Red onion pickle

Name: Red onion pickle
Prep time: 7 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 19 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Norway
Ingredients: 3 Large Red Onions; 2 tsp Sea Salt; 200ml Cider Vinegar; 50g Granulated Sugar; 1 tsp Black Pepper; 4 Bay Leaves

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Vegan recipe with Norway flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 34 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

Peel the onions, cut them in half from top to bottom and finely slice into half-moon pieces. Put in a colander placed over a bowl and sprinkle with salt, lightly turning over the onion pieces with your hands so the surfaces are all covered. Set aside for an hour or so to brine.
Meanwhile put the vinegar, 50ml/2fl oz water and the sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring to help the sugar dissolve, and cook for a couple of minutes. Set aside.
Pack the onions into the sterilised jars, sprinkling in a little pepper as you go. Cover with the warm vinegar and finish by tucking a couple of bay leaves down the side of the jars. Seal. The onions are best kept in the fridge and used within to 4 weeks.

Why this works on a weeknight

Red onion pickle genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Red onion pickle actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Vegan Norway ⚡ 30-Min Dinner