These pickled red onions are bold, bright, and perfect for using in absolutely any recipe that needs a little something ✨extra✨ added. Their secret? They are marinated in lime juice, not vinegar. This gives them a vivid color, pop of flavor, and softer-than-raw onions texture compared to other quick pickled onions.
If you’ve ever been disappointed by less than vibrant pickled red onions, this recipe will fix all that for you, because they are bold in taste AND appearance, too. No need to add any additional coloring or ingredients like beets, hibiscus, or grenadine (yeah, I’ve seen people recommend ALL of those things 🙈). I learned the importance of finishing dishes with a pop of flavor and colorful garnish while I was in culinary school, and these onions fit the bill for both jobs!
I love keeping a container of these in the fridge to sprinkle on everything from bean chili totchos to a simple side salad for Pizza Friday. Of course, they also work really well ON a pizza for Pizza Friday, like a BBQ pizza for instance! They keep for a long time, and are so easy to customize with other flavors. Once you try making pickled onions this way, you’ll leave the white vinegar in the back of the pantry!
👀 the secret sauce…
✨ the flavor: This recipe is all about The Pop Flavor Factor! It brings a huge burst of flavor in a small package. It also hits on The Wow, Mom! Flavor Factor thanks to the stunning pink color, and The Intrigue, because it adds a layer of interest to any dish you put them on!
🎯 the method: No cooking required! All you have to do is slice, soak, drain, juice, and marinate!
🏆 the win: Unlike other quick pickled onion recipes out there, this one requires NO heating, NO vinegar, and NO disappointingly colored onions! You get BRIGHT vibrant red onions full of flavor with minimal effort!
what are The Flavor Factors?
The Flavor Factor Framework is my lil set of “flavor guideposts” for cooking with confidence! Less following recipes to a tee, more trusting your instincts, getting creative in the kitchen, and becoming a more intuitive cook! 👩🏻🍳
📚the backstory of developing this recipe
(aka everyone’s favorite part of food blogs!)
My recipe is adapted from one of my favorite restaurants of all time, Elote in Sedona, Arizona (because don’t you buy the cookbooks from your favorite restaurants, too??). I also borrowed a few tips from celebrity chef Rick Bayless, like soaking the onions before marinating them to soften their flavor, except I opted to add salt during that step. AND, it’s also inspired by a local Orlando taco shop called Hunger Street Tacos that uses these onions on everything from tacos to nachos to birria.
Red onions have these sulfur flavor compounds that’re totally pungent and overpowering. In fact, it’s a big reason why I didn’t enjoy red onion growing up— it just takes over the flavor of everything else in a dish, especially raw red onion. But now that I’m older, I’m able to appreciate more nuanced flavors. Howeverrrrr…I still prefer to mellow out the harshness of potent ingredients like raw red onion. 😅
In Mexico, citrus brined onions are traditionally made using sour oranges, but conventional limes (aka Persian limes) are widely available year round, so that’s my citrus of choice. Not to mention, limes are the most acidic citrus fruit by weight. Harold McGee cites them as having nearly 8% citric acid by weight, compared to 1-5% in other fruits like grapefruit, lemons, and oranges.
So, limes are a reliable sour ingredient that helps us break down raw red onions. Ingredients that are high in acidity like these onions are used to cut through fatty, rich, and unctuous flavors (there’s an SAT word for you 🤓) from slow-roasted meats like beef and pork.
🛒 ingredients to make quick pickled onions
See the recipe card for the exact quantities.
🍳 how to make pickled red onions
1: Slice the red onion as thinly and evenly as you can.
2: Soak the onions in hot salt water for 15–20 minutes to help mellow the sharpness.
3: While they soak, juice the limes.
4: Drain the onions well and transfer to a jar or container, then add the spices and seasonings.
5: Add lime juice, being sure to completely cover the onions with juice.
6: Cover and marinate in the fridge (the color gets more vibrant as it sits).
7: For longer storage, scoop/drain the onions out of the lime juice after a few days so they don’t get too bitter.
8: Store in the fridge and use on basically everything that needs a bright pop.
💡tips & tricks for getting it right
ℹ️ troubleshooting tips
- keep the onions covered – for the first few hours – days, make sure that ALL of the onions are fully submerged under lime juice. You can use something like a fermenting weight or a small glass bowl/dish for this.
- too bitter – lime juice is super acidic! If your pickling solution is too bitter, you can add a bit more salt, agave, or both to balance the flavor out. Additionally, be sure to take them out of the lime juice after about 3-4 days max to help control the flavor better.
