Easy Pickled Onions
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A little bit sweet, a little bit savory, and a whole lot tangy, my easy and quick pickled onions recipe is a Southern gem that’s going to change your life (yes, really).
Pickled onions and cornbread is a meal fit for the hardcore Southerner. I’m going to start this post out with a disclaimer: half of you will hate even the thought of this pickled onion recipe, but the other half will take one bite and set about doing paperwork to rename all of your children after me. Pickled onions are not for the novice who is new to Southern food. These are hardcore, for old-school Southern tastebuds – but oh will they make those buds sing!
The life-changing moment
Would you believe that I had them for the FIRST TIME this past weekend? We went to a restaurant in Nashville with the kids and they brought out a bowl of pickled onions and hot cornbread, still in the cast iron skillet it was cooked in. I reached for a wedge of cornbread and put it on my plate where I topped it with a spoonful of pickled onions. Not knowing what to expect but trusting the instinct of my Alabama roots, I dug my fork in to get a bite full of hot bread and onion and tasted all that was reverent and good in the world of old-fashioned soul food.
As soon as we left the restaurant I called Mama and Grandmama and by the time I was home, I had a recipe. I ended up serving mine with a bowl of pinto beans and ham and a side of cornbread and the rest is history! These heavenly pickled onions are now on heavy rotation in my home… and my family’s. I sent a pint jar of them to my 81-year-old grandmother yesterday along with a quart jar of pintos. She called at 5 this morning. “Did you try it yet, Grandmama?” “LORD Yes! Done had me two bowls! That was the best stuff. Lord oh that was so good.”
Fortunately, my quick pickled onions recipe is so quick and easy to make. We’re just going to boil the ingredients together to make the pickle. This includes a delicious combination of sugar for sweetness, salt, pepper, and garlic powder for seasoning and flavor, and apple cider vinegar for that quintessential pickled tang. Then we toss the onions into the pickled mixture and let them marinate in the fridge. That’s it! They’re ready to serve in no time at all and the serving options are endless… but I’ve included plenty of ideas below. So let’s get pickling, hey?
Recipe Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper
- Sweet onions (preferably Vidalia)
- Apple cider vinegar
- Sugar
How to Make Pickled Onions
In a medium saucepot, place the apple cider vinegar…
Sugar…
Salt…
Black pepper…
And garlic powder.
Stir that up well and put over medium-high heat to bring it just to a boil while you cut up your onions.
Keep a watch on this and stir it often.
Peel your onions and slice them into rings.
I cut my rings in half, too, to make them easier to eat.
You can even do diced onions if you want.
Oh, look! Our pickling liquid is boiling!
Now, if you or anyone you know has their sinuses stuffed up, all ya gotta do is invite them into your kitchen and have them stir this pot! Actually, cider vinegar is an old folk remedy for many an affliction.
Remove pot from heat.
Dump your sliced onion in and stir them to coat.
At first, it will seem like there are way too many slices, but just let them sit for about five minutes and they will wilt a bit.
Until they look kinda like this. Now place all of these ( and included) in a container and cover it to put in your fridge.
If you do not cover it, your sinuses will clear each and every time you open your fridge, which is good or bad depending on how stuffed up you are! Come to think of it, maybe this is a good springtime recipe in the south when our world is coated in that lovely yellow dust.
Voila! My refrigerated pickled onions are all ready to make my stomach happy!
Here I’m serving them with a big bowl of pinto beans and ham and a side of cornbread, of course.
But however you serve it, just git ya some!
Storage
When stored in an airtight container or a in the fridge, pickled onions will last up to 3 weeks.
Recipe Notes
- These can well. For canning instructions, check out this blog post.
- If you want to add some heat, add a 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.
- You only need to let the homemade pickled onions marinate and cool down for about 30 minutes before serving. However, the longer you leave them in the fridge, the more pickled they become.
- I prefer to use Vidalia onions, but many pickled onion recipes use red onion instead, which you can totally do as well.
- Some easy substitutions include cane sugar for granulated sugar, , sea salt for kosher salt, and black pepper for about 10 whole peppercorns.
- For added , you can also purchase in stores like Walmart, which is usually some combination of these spices: cinnamon, allspice, , coriander, bay leaves, ginger, , cardamon, black , and dill seed.
Recipe FAQs
Can I use white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar?
You can definitely use white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar. Personally, I just love the extra little tang and flavor the cider vinegar gives my pickled onions. For English , is actually the traditional choice, but other options include .
How do you serve pickled onions?
There are so many ways to serve homemade pickled onions:
- are a popular topping on tacos, burritos, nachos, and fajitas.
- They also work as a topping for burgers, sandwiches, and salads.
