High Fructose Corn Syrup Free Garlic-Herb Quick-Pickled Red Onions
Tangy, jewel-pink, and fragrant with garlic and fresh herbs, these quick-pickled red onions are the kind of condiment that makes everything taste more intentional. A small spoonful transforms tacos, grain bowls, sandwiches, avocado toast, or a simple cheese board into something that looks and tastes genuinely impressive. Store-bought pickled onions are a surprisingly common hiding spot for high fructose corn syrup, sneaked in as a cheap sweetener to balance the brine — so making your own is really the only way to know exactly what you're getting. Here, a tablespoon of honey does that job beautifully, rounding out the apple cider vinegar without any processed sweeteners in sight. The garlic, thyme, and rosemary steep right into the brine as it cools, giving the onions a savory, aromatic depth that most jarred versions never come close to. The process is genuinely simple — a quick stovetop brine, a pour, and a rest in the fridge — and within 30 minutes you have a vibrant, versatile topping ready to go.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced into half-moons
- ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
Instructions
- 1
Pack the sliced red onion into a clean 16 oz glass jar, pressing gently so the slices fit snugly.
- 2
Tuck the smashed garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and rosemary sprig down into the jar among the onion slices.
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