- not bright enough – the color will deepen the most overnight, so if you have only marinated them for a few hours, give them a bit more time!
- too sharp or overpowering – do NOT skip the saltwater brine! This helps to break down the onions a bit while also helping to lessen their harsh flavor.
Check out the difference 24 hours in the fridge makes in the color of these onions! 🤯
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🍽️ how to serve pickled red onions
- finishing touch – these onions are the perfect garnish for anything from tacos to burgers! They’re also perfect layered as the finishing touch on crostini crackers or pizzas!
- flavor balancer – serving something super rich, like slow-braised meats and other umami-filled dishes? These onions help cut through the richness to balance the taste in recipes like carnitas, short ribs, and fatty brisket.
- pop of color – these onions also work really well on dishes like salads, grain bowls, or summer pasta dishes that benefit from a pop of color and flavor!
🧅 recipes to pair with your pickled onions:
♻️ customize your pickled onions
- spice it up – get creative with your herbs and spices! You can use cumin seeds, mustard seeds, all spice berries, and bay leaves! You can also use an herb-infused simple syrup like this rosemary syrup instead of agave nectar!
- aromatic – add more garlic cloves, slice them a bit to unlock their flavor more, or try slicing a shallot and adding it to the mix, too!
- turn up the heat – add some slices of jalapeño peppers or a pinch of dried chili to make spicy pickled onions!
🧰 equipment needed & storage tips
🫙 how to store lime pickled onions
After marinating your onions for a few days, scoop them out of the lime juice and store them in an airtight jar. This helps keep the flavor bright and not bitter.
These onions will keep for up to a month when stored properly in the fridge.
I prefer to scoop them out of the lime juice after about 2-3 days, because I find the flavor to become very sour or bitter after about 5-7 days. Their texture will break down the longer they marinate, too.
💬 q+a
If you make this recipe, please leave a review in the comments and a star rating!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Best Pickled Red Onions (No Cook Lime Pickled Red Onions)
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Equipment
- 1 airtight storage jar
- 1 fermentation weight or small bowl/dish to keep onions submerged
- 1 knife & cutting board or mandoline slicer
- 1 heat-proof bowl for soaking onions
Ingredients
- 250 g lime juice 1 cup, from 6 medium limes
- 195 g red onion about 2 cups, from one medium onion, sliced thinly
- 2 g garlic 1 small whole clove, peeled
- 8 g salt 2 tsp, for brine
- hot water about 4 cups, for soaking onions
- 4 g salt 1 tsp, for pickling solution
- 10 g agave 2 tsp
- black pepper 3-5 peppercorns
- ¼ tsp oregano up to 1/2 tsp
Instructions
- Prep onions. Peel and slice your onions as evenly and thinly as you can. Use a mandoline for even slices if needed (don’t forget to use a cutting glove for safety!).195 g red onion
- Soak + brine onions. Add 2 tsp of salt to hot water, then soak your onions in the hot salt water brine for 15-20 minutes.hot water, 8 g salt
- Juice limes. While the onions soak, slice and juice your limes. It’ll take about 5-8 limes to get a cup of juice, depending on the size of your limes.250 g lime juice
- Drain onions. After soaking, drain your onions from the salt brine and place them into a jar or shallow container with a lid.
- Season + marinate. Add your desired spices, agave syrup, and any other additions like garlic, black pepper, and oregano. Place your limes in the fridge to marinate for up to 24 hours. The color will intensify overnight!2 g garlic, 4 g salt, 10 g agave, black pepper, 1/4 tsp oregano
- Drain + store. While you can store your onions in the lime juice long term, I find that the flavor tends to become a bit too bitter after 72 hours, so I like to drain them before storing longer term. Your onions will keep fresh for up to a month, though they will become more soft with time.
Notes
ℹ️ troubleshooting tips
- keep the onions covered – for the first few hours – days, make sure that ALL of the onions are fully submerged under lime juice. You can use something like a fermenting weight or a small glass bowl/dish for this.
- too bitter – lime juice is super acidic! If your pickling solution is too bitter, you can add a bit more salt, agave, or both to balance the flavor out. Additionally, be sure to take them out of the lime juice after about 3-4 days max to help control the flavor better.
- not bright enough – the color will deepen the most overnight, so if you have only marinated them for a few hours, give them a bit more time!
- too sharp or overpowering – do NOT skip the saltwater brine! This helps to break down the onions a bit while also helping to lessen their harsh flavor.
