French Onion Dip

5 from 2 votes

This French Onion Dip features caramelized onions in all their sweet and savory glory, rounded out with some tangy cream cheese and sour cream. Your potato chips have never known such bliss! I honestly thought I didn’t like onion dip, (it’s so…oily?) but homemade French Onion Dip is a whole nother level of creamy, cheesy caramelized perfection.

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 203kcal

Author: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

3 large yellow onions
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Beef base
1 tablespoon water if needed
8 ounces cream cheese softened
1 and 1/2 cups sour cream
1 small clove garlic smashed and minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
chives chopped, to garnish
1 large bag high quality potato chips for serving

Instructions

Set out your block of cream cheese so that it is soft when you need to beat it later.
Caramelize the onions: Thinly slice the 3 onions. Thin slices caramelize more evenly than big ol pieces!*
Set a 12-inch high sided pan over medium heat. Melt 3 tablespoons butter, then add all the onions. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper. The cayenne is for flavor and not heat, if you like things a lil spicy, add 1/4 teaspoon!
Saute the onions over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat to medium low, and settle in for the long haul. Onions take about 40-50 minutes to caramelize fully.
Eventually, after 10-15 minutes, the bottom of the pan will get dry and the onions will start sticking to the pan. At this point, deglaze the pan by adding 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar and using a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
Add 1 teaspoon beef base and stir it all together. Keep sauteing until you have reached the 40-50 minute mark. If the pan gets very dry and the onions start to blacken on the edges, add 1 tablespoon water and stir. Repeat this process as often as necessary. At the end, your onions should be a deep brown caramel color, with no white parts, and not blackened. (not too much, anyway.)
Remove the onions from the heat and let cool for a while. When you can handle them, scrape them onto a cutting board and chop into bite-size pieces.*
Make the dip: Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, add 8 ounces softened cream cheese. Beat with a hand mixer until it is smooth and creamy, and there are no lumps.
Add 1 and 1/2 cups sour cream, 1 small clove of minced garlic (about 1 teaspoon), 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Continue beating until it's all mixed together. Give it a taste and add salt and pepper to taste!
Use a rubber spatula to fold in the cooled and chopped caramelized onions. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with chopped chives (or green onions are good too, thinly sliced).
Serve right away with potato chips! I like the crinkle cut potato chips, I feel like they are sturdier and hold up better for dipping.
Store the dip in a covered container in the fridge. It will keep for a couple weeks! (Ask me how I know 😂) This is a GREAT make ahead appetizer, the flavors just get better with time.

Notes

*You can chop your onions into a normal dice before cooking, if you wish. I'm always crying a thousand tears by this point and want to get them in the pan as fast as possible, so I just slice and go! We don't want long stringy onions in our dip; I always take the step to chop up the onions after they have caramelized. But if you are not a crier, you can do the full dice before cooking, if that's more convenient!

Nutrition