We make about 2 batches of these a week in our home. It is made with just a few simple ingredients and is so easy, you could make it with your eyes close (but I do not encourage this)! What I DO encourage is for you to enjoy these quick pickled red onions over an omelette, in sandwiches, topped on your favorite salad or in a juicy burger. My mouth is watering. Yours must be too.

I recently went to the store to see what my normal homemade items are being sold for and the ingredients present too! At a local market, a jar of pickled red onions was being sold for $10! At another market, it was cheaper by a few dollars but contained artificial ingredients AND corn syrup.

My recipe only contains salt, sugar and apple cider vinegar for the brine, making this a healthy and happy option for you. Did I mention it costs me less than $1 to make?

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What Is In Storebought Pickled Items?

I like knowing what is going inside my body! For years I struggled with acne, hair loss and hormonal imbalances due to, what I believe, was my diet. After making more foods from home and being aware of what ingredients I am using, my life hugely changed. No more migraines, reduction in acne, no more hair loss and I even slept better. Now, I do not like labeling foods as being “bad” for myself BUT what I encourage with myself is thinking what can I work towards that would be better or a better option. This may come down to ingredients, price point, etc.

As for pickled/pickling items, here are just a few ingredients that you will find in them when purchasing from the store:

Glucose/Corn Syrup: This is just straight up condensed sugar. Now, don’t get me wrong, I really like sugar but prefer using organic cane sugar or honey as they are less processed and more natural. Sugars such as a glucose or corn syrup can disrupt insulin levels, lead to huge gut health problems and that can affect everything else in the body. These types of sugars your body does not know what to do with and they create much harm and inflammation to your system.
Artificial Colours: Food dyes/colours are man-made chemicals sourced from petroleum. Petroleum is a crude oil product known to make gasoline, diesel, asphalt and plastics. In many store sauces you may find under the ingredients BLUE-1, BLUE-2, RED-2, RED-3, RED-40, GREEN-3, ORANGE-B, YELLOW-5 and/or YELLOW-6. These are artificial dyes/colours. They work to disrupt the general working of the immune system, are harmful to the gut and have cancer causing agents.
Artificial Flavours: Such flavours are made in a lab, containing dangerous chemicals and toxins for the body. They actually work to not just provide flavour but to trick your brain into having more and more and then even MORE. Plus, there are wide traces of heavy metals in them!

Maybe you aren’t an ingredient person and don’t really care about the stuff above. No problem! Still be ready to be amazed after you try these pickled onions for yourself. They really are so good.

Quick Pickled Red Onion Ingredients

Red Onion: You can do this with any onion, but the red onion truly does taste the best AND delivers a beautiful pink colour naturally to the brine.
Apple Cider Vinegar: This is the only vinegar in this recipe. I do not recommend substituting another vinegar since it will not yield the same flavourful kick as apple cider vinegar does.
Salt: As usual, I use sea salt as it does wonders for the body’s electrolytes and adds much flavour to this recipe.
Sugar: I use organic cane sugar here, the perfect amount of slight sweetness.

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Feel free to toss in a few cloves of garlic or black pepper kernels to the brine to create a richer punchy flavour!

How To Make Quick Pickled Red Onions From Scratch

My husband got so into these that I decided to teach him how to make them. We finished and he literally said “Wait, that’s it?!”. That is how easy this recipe is. If you have 2 minutes, you can make these.

This is not a recipe you make in huge batches and store under your stairs for the winter. This is something you make in smaller amounts and keep in the fridge to preserve its shelf life. Some call it “refrigerator pickling” or “refrigerator canning”. I like this method because it is fast and lets me have beautiful pickled items even without a full day spent canning.

STEP 1: SLICE

Grab your red onion and thinly slice it. You can either slice it as rounds or cut it in half down the middle and cut half moon slices as pictured above. Take all your slices and place them into a 16oz mason jar. Don’t be scared to really press them down.

STEP 2: BRINE

For the brine you are going to add on top of your red onion the salt, sugar, apple cider vinegar and lastly your hot water. Pour the hot water over the red onion until the jar is full. Let this cool a few minutes before place a lid on top and giving it a good shake to help combine all the brine ingredients.

STEP 3: COOL

Remove the lid and let this cool almost completely at room temperature. Place your lid back on top and put it into the fridge. These will be ready to eat the next day!

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How To Store

Keep in the jar with lid securely on for up to 2 months in the fridge.

If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to share and tag me @sarahthereseco on Instagram and come back here to rate and leave a comment!