Pickled Red Onions

Yucatán, meet Baja! I was making Baja-style fish tacos and decided that these pickled red onions would be perfect to bump things up a bit. Wow, did they ever! I used my usual sour cream- and mayo-based Baja sauce but cut back on the amount of lime juice to compensate for the lime in the onions. I decided to use the onions instead of my usual slaw. The onions only took about 10 minutes to slice and assemble, followed by about 6 hours in the fridge. I used both the cumin and Mexican oregano. The sweetness and acidity of the pickled red onions enhanced the flavor of the fish and the sauce without overpowering them, and I loved their beautiful pink color. Can’t wait to try this with other dishes or on sandwiches. Perfect meal for a warm summer evening on the patio with an ice-cold beer!

Wow! Perfectly salty, crunchy, sweet, and sour, these pickled red onions are just wonderful and rival anything I can find at my local southern California taquerías. These pickled red onions would be a fabulous condiment for a summer BBQ or would make a great addition to tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or any other Mexican-style dish. I’m glad my local market was selling 10 limes for $1. I usually show restraint when using salt, but for this pickle, I added all the salt called for in the recipe. The flavors were fantastic and spot-on. The recipe yielded about 3 cups pickled red onions, which could easily serve 12 people with a generous 1/4 cup serving per person and even more in smaller portions. I tried these in a quesadilla and boy, was it good! I wouldn’t hesitate to make this simple pickled red onions recipe again.

This is one of those recipes that takes minimal effort and ingredients yet yields a side that really elevates whatever you’re serving. The fact that you can make it ahead just adds to the convenience of the dish. I used a manual juicer, so if you have an electric juicer the recipe will come together even more quickly. I used regular dried oregano, as I didn’t have Mexican on hand, in addition to the cumin, and I really enjoyed the seasoning in this dish. I served these pickled red onions with hot dogs. Hardly a fancy or impressive meal, but with the onions on top, the adults really enjoyed them. (My kids wouldn’t even try the pickled red onions, but that really wasn’t a surprise.)

This pickled red onions recipe was a snap to make. In less than 20 minutes, the sliced red onion was marinating in the fridge. The lime juice toned down the sharpness of the onion and provided a nice crisp flavor. The result was a crunchy onion with a lovely bite. I used Mexican oregano freshly picked from my garden and cumin. I used the pickled red onions as an accompaniment to sandwiches and pork. Sometimes I also eat them straight out of the bowl.

The pickled red onions only took me about 10 minutes to assemble, and I’ve used them on chicken and rice, a ham and cheese sandwich, and a lunch salad. I really like the acidic pop it adds to any dish. It’s been great to have something this simple and easy to perk up my work lunches.

I was delightfully surprised by this pickled red onions recipe. Since making these several days ago, I’ve been looking for all kinds of things to put them on. They’re delicious, not to mention a wonderful pink color. I cut down the amount of lime juice to 1 cup, which was about right for the size of my onion. Even though the onion made me cry when I was cutting it, the flavor wasn’t too sharp or spicy in the finished product. I added a bit of oregano and cumin, and the spices were a good combination with the lime and onion. After marinating the ingredients in a bowl for 30 minutes, I placed the entire mixture in a glass jar. I’ve since eaten them on avocado toast for breakfast, with smoked salmon, on lentil salad with feta, on watermelon salad with feta and arugula, and on a mixed green salad.

When we were out for brunch a couple of weeks ago, my husband ordered a bagel and lox platter with all the fixings, including pickled red onions, and I’ve had a hankering for those bright pink pickled red onions ever since. Thankfully this recipe satisfied my craving. These are delicious and easy to make. I refrigerated them overnight, and they had just the right amount of bite from the lime juice and earthiness from the oregano and cumin. I used a very large red onion, so my yield was approximately 2 cups. I haven’t been very creative in serving them—so far just in sandwiches and atop tuna salad—but they’re a great flavor booster in simple dishes.

These pickled red onions are bright, pretty, and so quick! While they have a natural place on tacos and warmly spiced meat dishes, they can also sparkle as an accent in a salad or on a chèvre crostini. A few minutes prep, a little time to be set aside, and then as little as a few hours or up to overnight in the refrigerator. A jar of these can last you a week. The lime juice has a nice, almost floral, note and was perfect, although if you want a slightly sweeter flavor, you can swap out part of the lime juice for some freshly squeezed orange juice. You can also use lemons if you’re short on limes, but the flavor will be more sour. I made 2 batches of this recipe: a half-batch of lime and a whole batch of lemon since I had a lot of lemons and not quite enough limes. The difference was noticeable, and while we preferred the lime version, both batches were good. The oregano and cumin flavors came through very well after a few hours, and if you’re serving the onions with tacos or other Mexican dishes, I‘d definitely use both. For other types of cuisine, you could play with different herbs and spices. We particularly love these pickled red onions on an open-face sandwich of smoked salmon over cream cheese or chèvre. Also in salads. I find that they pair particularly well with romaine and cheese (I’ve used them with Cheddar and also with fresh mozzarella) and are even better with some orange segments in the salad because the cumin plays well with the citrus flavor. The onions would also definitely work with feta, as the oregano pairs well there, or as an accent on crostini or open-face sandwiches. In addition, they’d make a great bright note on a white bean purée (both in terms of flavor and visual impact). Finally, try layering them in a baked egg dish for weekend brunch.

There are a million recipes out there for pickled red onions, and they’re all good. It’s just a matter of degree. I happen to really like this version, which keeps the flavors bright and simple by limiting the pickling liquid to lime juice and limiting the seasonings to salt, Mexican oregano, and cumin. A lot of pickled onion recipes have cloves or allspice in them, and personally, I’m not nuts about that flavor in pickles. But if you like cloves, by all means, add them. Regarding the amount of lime juice, with the prices on limes these days, why go overboard? You can use as little as 1/2 cup in this recipe with perfect results. Just stir the onions every hour or so while they pickle to make sure they are evenly coated. I found that 4 hours was plenty of resting time for the pickles to be ready for the table, but they will also keep for weeks in the fridge, so hold onto your leftovers. They’ll be a welcome addition to almost any taco.

What’s not to love about these quick and easy pickled red onions? Just 3 ingredients! Only 30 minutes! I made mine without the optional oregano and cumin but look forward to adding the herbs in a subsequent batch. I’d also like to try it with garlic and/or some hot peppers, both of which seem to me to be natural additions. I served the onions with a fork for tasting, and then alongside some tacos, but I think they’d pair well with almost any Mexican dish. One easy place to use them would be with the Mollettes, either as an additional side or in place of the pico de gallo or salsa. While my onions weren’t in Technicolor like the ones in the photo, one of the most appealing features of this particular pickle was the bright pink color.