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You may find this hard to believe, but this honey recipe for easy pickled onions takes less than 10 minutes. It can change an otherwise dull salad, tasteless piece of fish, or regular chili into a great meal. I keep these pickled onions on hand; they last a week when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They are great to use in a pinch when throwing together a meal. When you use red onions, they become a beautiful shade of pink.
How to Make Pickled Onions
When I tell you about this ingredient list, I will share that it was hardly worth making a list, but I do this to make it easy! When you realize this recipe's effortless, you will want to make them once a week and have them on hand. I even get the little Cipollini onions and pickle those for cocktail hour.
- Sweet onions, red onions, or pearl onions
- Honey
- Warm Water
- Vinegar (your favorite kind) I use ACV a lot.
Making pickled onions is easy.
All you have to do is slice the onion as thin as possible.
Place sliced onion in a non-reactive (glass) container with a tight-fitting lid, and pour dressing over sliced onion. Mix honey and hot water, add vinegar and stir well to combine.
Pour warm mixture over sliced onion. Allow cooling.
Top with a lid and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
Easy Pickled onions can be made ahead by up to a week or so. If the marinate starts turning cloudy, discard the pickled onions.
Expert tips on making our easy Pickled Onion Recipe
A recipe is not perfect until you’ve added your touch to it. That’s why we encourage you to play with your food. Call your inner chef to come out, play with your veggies, and change up this recipe. Here are some ideas
- Add some of your favorite pickling spices like celery seed, allspice berries, whole garlic cloves
- Experiment with different kinds of onions, red, yellow, or small pearl onions
- Pair these onions on this kale salad, with this sweet and spicy chili, or alongside these wings!
- Consider some other veggies to the mix. Try beets, carrots, or cauliflower
Did you know that onions are a high source of fiber and have other health benefits? Did you also know that we can thank the mighty honeybee for onions?
Ideas on what to serve with pickled onions
I am a big fan of this kale salad, and I think it may be only because of the pickled onions. They almost help you forget how solid and over-powering kale can sometimes be.
Do you know how sometimes fish tastes a bit bland, dull, and uninteresting? This fish dish is made better with some pickled onions on top.
Suppose you make these easy pickled onions with honey, any variation we’ve suggested, or your take. Why not take a photo and share it with us using #beeinspired on Instagram. We love seeing your photos!
