Easy peasy sweet and spicy pickled red onions, ready in just 15 minutes and no sugar recipe. So next time if you like to add flavors to your tacos, burgers, or salad bowls, don't forget to add these sugar-free, quick pickled onions.
These pickled red onions are refined sugar-free, tastes great, a little crunchy, spice up with chili flakes & soaked in the pickling liquid. Store in the fridge for 2 weeks but they get over very quickly.
The post contains helpful tips and tricks to make a successful recipe on your first attempt. Please use the link above to jump to the recipe card at the end if you want to skip.
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Why you will love pickled onions
- Easy to make- Making sweet & spicy red onions is really easy to make at home. You need few basic pantry staples and make it in 15 minutes. A great "do it yourself" project.
- Sweet & spicy- Red onions are sweeter in taste. Adding pickling liquid & red chili flakes balanced the sweetness with a little spiciness.
- Ways to use- They pair well with tacos and salad bowls. But just serve these with sandwiches, as a side to lunch/dinner or basically with any meal.
Ingredients & Notes
Please check the recipe card for full ingredient list and measurements
To make a sweet onion pickle you need red onion, distilled white vinegar, water, salt, monk fruit, garlic & red chili flakes.
I like to have sugar-free options wherever possible. These pickled red onions are no sugar and used monk fruit in place of refined sugar. Maple syrup, honey, stevia are few other options to make pickled onions sugar-free
Variations
- If you like to have mild spicy then use black peppercorn in place of chili flakes. Other flavors could be a bay leaf, star anise, and any fresh herbs like cilantro, mint, or dill leaves.
- The same recipe will work for other onions variety as well.
How to make pickled red onions
Slice onion as thin as possible
You need to slice onions as thin as possible so that they can absorb pickling liquid. Use a sharp chef's knife or mandoline to do this job. Slice them in a circle or further chop them in half, completely optional.
Transfer these sliced onions to a jar. I use a half-pint jar to pickle the red onions.
The jar should be big enough to have onions and still leave some space to cover them with pickling liquid.
Make the pickling solution
In a saucepan add water, vinegar, salt, monk fruit and give a nice boil or until the monk fruit is dissolved. (pic 1-4)
Fill it and add chili flakes & garlic cloves. Once the brine is boiled add it to the jar filled with sliced onion. Press onions with the fork to burst any air bubbles. (pic 5-8)
Let the brine sit uncovered at the kitchen counter to cool down completely.
Prepare & store in the fridge
Once cool down, close the lid and shake it well. Keeping it in the fridge for few hours works great. First onions get time to absorbs all the sweet & spicy flavors and second, they taste great when served chilled.
At least 30 minutes of chill time requires before serving if you want to experience the flavors. Quick pickled sweet red onions are ready to serve now.
Tips & FAQ's
Distilled white vinegar is great to use in the pickling liquid. It is colorless, clear, has a mild aroma, and does not affect the color of vegetables or fruits. Apple cider vinegar, wine vinegar, or just simple lemon juice is also enough to make pickled onions. Flavors may change depending on the vinegar used each time.
Red onions are the best choice so far to make pickled onions due to their sweet and mild flavors. But yellow or white onions will also great for pickling.
You need sugar to balance the flavors coming from vinegar & salt. Without sugar, pickles taste very salty and tart due to vinegar. To balance this overall flavor profile you need little sugar. I use monk fruit to make these no-sugar spicy pickled onions which work great and refined sugar-free as well.
Serving & storage
Spicy quick pickled onions literally enhance flavors to any savory dish with their sweet crunchy texture. Serve it as taco toppings, in salad bowls, in sandwiches, with breakfast toasts, or sides to any Mexican dish.
Once the brine is at room temperature close the lid and store it in the fridge. This stays fresh for up to 2-3 weeks easily. However, it does not stay that long in the fridge.
If you like this pickled recipe, do check few more sides from the blog.
If you try this recipe, please consider leaving a comment and a star rating. Don't forget to tag #fitmealideas20 on Instagram or @fitmealideas on Pinterest!
Recipe
Sweet and Spicy Pickled Red Onions (Sugar-free)
Equipment
- Pint jar
Ingredients
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- ¾ cup water
- ¾ cup distilled white vinegar substitute with wine vinegar or ACV
- 4 garlic
- 1 tsp chili flakes adjust as per taste
- 2.5 tbsp monkfruit use any sugar free susbtitue
- 2.5 tsp salt
Instructions
- slice onions as thin as possible so that they can absorb pickling liquid. Use a sharp chef's knife or mandoline to do this job. Slice them in a circle or further chop them in half, completely optional.Transfer these sliced onions to a jar.
- In a saucepan add water, vinegar, salt, monk fruit and give a nice boil or until the monk fruit is dissolved. Once the brine is boiled add it to the jar filled with sliced onion. Press onions with the fork to burst any air bubblesFill it and add chili flakes & garlic cloves. Let the brine sit uncovered at the kitchen counter to cool down completely.
- Once cool down, close the lid and shake it well. Keeping it in the fridge for few hours works great.Quick pickled sweet red onions are ready to serve now.
Notes
- If you like to have mild spicy then use black peppercorn in place of chili flakes. Other flavors could be a bay leaf, star anise, and any fresh herbs.
- The same recipe will work for other onions variety as well.
- If distilled white vinegar is not available then replace it with apple cider vinegar, wine vinegar, or simple lemon juice. Flavors may change depending on the vinegar used each time.
Nutrition
Does it fit in your macros?
who says diets are boring. You can enjoy any meal with any diet with few sustainable change. Like this spicy pickled onions, they are refined sugar-free.
Also, sugar is used to balance the flavor profile so you can still consume it from store-bought.
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