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Pickled Shallots Recipe: 7 Dishes to Pair With Pickled Shallots

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Sep 10, 2022 • 4 min read

Pickling shallots is a simple way to preserve the slightly sweet taste of fresh shallots. Learn how to make pickled shallots and incorporate them into different dishes.

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What Are Pickled Shallots?

Pickled shallots is a briny side dish made by soaking fresh shallots in a brine of water, vinegar, and salt, along with a seasoning blend of your choice. Shallots are a cultivar of onions with a milder flavor. During pickling, the shallots absorb the flavors of the pickling liquid, resulting in a crisp texture and tangy taste. You can pickle shallots whole or slice them before canning.

Add slices of pickled shallots to salads, grain bowls, and tacos, while whole pickled shallots make a great addition to vegetable medleys. In Asian cuisine, chefs often soak pickled shallots in rice vinegar to enhance the subtly sweet flavor of the onion cultivar, which they add to dishes like sunomono, a Japanese cucumber salad.

Shallots are high in antioxidants and a good source of potassium, calcium, and fiber. While shallots retain their nutrients when pickled, the process does increase their salt and sugar content.

7 Dishes to Pair With Pickled Shallots

The crunch of pickled shallots and the sweet and sour taste make this condiment a great addition to salads, vegetable medleys, and roasted meat.

  1. 1. Herb salad: Pickled shallots add color and flavor to a fresh herb salad. Mix pickled shallots into a bowl of lettuce—like spring mix or arugula—along with the herbs of your choice. Serve this simple salad as a refreshing appetizer or pair it with roasted chicken, beef, or pork.
  2. 2. Masala cauliflower: Masala seasoning combines garam masala, ginger powder, and garlic powder to create an earthy flavor explosion in various vegetable dishes. For a healthy vegan dish, add pickled shallots to masala cauliflower—the shallots’ tanginess will balance the heat of the curry powder.
  3. 3. Roasted chicken: Pickled shallots are a quick and easy side dish to serve alongside roasted meats. On a busy weeknight, scoop some pickled shallots out of the canning jar to serve with lemon garlic chicken.
  4. 4. Grain bowl: A grain bowl starts with a base—typically rice, farro, or quinoa—and features various toppings, including fresh lettuce, chickpeas, veggies, roasted meat, or salmon. You can also use pickled shallots as a topping: Mix a few slices into a grain bowl with a tangy, citrus vinaigrette.
  5. 5. Cucumber sandwich: Cucumber sandwiches consist of thin cucumber slices between moist white bread and butter. Traditionally served with British afternoon tea, these delicate tea sandwiches should be thin, crustless, and moist, but there are a few different ways to customize them. One way to add a burst of flavor to cucumber sandwiches is to lay pickled shallots atop the thinly sliced cucumbers, sprinkling ground pepper on top.
  6. 6. Shrimp tacos: Shrimp tacos are a quick and easy weeknight lunch or dinner. Grill, sauté, or fry your shrimp, and add pickled shallots, fresh cilantro, and mango salsa to the warm tortillas for a satisfying dish. Learn how to make shrimp tacos.
  7. 7. Avocado toast: For a simple, healthy breakfast, make avocado toast with pickled shallots. Sprinkle sea salt, ground pepper, and pickled shallots on top of creamy avocado toast for a twist on this classic brunch dish. Drizzle fresh lemon juice atop the toast to heighten the tanginess of the dish.

Quick Pickled Shallots Recipe

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4 Ratings | Rate Now

makes

3 pint-sized jars

prep time

15 min

total time

25 min

cook time

10 min

Ingredients

  1. 1

    First, sterilize 3 pint jars. Place a steamer rack at the bottom of a large pot before filling the pot with water. The steamer will keep the pint of Mason jars from touching the bottom of the pot and overheating. If you don’t have a steamer rack, use a rag or make a rack by placing jar rims at the bottom of the pot. Set the stove to high heat, and once the water starts to boil, gently lower the canning jars into the boiling water. Allow the jars to boil for 10 minutes. Using jar lifters or tongs, remove the hot jars from the water and set them aside to cool.

  2. 2

    While the canning jars cool, prep the shallots by cutting the ends and peeling off the skin. Slice the shallots in half lengthwise, then cut them into rings, like an onion.

  3. 3

    Next, heat the vinegar mixture. Combine the water, apple cider vinegar, sugar, pickling salt, and seasonings (bay leaves, peppercorn, and coriander seeds) in a large saucepan on medium heat, and bring the mixture to a boil, so the salt and sugar fully dissolve. If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, use red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar for a similar result.

  4. 4

    Place the sliced shallots into the jars before pouring the hot vinegar mixture. If you don’t have glass jars, use an airtight container to store the shallots. At first, the liquid may not fully cover all the shallots; however, over time, the shallots will shrink and fully submerge into the pickling juice.

  5. 5

    Close the jars and seal the rims. Let the jars cool on the countertop for a few hours at room temperature before refrigerating.

  6. 6

    Allow the shallots to pickle overnight before opening the canning jar and serving. The longer you allow them to soak in the pickling juice, the more they’ll absorb the seasonings and flavor. Store your containers of pickled shallots in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

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