This homemade caramelized French onion dip is creamy, savory and packed with sweet caramelized onions. It takes a little longer than opening a packet of onion dip, but trust me, those slowly caramelized onions are worth it! Serve it with sourdough crackers, focaccia or crunchy veggies for an easy appetizer that’s perfect for sharing.
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Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
Made with Real Caramelized Onions – Slowly cooking the onions in butter brings out their natural sweetness and gives this dip so much flavor. It takes a little patience, but most of the cooking time is hands-off.
Perfect for Making Ahead – This dip gets better after a few hours in the fridge. Make it earlier in the day (or even the day before) and it’s ready to pull out when you need it.
More Than Just a Dip – Of course it’s delicious with sourdough crackers and veggies, but don’t stop there! Spread it onto burgers and sandwiches or use it to make an extra special grilled cheese.
Ingredients
- Sour Cream – Gives French onion dip its classic creamy, tangy base. I recommend using full fat sour cream for the best texture.
- Greek Yogurt – Adds a little extra tang and balances the richness of the sour cream. Again, full fat works best here.
- Gruyere Cheese – I love Gruyere with caramelized onions. It’s nutty, slightly salty and gives the dip that lovely French onion soup flavor.
- Dijon Mustard + White Vinegar – You only need a little of each to add some acidity and balance all those rich flavors.
- Onion Powder – I know we’re already adding plenty of real onions, but onion powder brings a slightly different flavor and really rounds everything out.
- Butter – You’ll use this to slowly caramelize the onions. I use salted butter.
- Sweet Onions – These cook down until they’re deeply golden, soft and almost jammy. You can use white onions if that’s what you have, but I really love sweet onions in this dip.
- Soy Sauce + Worcestershire Sauce – Add lots of savory flavor to the caramelized onions and make the finished dip extra delicious.
How To Make Caramelized French Onion Dip
The secret to really good French onion dip is giving the onions plenty of time to caramelize. There’s not much hands-on work involved, but this is one step you don’t want to rush!
Caramelize the Onions
Melt the butter in a frying pan, then add the sliced onions and salt.
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and reduced significantly.
You want them to slowly turn golden and almost jammy rather than fry or become crispy. If they’re browning too quickly around the edges, turn the heat down a little and keep going.
After around 30 minutes, add the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and continue cooking until the onions are deeply caramelized, soft and almost melty.
Kate’s Pro Tip
Caramelizing Onions
Turning up the heat won’t caramelize the onions faster, it’ll just make them more likely to burn. Keep the heat moderate and give them plenty of time to slowly soften and brown.
Mix the Dip
While the onions are cooking, you can mix together the creamy dip base and pop it into the fridge.
Once the onions are ready, let them cool slightly before stirring them into the dip. This is important because you don’t want to add piping hot onions straight into the sour cream and Greek yogurt.
Kate’s Pro Tip
Feel Free To Customize!
Add a pinch of chili flakes if you’d like a little heat. If you find the finished onion flavor stronger than you’d like, stir through a little extra sour cream or Greek yogurt. Don’t be afraid to make it your own!
Chill Before Serving
Cover the finished dip and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours before serving. You can eat it straight away, but it really does get better with a little time in the fridge. The caramelized onion flavor works its way through the creamy base and everything comes together beautifully.
What To Serve With Caramelized French Onion Dip
I love spreading this dip onto my sourdough maple oat sandwich bread, adding plenty of shredded Gruyere and frying it in butter for the most delicious grilled cheese. It’s especially good for a cozy fall lunch! You can also use the dip as a spread for burgers and sandwiches (I highly recommend these sourdough discard burger buns).
For a more traditional appetizer, serve it with my sourdough discard crackers. They’re simple enough to let all that caramelized onion flavor shine.
If you’re putting together a larger appetizer spread, make a batch of my simple sourdough focaccia and cut it into small pieces for dipping. Add some fresh Gruyere and crisp sliced radishes and you’ve got such an easy sharing board.
How To Store Caramelized French Onion Dip
Store caramelized French onion dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days. Give it a good stir before serving, particularly if it’s been sitting for a few days.
This is a great recipe to make ahead because the flavors actually get better after they’ve had some time together. I recommend making it at least 3 hours before you plan to serve it, but you can easily prepare it ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge.
I don’t recommend freezing this dip. The sour cream and Greek yogurt can separate once frozen and thawed, which will affect that lovely creamy texture.
Caramelized French Onion Dip
Equipment
- Small Frying Pan
- Cutting Board
- Medium Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 230 g Sour Cream
- 75 g Greek Yogurt, plain, full fat
- 40 g Gruyere Cheese, finely grated
- 6 g Dijon Mustard, (1 tsp)
- 3 g Onion Powder, (1 tsp)
- 20 g White Vinegar
- 25 g Butter, salted
- 630 g Sweet Onions, about 3 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 5 g Kosher Salt, (½ tsp)
- 6 g Worcestershire Sauce, (1 tsp)
- 6 g Soy Sauce, (1 tsp)
Instructions
- Add the sour cream, Greek yogurt, Gruyere cheese, Dijon mustard, onion powder and white vinegar to a medium mixing bowl. Stir until well combined and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions and salt, then reduce the heat to medium.
- Cook the onions for around 30 minutes, stirring regularly as they soften and caramelize. If the onions start to brown too quickly or become crispy, reduce the heat slightly. You want them to cook slowly until they're soft and golden.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce and stir through the onions. Continue cooking for another 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft, jammy and deeply caramelized.
- Remove the onions from the heat and allow them to cool slightly before stirring them through the prepared dip.
- Cover and place the French onion dip into the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving. This gives all those delicious flavors time to develop.
Notes
- Don’t Rush the Onions. Turning up the heat won’t caramelize the onions faster, it’ll just make them more likely to burn. Keep the heat moderate and give them plenty of time to slowly soften and brown.
- Make this dip Your Own. Add a pinch of chili flakes if you’d like a little heat. If you find the finished onion flavor stronger than you’d like, stir through a little extra sour cream or Greek yogurt.
- I know it’s tempting to dig straight in, but try to give this dip at least 3 hours in the fridge before serving. It’s even better made ahead!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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