Pickled Red Onions Are The Tangy Topping Your Nachos Deserve

Other ways to use pickled red onions

Pickled red onions are both budget-friendly and simple to prepare, allowing you to generously use them as a topping for your favorite meals. You may have noticed that many restaurants use them to enhance dishes like avocado toast and salads, giving these straightforward options a more sophisticated touch; you can achieve the same effect at home. They work wonderfully in any dish where you might typically use raw sliced onions—such as sandwiches, burgers, and hot dogs. Any savory toast, topped with ingredients like eggs, cream cheese and salmon, or hummus, is perfect for a sprinkle of pickled red onions.

Mexican cuisine is particularly well-suited for pickled onions, as many traditional dishes already feature chopped onions as a garnish. Consider tacos, soups, rice and beans, and tostadas. The zesty flavor of pickled onions complements creamy toppings commonly found in Mexican dishes, such as queso fresco and crema. Tex-Mex favorites like nachos, as well as cheese-laden Mexican meals like chilaquiles, quesadillas, or enchiladas, can all benefit from a touch of pickled onion.

And don’t discard the brine! The vibrant pink vinegar brine has plenty of uses even after the onions are gone. You can use it to prepare a second batch of pickled onions or add new vegetables like thinly sliced carrots, peppers, or zucchini. It also makes a great vinegar base for salad dressings or can be infused into nacho cheese, similar to how you might use the brine from pickled jalapeños.