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Learn how to pickle shallots, a quick and easy way to add bright flavor and fresh crunch to so many recipes. Just 3 ingredients!
I make a big jar of Pickled Shallots to keep in the fridge and sprinkle them on whatever I think of. Leftover Chicken Milanese sandwiches? Yes please! A hamburger, loaded with everything? Yup, that, too. Pasta salads, green salads, grain salads, and before you know it, you’re out of pickled shallots and you need to make some more.
These powerful little shallots provide an amazing, zing to salads and sandwiches; making them only takes a minute or two. This recipe for pickled shallots uses a red wine vinegar, but feel free to switch it up with another kind.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Shallots: Shallots are a member of the allium family, just like onions and garlic, and they are usually they’re stocked near the fresh bulbs of garlic.
- Red wine vinegar: I love the taste of red wine vinegar, but you can use any vinegar that you prefer or have on hand such as distilled white vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring vinegar, sugar, and a healthy pinch of salt to simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in shallots.
- Remove from heat, cover, and cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- Store in brine in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: The actual yield will vary depending on the size of the shallots you buy. Assuming 1 large shallot = ½ cup minced, this Pickled Shallot recipe will make about 2 cups shallots. That’s enough for 8 servings, ¼ cup each (but usage will vary depending on how you use it).
- Storage: Store pickled shallots covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Spices: Craving more flavor? Throw in a bay leaf or a few coriander seeds, peppercorns, or a couple cloves of garlic into the brine to boil. Things can only get better with a little spice.
Recipe FAQs
Shallots are a member of the allium family, just like onions and garlic. They grow underground in clusters, and are usually sold in the grocery store; usually they’re stocked very close to the garlic. They have reddish orange skin, with white flesh and a gorgeous, pale magenta laced throughout the layers.
Because they are a little milder than a standard onion, they’re great for gentle sautés where their flavor can be appreciated: think a quick pan sauce for salmon or trout, with lemon juice and butter. They’re also smaller than a standard onion, so if your goal is a big pan of caramelized onions, stick with the big guys.
Pickling is an ancient way of using a brine, in this case a combination of vinegar, salt, and sugar, to preserve food and make it last longer. Before refrigeration, people had to figure out a way to preserve their harvest to feed them throughout the year. Pickling (and canning) is a wonderful way to do this. This technique is more of a quick pickle, where you can start consuming the shallots right away instead of allowing them to ferment.
Properly stored in the pickling liquid in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid, pickled shallots should keep at least a week in the refrigerator.
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How to Pickle Shallots
Ingredients
- 4 large shallots skin peeled and thinly sliced (see note 1)
- 2/3 cup red wine vinegar (see note 2)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 pinch Salt optional
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring vinegar, sugar, and a healthy pinch of salt to simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
- Stir in shallots. Remove from heat, cover, and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store in brine in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Shallots: Shallots are a member of the allium family, just like onions and garlic, and they are usually they’re stocked near the fresh bulbs of garlic.
- Red wine vinegar: I love the taste of red wine vinegar, but you can use any vinegar that you prefer or have on hand such as distilled white vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
- Yield: The actual yield will vary depending on the size of the shallots you buy. Assuming 1 large shallot = ½ cup minced, this Pickled Shallot recipe will make about 2 cups shallots. That’s enough for 8 servings, ¼ cup each (but usage will vary depending on how you use it).
- Storage: Store pickled shallots covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Very simple, very tasty. No need to change anything. (I use apple cider vinegar like you recommend). Thanks
You’re so welcome, Suzanne! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! – Meggan
Sounds great but is it okay for canning? I know garlic shouldn’t be pickled because of botulism? What about shallots?
Hi Elizabeth, thank you for your question! This recipe hasn’t been tested for canning. I unfortunately am not a home preserving/canning expert, and for safety reasons I think you should follow recipes that have been developed and tested for canning. Similar to garlic, shallots are a low-acid food which makes it especially ripe for harmful organisms. The short answer is – maybe this is safe for canning, but I don’t know, so I cannot in good conscience recommend it. I hope you love them and sorry again! – Meggan
Please add the shelf life of your pickles
Than you
Hi Henry, stored in the pickling liquid in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, pickled shallots should keep a couple weeks or longer in the refrigerator. Hope this helps! – Meggan
These shallots fuck! I added fennel, black pepper, star anise, clove, and a few cloves or garlic. Delicioso!
Hi Rachel! I’m so glad you loved them! YUM! – Meggan
It doesn’t indicate how many jars of what size…that would be helpful.
Hi Cherie, of course! I’ll work on it and update the recipe. Take care and thank you! – Meggan
Please clarify: should the shallots be stored in the brine, per the descriptive text, or drained, per the recipe?
Hi Maura, thank you for pointing that out! The shallots should be stored in their brine. I’ve fixed the post. Thank you again! – Meggan
very simple and tasty. addicted to this shallot pickle