These crunchy, savory and salty balsamic pickled onions are going to become your next favorite condiment. The pungent flavor of red onions is perfectly balanced with the balsamic vinegar, which has a hint of sweetness.
Add them to your salads for a fun salty element or stuff them in your sandwiches and wraps- these quick pickled onions are super versatile- just like my lime pickled onions.
Onions have recently become an absolute favorite for me. I love experimenting with them, and trying out different ways to serve them.
My Mexican style grilled onions and Sumac onion salad were both big hits, but I really wanted to try out a recipe with onions that I could store for a longer time. And that’s when I tried these pickled onions.
Quick Look
- 🔪Prep time: 5 minutes.
- ⏲️Cook time: 5 minutes.
- 👪 Servings: 6.
- 📋Main ingredients: Red onions, balsamic vinegar, black peppercorns, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, sugar, salt, oil.
- ♨️Cooking method: Prepare brine 🡢 slice onions 🡢 pour brine over onions 🡢 rest and serve.
- ⭐Difficulty: Easy.
- 🥣Serving ideas: Spoon some of the balsamic pickled onions over your chili crisp fried eggs for extra flavor and texture.
Jump to:
What's So Great About the Recipe?
- They are super easy to make. They’re tangy, flavorful and can be tweaked and customized as per your taste preference too!
- All you need is a few minutes of kitchen time to whip up a batch that you can jar and store for weeks- just like my quick pickled red cabbage and pickled shallots.
Recipe Ingredients
Red onions: You’ll need to start off with some thinly sliced red onions. While white onions are also a good option, I would highly recommend sticking to red onions for this recipe. Their sharp, pungent flavor balances the balsamic vinegar beautifully.
Balsamic vinegar: Balsamic vinegar is what lends these classic pickled onions a beautiful color and flavor, and is the base for the vinegar brine.
Italian seasoning: For a bit of extra flavor. I love using my mixed herb seasoning here.
Red pepper flakes: For a kick of heat, you can also add some red pepper flakes or jalapeno flakes if you want to.
Black peppercorns: Whole black peppercorns add a gentle, subtle earthy and spicy flavor to the onions.
Other seasonings: I used only salt and sugar as the simple seasonings. Salt helps preserve the pickled onions and sugar helps bring some sweetness into the mix. I would recommend using granulated sugar, since it dissolves much easily.
Oil: You’ll also need a bit of oil, ideally olive oil to help preserve the pickled onions for a longer time.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- I used balsamic vinegar to make these refrigerator pickled onions, but you could also experiment and use other kinds of vinegar. White wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, and apple cider vinegar are all great options.
- I used sugar as the sweetener, but you could use maple syrup or any other natural sweetener of your choice as well. In fact, honey is a great option too- I've used it for my pickled radish recipe and it tasted amazing!
- To lend an extra kick of heat to the pickled onions, you can also add some red and green chilies. I actually made a bottle of hot pepper vinegar, and it was insanely delicious, which inspired me to try adding peppers to this pickle too.
- You can also add fresh ginger or garlic (or both) to the pickle brine to add another layer of flavor, like I did when I made my pickled green onions.
How to Make Balsamic Pickled Onions
Once you have all your ingredients ready, here’s what you’ll need to do to make these easy pickled red onions.
In a saucepan, combine balsamic vinegar, salt, sugar and some water on low heat until the sugar dissolves.
Slice the onions about ½ inch thick.
Add the sliced onions to a glass jar and add the Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and black peppercorns.
Pour the vinegar mixture on the top such that the onions are able to submerge.
Let sit overnight or in the refrigerator for at least one hour before you use them.
💭Top Tip
Remember not to overcook the balsamic vinegar mixture. As soon as it starts to simmer, turn the heat down and pour over the onions.
Shahida's Tips & Tricks
- Remember that if you’re using a different kind of vinegar, like white vinegar, you might need to add a bit more garnishes to make the pickled onions look beautiful.
- You can add fresh herbs like dill or some of your favorite aromatics like oregano and seeds like mustard seeds if you want to. Carom seeds and dill seeds are great- I used them for my pickled Brussels sprouts and it tasted incredible!
- Remember to let the onions marinate in the vinegar mixture for at least a day before you use them. This will help the onions soak up some of that acidity, and will be crunchy, yet soft. This is true for almost all quick pickle recipes- I realized this when I made my Mexican pickled carrots.
- You don’t need to follow a set proportion for the vinegar and water for this recipe. Just make sure you use just enough of them so that when you pour the vinegar mixture over the onions, the onions are completely covered.
- If you want the onions to have a milder flavor, you can add more water to the pickling liquid.
- To get the perfect, thin slices, use a mandolin slicer.
How to Use Balsamic Pickled Red Onions
Thanks to their tangy and zippy flavor, these balsamic pickled onions can be a fantastic condiment to add to your tacos, grain bowls, and salads- just like my Mexican pickled vegetables.
You can use them to make upside down onion tarts, feature them on a charcuterie board, or spoon them over your Air Fryer avocado egg boats. I personally love using them as a topping over my keto everything bagels too!
Recipe FAQs
When stored correctly, these pickled onions last for up to 4 weeks, if not longer. Remember to use a clean glass jar with a lid to store the balsamic pickled onions.
If the mixture doesn’t seem to be enough to submerge the onions, wait for about 30 minutes and allow the onions to soften. Then, with the lid on, shake the jar a bit. The softened onions will most likely settle down and they’ll be submerged in the mixture.
You sure can! With most veggies, pickling is quite similar. You can also add other veggies like carrots, green beans, cauliflower, garlic and hot peppers too! And if you’re into pickled foods, don’t forget to check out this recipe for Mexican pickled carrots too!
Your leftover balsamic mixture can actually turn into a beautiful salad dressing. Mix it together with some olive oil, minced garlic and seasonings of your choice and you’ve got yourself a total flavor bomb!
More Pickle Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried this balsamic pickled onions recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Balsamic Pickled Onions
Ingredients
- 2 - 3 red onions medium, sliced very thinly
- ⅔ cup balsamic vinegar
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine balsamic vinegar, salt, sugar and some water and let it simmer on low heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Slice the onions about ½ inch thick.
- Add the sliced onions to a glass jar and add the Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and black peppercorns.
- Pour the vinegar mixture on the top such that the onions are able to submerge.
- Let sit overnight or in the refrigerator for at least one hour before you use them.
Notes
- Remember to let the onions marinate in the vinegar mixture for at least a day before you use them. This will help the onions soak up some of that acidity, and will be crunchy, yet soft.
- To get the perfect, thin slices, use a mandoline slicer.
- Remember not to overcook the balsamic vinegar mixture. As soon as it starts to simmer, turn the heat down and pour over the onions.
- Your leftover balsamic mixture can actually turn into a beautiful salad dressing. Mix it together with some olive oil, minced garlic and seasonings of your choice and you’ve got yourself a total flavor bomb!
