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Home » Side Dish

Bobby Flay's Fantastic Pickled Red Onions

Published: May 21, 2021 · Modified: Oct 2, 2022 by Stacey

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When it comes to pickled red onions, Bobby Flay is the master. If you're a fan of the show Beat Bobby Flay, you've seen him make these. My favorite part is always the addition of grenadine. I have a happy association with grenadine and childhood Shirley Temples. Who doesn't?

From time to time, I would look on the internet for his recipe and I could never find it. He seems to have several versions of the pickled red onions out there. Every time I thought I found "the" one, it wasn't the recipe that included the grenadine. That's the one I wanted! But finally, I realized he published it in his great book, Bobby at Home: Fearless Flavors From My Kitchen.

And so I made Bobby Flay's fantastic pickled red onions for my Amazing Pork Schnitzel Sandwich. I also used those same pickled red onions for my Four Awesome Avocado Toast Ideas blog post. It made me realize that I have some recipes that have other recipes within them. They are recipes that stand on their own and could be useful for many recipes. So here I am. I'm posting the video that is just the pickled red onions.

My pork schnitzel sandwich with pickled red onions
Bobby Flay's fantastic pickled red onions
Keep them in a jar in your fridge!
Avocado toast with feta cheese and pickled red onions
overhead shot of steak salad with pickled red onions and bleu cheese as well as campari tomatoes, avocado chunks and homemade balsamic vinaigrette
Steak salad with pickled red onions & bleu cheese
overhead shot of some awesome pork carnitas taco topping ideas
Pork carnitas tacos with pickled red onions

There Are So Many Uses For Pickled Red Onions

In addition to using them on my Crispy Pork Schnitzel Sandwich and avocado toast of many varieties - you can use them on top of salad. You can put a heap of pickled red onions on top of a burger and they would be AWESOME on my Bacon Stuffed Cheeseburgers from my Backyard BBQ video! Throw them on your Pork Carnita Tacos! Get creative and add them to a cole slaw recipe! Believe me, you'll keep finding uses for these crunchy, tangy pickled red onions.

Oh, and if you want to see a hilarious video called We Can Pickle That, just click the link and have yourself a nice laugh.

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Bobby Flay's Pickled Red Onions


★★★★★

5 from 4 reviews

  • Author: Stacey
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2 cups 1x
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Description

You cannot go wrong having these pickled red onions on hand. Use them for salads, avocado toast, burgers and more. Trust me, you’ll keep finding new uses for them.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 cups red wine vinegar
  • 1 cup fresh lime juice (8 limes)
  • ¼ cup grenadine
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2 large red onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup of water

Instructions

  1. Squeeze approximately 8 limes for 1 cup of fresh lime juice. Add it to a pot. Add all the remaining ingredients to the pot and bring it to a boil on medium to high heat. Stir a few times to make sure salt and sugar is dissolved. Should take about 5 minutes. 
  2. While the liquid is cooking. Use a mandolin to slice to large red onions. I set my mandolin to ⅛” and it was perfect. If you don’t have a mandolin just use a knife and slice as thin as possible. Put the onions in a large bowl or container (non-reactive). 
  3. Once the liquid has cooled a few minutes, pour the liquid over the onions. Press down on the onions with a spatula to make sure they are all coated. I didn’t have a container with a lid so I used saran wrap and it worked fine. I transferred them to a large jar the next day.
  4. Refrigerate for at least one hour, but ideally, for 24 hours. 

Equipment

Image of Bobby at Home: Fearless Flavors from My Kitchen

Bobby at Home: Fearless Flavors from My Kitchen

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Image of Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls

Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls

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Image of Grenadine

Grenadine

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Image of Kitchen Tongs

Kitchen Tongs

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Image of Ball Wide-Mouth Mason Jars (pint)

Ball Wide-Mouth Mason Jars (pint)

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Notes

  1. Bobby Flay’s pickled red onions recipe called for two large red onions. I actually sliced three onions because I wanted to have more on hand. Sooo – this recipe can hold three red onions without adjusting any of the ingredients.

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  1. Jeff

    August 08, 2021 at 2:52 pm

    Hey - I made these and they were awesome! Great video. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Stacey

      August 09, 2021 at 10:00 am

      Jeff, I'm so happy to hear you made these. Keep cooking.

      Reply
    • Linda

      August 12, 2021 at 12:16 pm

      How long do picked onions last in refrigerator. Delicious recipe.

      Reply
      • Stacey

        August 12, 2021 at 12:33 pm

        Hi Linda! Thanks for stopping by. When I make these pickled red onions they last about 3 weeks. Then it's time to make another batch! Happy pickling!

        Reply
        • Linda Kachr

          June 18, 2022 at 5:48 pm

          Adding pinch of salt removes bitterness. Also, you can pop your citrus into the microwave and the juices will just pour out.

          Reply
          • Stacey

            June 27, 2022 at 11:40 am

            Hi Linda! Thanks for your comment. Not sure what you mean about adding the salt since the recipe does call for a tablespoon of kosher salt so maybe you didn't see that. LOVE your hack for juicing limes though! I'll have to try that next time. Thanks!

