Quick Pickled Red Onions

🥗 Why We Love This Recipe

• Super quick and easy: These lime quick pickled red onions only take a few minutes of hands on work to prep. Once you slice the onion, you simply combine everything and let it sit!
• Perfect for Mexican-inspired recipes: We use lime juice instead of vinegar, which makes them perfect for use in tacos, burritos, salads, tostadas and so much more. I particularly love chopping them up and adding to homemade guacamole for extra acidity and flavor!
• Meal prep friendly: These are actually best after they sit for a day or two. You can make them at the beginning of the week for uses in lunches, dinners and more all week!

🌮 Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make these lime quick pickled red onions:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Onions: Regular red onion is best in this recipe, and it produces the most gorgeous, bright pink pickled onions! We have also tried this recipe with shallots and it works well.
• Lime juice: Be sure to use freshly squeezed here – it makes all the difference! Bottled citrus juice typically contains preservatives that alter the flavor of the juice. Fresh really is best!
• Salt: Fine kosher salt is our salt of choice whenever pickling. We typically use Diamond kosher salt. Fine sea salt is also a fine alternative.
• Sugar: Technically optional, but it helps balance out the salt and acidity. Regular cane sugar is the best option in this recipe.

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

(1) Slice onion in half from root to stem. Peel the outer skin and discard. Slice off the root and stem, then thinly slice each half of the onion.

(2) Add the onions, lime juice, salt, and sugar to a mixing bowl and stir well.

(3) Refrigerate and stir well again after one hour. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• New to quick pickling? Check out this comprehensive post on how to quick pickle just about any vegetable with various add-ins.
• Uses for lime quick pickled red onions:
  • Tacos
  • Burritos or burrito bowls
  • Nachos
  • Tostadas
  • Chop and add to a potato salad
  • Taco salad
  • Use in salsa or guacamole (my favorite use!)
  • Sandwiches
  • Burgers
  • Pretty much anything that needs a bit of acidity, crunch and spice!
• Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks maximum. Pickled onions don't last quite as long as other pickled vegetables.
  • We like to store ours in vacuum seal containers. They tend to stay fresher for a bit longer!
• Add-ins: For extra flavor, add in more traditional pickling spices like whole peppercorns, dill seed or mustard seed. Mexican oregano would also be a great addition.
• Make sure the onions are evenly sliced: Thinly sliced is best when pickling onions. However if you go for a thicker slice, just make sure the onions are around the same thickness.

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