Pickled Red Onions for Mexican Recipes & More (2024)

We use these quick pickled red onions to top a wide variety of Mexican foods (and, honestly, so much more). They add punch to vegan dishes and help cut through the richness of meaty ones. You really can't go wrong.

Why we love this recipe

There’s alchemy in the combination of onions and vinegar. No question. These pickled red onions have been in my repertoire for many years, and I can’t count the number of times that someone has asked for the recipe.

They:

• Have a surprisingly complex taste given that they're made from just a few ingredients
• Jazz up plant-based foods and cut through richer foods with their tangy, craveable bite
• Last a looooong time in the fridge, so you can make a batch and keep it on hand
• Take practically no time at all to put together

I first published this recipe here way back in 2011, adapted from

What you'll need

The remarkably complex taste of these pickled red onions comes from just a handful of common ingredients. Here's what you'll need.

• Use good old red onions from the grocery store.
• There's no substitute for freshly squeezed lime juice. Don't be tempted to use the bottled stuff.
• Red wine vinegar and distilled white vinegar in a 2:1 ratio provide the perfect combination of flavor and acidity that also turn the onions a beautiful shade of pink.
• Very small amounts of sugar and salt round out the flavor profile.
• For the fresh herbs, you've got options. I always include cilantro, and if I have them on hand, I'll also tuck in some rosemary, thyme, and oregano in pretty much any combination.

How to make it

There's nothing fancy about the pickled red onion-making process. You can do it all with a chef's knife and a mason jar. Here's an overview of what you'll do. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.

1. Peel and halve two good-sized red onions from root to tip. Slice thinly from root to tip. Slicing them this way as opposed to crosswise helps them hold their shape and toothsome bite as they soften up in the brine.
2. Into a quart-sized mason jar or other glass container, pour the vinegars, lime juice, salt, and sugar. Put a lid on the jar and shake it up until the salt and sugar are pretty well dissolved.
3. Add the herbs.
4. Pack in the sliced onions, pressing down with a spoon to fit it all into the jar. Top it off with more red wine vinegar if necessary to cover all the onions. Let them marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature before serving. That's it!

Suggested variations

Spicy pickled onions

This recipe lends itself beautifully to the addition of spiciness. Depending on your heat tolerance, you can add anywhere from half a jalapeño to a whole habanero when you add the herbs. You don't need to make any additional changes to the recipe. Note that the longer the onions sit in the fridge, the spicier they will get.

Pickled red onions with no sugar

This isn't a sweet pickle at all. The tablespoon of sugar merely rounds out the flavor and is barely perceptible. If you need a sugar-free recipe for any reason, you can simply omit the sugar and proceed with the recipe as written.

Expert tips and FAQs

How to serve them

Oh, you guys. The list goes ON. Here are a handful of our favorite things to top with pickled red onions. But don't neglect to toss them into salads and onto sandwiches, too.

• Tacos: bean, garlic shrimp, crispy potato, ground pork, carne asada, shredded chicken, ground beef, sweet potato
• Quesadillas: refried bean, shrimp and spinach
• Nachos & totchos
• Enchiladas
• Taco bowls
• Migas

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