    • Stef McCabe

      April 19, 2022 at 4:45 pm

      Good! I had some left over brine. Can i keep it, freeze it?

      Recipe turned out great;,squeezing limes was tedious; can i use bottled 100% lime juice next time

      Thanks for recipe

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Stacey

        April 19, 2022 at 8:20 pm

        Hi Stef – I’m so glad you made the pickled red onions and that you like them! I just made a batch too and I used them in two upcoming recipes I will post! Stay tuned for that.
        Regarding the lime juice. I do really understand that squeezing lime is tedious, but fresh is always better. I find the bottled stuff to be oddly bitter, but I have never used it in the pickled red onions recipe and, for me, I wouldn’t want to risk it and have the batch taste weird. I try to zone out a bit when I squeeze all those limes. Take a moment and dream a little dream. Before you know it – those limes will be squeezed!

        The extra brine: You could try a homemade vinaigrette for your salads. Whisk some olive oil and a small glob of dijon mustard together with the brine. I just tried it now with some of the brine from my batch of pickled red onion. It’s delicious!

        Reply
  2. Michelle

    August 12, 2021 at 10:12 pm

    I just made them too and we all loved them. We put them on our burgers and it was great!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Stacey

      August 13, 2021 at 4:14 pm

      Michelle - I can't tell you how happy this makes me! Bobby Flay is the master of pickled red onions for sure. It was fun to make this video!

      Reply
  3. Linda Kachur

    August 11, 2022 at 7:44 pm

    I used over 4 red onions for the liquid as there was just so much of it. I also boiled it down for the deeper red, sweet tartness. And, it turned out so delicious that I want to put it on everything!! Putting a lime 40 sec in the microwave will draw out the juice easily with much more per fruit. Never use processed juice as you will miss the sweet fruitiness from each lime.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Stacey

      August 13, 2022 at 12:44 pm

      Thanks Linda! Yeah, definitely have to use FRESH limes... The bottled stuff is gross.

      Reply
  4. David

    August 12, 2022 at 1:15 pm

    I've found this recipe on other sites. Question, why the water. When I watch videos of Flay doing quick pickling I've never seen him use water. And on the other sites with this recipe; no water! Wanted to check before pickling. Thanks

    Reply
    • Stacey

      August 13, 2022 at 12:50 pm

      Hi David - thanks for your question. This recipe comes directly from Bobby Flay's cookbook called "Bobby at Home: Fearless Flavors from my Kitchen." I've looked up other pickled red onion recipes as well and see water as an ingredient in those recipes too. The pickling liquid acts as a brine to the onions and most brines include water, salt, and sugar. For pickling red onions, I think the added reason is likely the need to dilute what could be the over-powering flavor of red wine vinegar and lime juice. So go forth and make this recipe! I've made them many, many times and they are totally awesome! You can see in my blog post a bunch of different ideas for uses. Good luck and let me know how they turn out!

      Reply
  5. David

    August 18, 2022 at 4:51 pm

    Stacey, It's the "Cheesemonger" returning with feedback.
    The pickled onions, made exactly to the recipe, are great! I've had them on a ham, cheese, tomato, mayo, dijon sandwich and they added great acidity and crunch. I tried it on a mixed veg salad but with balsamic vinegar didn't need more acid and already had lots of crunch.
    Any suggestions on other great uses?
    Thanks, David

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Stacey

      August 18, 2022 at 10:55 pm

      David! So glad you made them and it turned out well. I have several options on my website where I use them, my pork schnitzel sandwich, pork carnitas where you can put the pickled red onions on sliders or tacos, you can add them to a variety of different avocado toasts, steak salad with pickled red onions and bleu cheese AND they taste great on burgers too! I have a yummy burger recipe in my backyard bbq video... but you can really make any burger you want and it will taste awesome with pickled red onions. Also, someone told me they use it in their tuna salad all the time... I'm not a tuna/mayo person so I can't vouch for that one, but if you're feeling daring give it a try. Happy experimenting!

      Reply
  6. Cathy

    September 08, 2022 at 9:17 am

    Stacy, can these be processed for longer shelf life?

    Reply
    • Stacey

      September 10, 2022 at 11:29 am

      Hi Cathy - I'm so sorry, I don't know of any way to make the shelf life longer. I did Google around and saw some information about "canning" pickled red onions, but I don't want to recommend something from a source I don't know that may not have accurate information. You could look into canning options by Googling this. Good luck!

      Reply
  7. Sonya

    September 15, 2022 at 2:51 pm

    Hi Stacy, I may be a little late to the game, but I just made these as the recipe stated. Cannot tell you how delicious they are!! Love, love love! I put them on grilled brats.. Mmm. I've seen Bobby make them on "Beat Bobby Flay" shows. So glad you posted his recipe. I also can confirm the leftover brine makes excellent salad dressings and sauces. I put a little bit in almost everything. Delish ♥

    Reply
    • Stacey

      September 18, 2022 at 11:18 am

      Sonya! Thanks so much for stopping by. I also looooove these pickled red onions. And like you, have seen Bobby make them on Beat Bobby Flay, that's what got me turned on to this recipe! It's funny how many uses you can think of for these things and so glad to hear you also made a salad dressing with this too!

      Reply

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