Homemade Pickled Red Onions

These Homemade Pickled Red Onions are Awesome on Tacos, Hot Dogs or Burgers! Very easy to make as well in your own kitchen.

Recently I was at a party where they had a Mexican food truck and one of my friends noticed I didn’t have pickled red onions on my tacos. I told him that the tacos were super flavorful just the way they were, but he insisted I tried some with my next tacos. Well, he was right! So here is my Homemade Pickled Red Onions recipe.

I will admit that I only recently got into pickling. It’s always been on my list of things to master but it never seemed to bubble to the top. So making this recipe was the perfect opportunity for me to try pickling.

If you’ve never pickled onions or anything else for that matter, don’t be intimated. It’s very easy, probably easier than 75% of the recipes on this food blog. And that is saying a lot since I pride myself on providing easy-to-make recipes.

With just a handful of ingredients, a mason jar, and this recipe you are well on your way to making your very own pickled red onions.

💭 Ingredient Substitution

You can use Kosher Salt as a substitute for Pickling Salt. Just make sure there are no additives in whatever salt you use. But if you plan on making recipes like this going forward I suggest you pick up some Pickling Salt. It's pretty cheap so really no excuses not to have some in your pantry.

If you enjoy pickling, make sure you try my Homemade Pickled Jalapeños or my Bread & Butter Pickles recipes. For another easy-to-make recipe, I suggest my Easy Smoked Baby Back Ribs. Yummy!

💭 How to seal Mason Jars

Using a ladle, fill sterilized mason jars leaving about ½ inch of headspace.
Remove any air bubbles by inserting a flexible spatula down the sides of the jars. Adjust headspace if necessary.
Wipe jar rims, place lids on jar and screw on bands finger tight.
Place jars in a large pot of boiling water for 20 minutes. Move jars to a cooling rack and let cool until the lids "pop". Do not tighten bands. Let jars cool for at least 4 hours. Test seal by pressing the center of the lid. It should not give. If it makes a popping sound, it has NOT been sealed.

💭 Ingredient Substitution

Instead of adding fresh rosemary to the pickled red onions jars, you can use some whole black peppercorns, crushed red pepper flakes, sliced jalapeños, garlic cloves or anything else you can think of.

📋 Gather your Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients to make this homemade pickled red onions recipe (see recipe card for quantities): Red Onion, White Vinegar, White Sugar, Pickling Salt and Fresh Rosemary.

🥣 How to Make Homemade Pickled Red Onions

Cut the red onion into thin slices. Place in a pint-sized mason jar.
In a small saucepan, combine white vinegar, sugar, and salt. Add fresh rosemary and bring the mixture to a boil.
Pour mixture over onions in the mason jar until full. Let cool for about 30 minutes. Shake the jar till everything is well combined.
Seal the mason jar and refrigerate for 24 hours.