Spicy Pickled Red Onions

Made with zesty black peppercorns and fiery crushed red pepper flakes, these Spicy Pickled Red Onions add the perfect tangy pop of flavor to all your meals!  They’re excellent on tacos, sandwiches, burgers, chili, and more!

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Spicy Pickled Red Onions are a wonderful secret weapon ingredient that add so much flavor to anything you put them on!

They’re obviously good on grilled foods, sandwiches, and burgers, but once you have a jar of them in your fridge, you’ll be adding them to everything!

Pickled red onions not only add a slight crunch to your meal, they’re nice and vinegary too.  Their acidity really balances out rich or heavy foods like cheese, BBQ meat, and burgers.

These Spicy Pickled Red Onions get their spice in two different ways.  

• Black peppercorns add a peppery bite that enhance the flavor of these onions.
• Crushed red pepper flakes bring a nice amount of heat without the need for fresh ingredients like jalapenos or habaneros.

These pickled red onions make an excellent condiment because they’re vinegary, spicy, salty, and peppery!

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Ingredients needed to make this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):

• Red onion
• Pickling/Canning salt
• Water
• Apple cider vinegar
• Black peppercorns
• Crushed red pepper flakes

Although there is often sugar added to pickled red onions, there is none in this recipe. 

Apple cider vinegar is inherently slightly sweet, so it works well in these pickled onions.

📍The full recipe with exact ingredient amounts and instructions is on the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

How to use Pickled Red Onions?

You can use these pickled onions on a variety of foods.  Some of our favorites are:

• Burgers
• Hot dogs/brats
• Sandwiches
• Slow Cooker Spicy Chipotle Chicken Chili
• Tacos
• Nachos
• Quesadillas
• BBQ platters

How long are pickled onions good for?

Pickled onions should last 1-2 months in the fridge if you’re using a vinegar that says “5% acidity” or more on the label.

If your vinegar doesn’t specify its acidity or it is under 5%, use the pickled onions within a week.

Can I use a different vinegar?

I use apple cider vinegar in this recipe because its slight sweetness complements the spicy crushed red peppers.

You can, however, replace apple cider vinegar with white vinegar for a cleaner, more crisp vinegar flavor.

Can I use a different type of onion?

Absolutely!  Feel free to replace the red onion with a white or yellow onion.  

Red onions are great raw, but if you want a sharper onion flavor, white or yellow onions would work well in this recipe.

Looking for more pickle recipes?  Here are some of our favorites:

• Sriracha Pickles
• Pickle Mexican Hot Carrots
• Garlic Dill Pickles
• Turmeric Pickled Cauliflower & Carrots

Know a spicy food lover?  A jar of spicy pickled red onions makes a great gift! 

So does a digital pickle cookbook!  My Quick Pickle Cookbook: 10 Easy Recipes + Bonus Pickling Guide (pictured below) is an eBook filled with 10 delicious pickle recipes all in one convenient location!

NOTES:

• For softer pickled onions, pour the boiling brine over the red onions as soon as the salt has dissolved.
• These are mildly spicy.  Feel free to add more crushed red pepper flakes to make them spicier.
• Slice the onions as thick or thin as you like to eat them.  The thicker they are, the longer they will take to pickle.

Spicy Pickled Red Onions

Flavorful Eats

Made with zesty black peppercorns and fiery crushed red pepper flakes, these Spicy Pickled Red Onions add the perfect tangy pop of flavor to all your meals!  They're excellent on tacos, sandwiches, burgers, chili, and more!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Rest in fridge 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Condiment

Cuisine American

Servings 16 oz. jar

Equipment

• 1 16 oz. canning jar

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 red onion average size
• 1 tsp pickling salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

 

• Bring water, vinegar, and pickling salt to a boil, stirring until the salt has dissolved. Set aside.
• Add the black peppercorns, red pepper flakes, and sliced red onions to the mason jar. Pour the pickling brine over the red onions, it should cover them. If not, push down the red onions with a fork until they're submerged.
• Let the pickles come to room temperature, then place lid on jar and refrigerate. Enjoy! Shake the jar before serving to stir up the flavors at the bottom.

Notes

• See post regarding different types of vinegar, different types of onions, and how long pickled onions last - which depends on the kind of vinegar you use.
• Never use fingers to remove pickled items from a jar, you introduce bacteria that can contaminate the pickles.
• You can use sea salt in lieu of pickling salt, if it is fine grain sea salt. 

Keyword Onions, Pickles, Spicy, Vegan, Vegetarian

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