on spiciness, add additional peppers or red pepper flakes to make it spicier.
Omit the jalapeno peppers for regular pickled onions.
Other great add-ins: clove of garlic, pinch of red pepper flakes (a good option if you don't have a jalapeno), other types of peppers.

FAQ

How to make pickled onions

Pickled onions and spicy pickled onions, like this recipe are easy. The basic recipe is to dissolve sugar and salt in a vinegar/water mixture. Thinly slice onions and add them to the pickling liquid you made. Cover completely.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but they're better after sitting for longer. They'll last a couple weeks, especially if you use a clean fork to remove them from the pickling liquid.

Are pickled onions healthy?

Instead of worrying about the health benefits of particular foods, I recommend eating a variety of foods and getting creative with nutrient packed fruits and vegetables. Pickled onions add lots of flavor to food.

What can I make with leftover ingredients?

Red Onions and Jalapeno: Vegetarian Burrito Bowl, Refried Bean Tacos, Breakfast Tacos, and Chorizo Breakfast Casserole (you can also add your spicy pickled onions to these recipes).

Did you make these spicy pickled onions? Leave me a comment & rating to share how they turned out!

square image of pink pickled onions with fork

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5 from 5 votes