These Quick Pickled Shallots are dead simple to make, and make a deliciously tangy accompaniment for sandwiches, tacos, and cheese boards.
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Why Make This Recipe
- So fast: Takes only 5 minutes to prepare these pickled shallots—no boiling or canning required!
- Many flavor options: This recipe uses peppercorns and mustard seeds, but you can add all sorts of herbs and spices to your pickles. Read on for ideas.
- So many uses: Once you have a jar of these in your fridge, you’ll want to put them on everything!
- Great use for past-their-prime shallots: Pickling is the perfect way to preserve shallots that may be getting a little old or soft.
🥗 Ingredients
- Shallots: Shallots are perfect for this recipe because their mild flavor takes well to pickling. But you could also use this method for red onions or white onions.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: These pickling instructions can be used with other types of vinegar as well. Try white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, sherry vinegar, or rice vinegar, to name a few. Avoid using plain white vinegar as it will be too strong in this recipe.
- Spices: This recipe calls for black peppercorns and mustard seeds, but you can add all sorts of different flavors. Try allspice berries, cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks, or dried red peppers (for spice!). You can also add herbs like rosemary or thyme or try adding lemon or orange peel.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Peel and thinly slice 2 large shallots.
Peel 1 large garlic clove and cut in half. Mix together ½ cup apple cider vinegar, ¾ teaspoon sugar, ¾ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon black peppercorns, and ⅛ teaspoon mustard seeds. Stir until salt and sugar have dissolved.
Pack shallots and garlic into a 4-ounce glass jar, then pour in pickling liquid. Push down shallots so they are all covered.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, and preferably one hour, before serving. Note that this recipe gets you pickled shallots fast! If you want to make these in advance and plan on serving them in the next day or 2, replace ½ of the apple cider vinegar with water instead.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Quick Pickled Shallots
In traditional pickling, you heat a brine that includes vinegar, salt, and sugar, then add to a jar of vegetables. Then you can them using a water bath or pressure canning. Then you need to wait for at least a couple of weeks before eating. Quick pickling is a no cook recipe that generally uses more vinegar to pickle the vegetables quickly so that they are ready after just 30-60 minutes. Typically quick pickles are not canned, but instead just stay in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Pickled shallots will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, though they will get more tart as the days go on. If you don’t intend to use your shallots for several days, replace ½ of the vinegar with water. That will make the pickling take longer at the start, but will prevent the shallots from becoming too tart after several days in the liquid.
Glass or ceramic containers are much preferred, as they will not react with the vinegar or absorb the flavors of the pickles.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
Once you have this technique down, you may want to play around with quick pickling other vegetables. Onions, carrots, radishes, jalapeño peppers, and cucumbers all can be pickled using these instructions. Or try this Pickled Celery recipe!
Wondering what to do with these pickled shallots? One of my favorite things to do with these is to add them to a cheese and charcuterie board. I include sliced sausage, a couple of different cheese, some good crackers, and maybe some grainy mustard too. A pile of these pink pickled shallots on the board looks stunning, and their tangy flavor helps clear the palate as you eat.
Besides that, you can use these anywhere you would put a regular pickle. Try them on burgers or sandwiches. These shallots are also super delicious as a taco topping, and I love to add them in my Corn Tortilla Quesadillas too. They work as a grain bowl topping too. Try them with my Vegan Buddha Bowl or my Ramen Egg Rice Bowl.
And if you love a pickled condiment, check out this Pepperoncini Relish!
Did you know the brine for these shallots makes for a delicious vinaigrette too? Just use it instead of your regular vinegar, add olive oil, salt, and pepper, and whisk. Of course, you can also add some of the pickled shallots themselves to the vinaigrette as well.
If you try this Quick Pickled Shallots recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to me.
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📖 Recipe
Quick Pickled Shallots
These Quick Pickled Shallots are dead simple to make, and make a deliciously tangy accompaniment for sandwiches, tacos, and cheese boards.
Ingredients
- 2 shallots
- 1 large garlic clove (or 2 small)
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black peppercorns
- ⅛ teaspoon mustard seeds
Instructions
- Peel and thinly slice shallots.
- Peel garlic clove and cut in half.
- Mix together vinegar, sugar, salt, peppercorns, and mustard seeds.
- Stir until salt and sugar have dissolved.
- Pack shallots and garlic into a 4-ounce jar, then pour in pickling liquid.
- Push down shallots so they are all covered.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, and preferably one hour, before serving.
Notes
Storage: Pickled shallots will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, though they will get more tart as the days go on. If you don’t intend to use your shallots for several days, replace ½ of the vinegar with water. That will make the pickling take longer at the start, but will prevent the shallots from becoming too tart after several days in the liquid.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 17Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 179mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 0g
Nutrition information is provided as a general reference for users courtesy of the online nutrition calculator Nutritionix.
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this no cook pickled shallot recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
Sara says
I love the idea of putting these on burgers. I'm definitely going to try that!
Chef Molly says
Yes, they are so tasty on a burger!