Gelatin Free Quick Apple Cider Pickled Onions
Tangy, jewel-toned, and ready to brighten up just about any plate, these pickled onions are a condiment worth keeping stocked in your fridge at all times. Many store-bought pickled products rely on stabilizers or setting agents that can be surprisingly hard to verify, so making your own from scratch is a genuinely satisfying workaround. Here, a simple brine of apple cider vinegar, honey, and water does all the heavy lifting — no thickeners, no gelling agents, nothing you can't pronounce. The fresh ginger and ground turmeric add a warm, slightly earthy depth that takes these well beyond basic, while the honey rounds out the acidity without tipping into sweetness. Once the hot brine hits those thinly sliced red onion rings, the transformation is almost immediate — they soften, turn a stunning deep pink, and soak up every bit of flavor. Pile them onto tacos, grain bowls, sandwiches, or grilled proteins and watch them disappear fast. They're at their best after a full 24 hours in the fridge, but honestly, the 30-minute version is already hard to resist.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 1 large red onion, very thinly sliced into rings
- ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
Instructions
- 1
Pack the sliced red onion rings into a clean 16 oz glass jar, pressing them down gently so they fit snugly.
- 2
Combine the apple cider vinegar, water, honey, fine sea salt, grated ginger, and turmeric in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the honey and salt are fully dissolved, about 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat.
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