Tangy and sweet pickled red onions are a great topping for tacos, adding great flavor and crunch to each bite.
Tangy and Sweet
Pickled Red Onions
If you are in looking for a great topping to add to your tacos, then I am happy to announce that this is it! These tangy and sweet pickled red onions are a great addition to any tacos. We especially like to add them to pork tacos. There is something about the combination of crispy delicious pork and vinegary onions that is absolute magic.
However, we have discovered they also go well on top of so many things. Just this week I added them to a chicken and black bean bowl and the flavors melded perfectly. By the way, stay tuned for that recipe post soon.
I love what pickling does to the red onions. By pickling the onions they lose their sharp bite. Instead, they end up tasting tangy and sweet all at the same time and have a great crunch.
An added bonus is that they are super easy and fast to make. Plus if stored correctly, they can last you for quite a while.
How to Make Pickled Red Onions
First, peel and slice a red onion and separate the pieces.
Then, in a small saucepan add 1 cup of vinegar (I used white vinegar but apple cider vinegar and red wine vinegar work too), 1 cup of water, salt, sugar, 1 bay leaf, and a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes. Turn the heat to medium and whisk the mixture until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
Next, pour the mixture on the sliced onions in a container that has a lid. You can do this in a mason jar so that the pickled red onions will last longer. However, since in my house we go through them in just a couple of days, the glass container pictured below works great.
Finally, allow the onions to cool and then store in the refrigerator.
The onions will be ready after a couple of hours, but the longer they sit in the pickling juice the better they will taste.
Now we just need some tacos. . .
What toppings do you like to add to your tacos? Let me know in the comments below.
Tangy and Sweet Pickled Red Onions
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion
- 1 cup vinegar (white, red wine, or apple cider)
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 1-2 pinches red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Peel and slice the red onion and separate the pieces.
- In a small saucepan, heat the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, bay leaf and red pepper flakes on medium. Stir the mixture until the sugar and salt dissolve.
- Place the onions in a container that has a lid and pour the mixture on top (mason jars will allow the pickled red onions to keep longer).
- Let the onions cool completely, then place in the refrigerator.
- Onions will be ready to use after 2-3 hours, but the taste will be better the longer they sit in the pickling juice.
- Serve on top of tacos or salads.
We are 100% obsessed with pickled onions over here. Fried fish sandwich, fried chicken, fish tacos, burgers…basically anything I can put them on! And I have a few different ways to do them, but none have red pepper flakes, this sounds awesome.
Ooh, I like the idea of putting them on a fried fish sandwich. That sounds great!
I would have never thought of pickling onions but I bet my husband would like this!
They are so good and take on a different flavor.
I’ve never tried pickled red onions. I’ve always avoided onions because of the taste but I’m going to try this one.
The sharp taste of them completely mellows out and they take on a different flavor, especially the longer they are in the vinegar.
Do you have to use a bay leaf
Hi Linda, the bay leaf adds another level of flavor to the onions but they will still be tasty even if you leave it out.
This is so easy to make and the taste sounds interesting. Going to have to make some of these pickled onions.
They are so good and make a great topping on so many things.
Tacos are quite novelty in my country, nonetheless I love munching on them. Always on the look-out for such quick condiments. Pinning the recipe.
That’s great. I hope you like them.