- English pickled onions are often served on baked potatoes, alongside fish and chips, on a Ploughman’s Lunch, with cream cheese dip, and as a hot dog relish.
- Enjoy them as a side dish with barbecue meat like beef brisket or pulled pork, Southern fried catfish, salmon patties, or steak.
- Add them to a bagel with lox and cream cheese or as a topping on avocado toast for a different kind of breakfast.
You may also enjoy these other onion-based dishes:
Delicious Hamburger Steak Recipe With Fried Onions
Keto Chaffle Recipe With Onion Rings
Tomato, Onion, and Cucumber Salad
French Onion Soup Restaurant-Style
Ingredients
- 4 medium-sized sweet onions like Vidalia
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except the onions into a saucepot over medium-high heat. Bring just to a boil while stirring often.2 cups apple cider vinegar, 1 cup white sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- While the pickling liquid is coming to a boil, peel onions and slice them into rings. Separate each ring.4 medium-sized sweet onions like Vidalia
- When the vinegar mixture comes to a boil, remove it from the heat and add sliced onion. Stir and allow to sit for five minutes, or until the onions have wilted down into the vinegar slightly. Stir again and let sit for another five minutes.
- Place in a container, cover, and refrigerate until well chilled and ready to serve. Serve as a side relish or as a topping on pinto beans.
Video
Nutrition
It requires less character to discover the faults of others
than it does to tolerate them.
~J. Petit Senn
This sounds so yummy!! All about onions with my beans and since I add a splash of apple cider into my bowl typically this will take that step out.. Why haven’t I thought of this before!! Thanks again for all you do Christy!! Now back to your cookbook and planning the meals for the week 🙂 much love from the Smokies!!
Oh my gosh, this is a staple in our house; fabulous food. i was introduced to the delights of pintos (red beans my hubby calls them) when we moved from Kansas to Texas. We did not eat pintos, black eyes or purple hulls, those were fed to the vdairy cattle. I will never forget my grandad coming by train to Houston a year after my daddy died, he was coming to check on his girl, our Momma, and her girls, the six of us kiddos. I made a big ole pot of pintos and a big cast iron skillet of cornbread for our supper.( My gosh, when we got to Texas we figured out that all the food worth eatin was in the south!)
When grandad got to the house, he asked “what’s that I smell?” Taking the lid off that big pot of pintos, he looked in horror at my mom and said ” Gawd Amighty Gretta (momma) if I’d know things was this bad ida come sooner” He sure thought we were having to eat cattle food! We had a great neighbor who took us poor yankees( she practically spat that word out lol) under her wing and taught us all about snkickerdoodles, sweet tea, chicken and dressin, pickled onions(always in her ice box) and fried bologna, she was originally from Tennessee and by golly she could do things with bologna that would boggle the mind, and tickle your taste buds. she would always have a big “spread” on her table “cause people don’t come here to my house to dine, they come to EAT” her name was Mrs Stewert and she made life so much better for us..she “practically dopted all of ya’ll” a true southern lady full of southern hospitality
What a wonderful story!!! Thank you so much for sharing it with me! I am so glad you got here as soon as you could and have learned to enjoy our food!!
My Mom and Granny used to make these (and now I do) but sometimes they didn’t heat the vinegar and added a few thin slices of cucumber….yummmmm.
I made these tonight, because I really wanted to try them. They sounded wonderful and indeed they are wonderful. So quick and easy and so so good. I can’t wait to use them on something, but I think they may just get eaten as they are, because they are so good. I didn’t wait for them to cool off, they were just too good.
I love your website and your stories. I am so happy to have found you!!
THank you so much, I am so glad you happened upon me as well. And I am so glad to hear you liked the onions!!
I love this recipe but I never take the time to heat the brine. I quarter and slice a sweet onion(kept in fridge cause I love the crispness) into a small bowl. Grind on some garlic pepper.Add1/4 cup sugar then dump in enough cider vinegar to cover.Give a good stir to dissolve sugar then give it the pinkie test. Rarely lasts long enough to go in the fridge..love it with everything..Yesterday I added diced tomato and a spoon or two of Hellmans to the bowl then dumped it over iceburg lettuce,shredded cheese and diced deli ham.You talk about a good lunch..woohoo..Love ya Christy…keep up the great work..be well and Blessed
how about pickled califawer?
I had something like this at a local soul food/southern restaurant a few weeks ago. The owner included a few thinly sliced carrots and it was so delicious on top of the field peas! She called hers Onion Medley. I want to try your recipe soon!! It sounds so simple and I know it will be wonderful.
Do you know how long this might last in the refrigerator in case the entire batch doesn’t get consumed at the first sitting?