Low Iodine Quick Apple Cider Pickled Onions
Tangy, jewel-bright, and ready to punch up just about any plate, these pickled onions are the kind of condiment that makes everything taste more intentional. The brine comes together in minutes on the stovetop — apple cider vinegar, honey, a hit of fresh ginger, and golden turmeric — then gets poured hot over thinly sliced red onion rings so they soften and soak up all that flavor fast. What makes this recipe such a smart fit for a low-iodine kitchen is how clean and straightforward every ingredient is: no iodized table salt (fine sea salt is called for here), no dairy, no seafood-derived additives, and no processed shortcuts that might sneak in unwanted iodine sources. Within 30 minutes of refrigerating, the onions turn a gorgeous deep pink and are ready to pile onto grain bowls, tacos, salads, or grilled proteins. Store-bought pickled onions often contain preservatives or iodized salt that make label-reading a chore, so having a homemade jar in the fridge is genuinely liberating. The flavor only gets better over the next 24 hours as the brine mellows and the ginger and turmeric settle in — if the jar lasts that long.
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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 saltChef's tipFine sea salt and table salt measure the same - no conversion needed.
- 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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