Creamy caramelized onion dip that is perfect for snacking or to use as a spread in sandwiches and burgers. Quick, easy and so creamy, ready in less than thirty minutes that is so rich in flavour and so yummy!
Its rich, its creamy, its unbelievably addictive and tops my list for food I'd eat before dying. I promise you wont stop eating this homemade caramelized onion dip and I promise you a lot of praise when you serve this at your next party or game night or picnic.
We are talking about onions cooked in butter and wine, cooked and cooked until they are soft, sticky and caramelized. Further mixed with sour cream, cream cheese and mayo (depending on the preference of consistency of the dip) I have made this dip several times minus the mayo and it gives you a super thick (almost like a sandwich spread) consistency - which is still perfect if you want a thick dip. Keep adding mayo to your dip and let that soften up to your preference. Just enough for your chips to be covered in that luscious, creamy magic. Let me walk you through this easy step by step recipe for homemade onion dip.
Step 01/02 -> Caramelizing the onions: Start by cooking your onions in some butter and honey. Here is a detailed blog post on how to make caramelized onions (faster than usual) - Okay fine I know this method is quicker than usual (also may be non-traditional), but I promise it does not compromise on flavour. I add a little honey, I use red onions instead - may be that did the trick? Who knows...
Cook the onions until they are super soft and light brown. All of that honey butter liquid will evaporate as the onions cook. Make sure you are stirring consistently. Add wine in 2 batches, keep stirring. You would notice the colour and texture of the onions changing. They will lightly begin to turn brown and also get sticky and jammy.
Once you've got your golden brown onions ready, its time to let them cool a little bit. Best method is to immediately transfer from pan to bowl and let that sit in its butter and natural sweetness for about 10 minutes while you mix the dairy products.
Step 02/02 -> Assembling the dip: To a large bowl, add soft cream cheese and sour cream. Mix well. Add the onions and start adding mayonnaise to the point where you feel its creamy enough upto your preference. Keep in mind that it gets thicker in the fridge. Also remember, that the dip tastes a LOT better when served the next day - imagine how well it soaks up all that rich, sweet, caramelized flavour of deliciously cooked onions.
So once your caramelized onion dip is well refrigerated, its now time to enjoy it with your appetizers or with some crackers, some chips, toasted bagels, as a spread over toasted bread or use caramelized onions in this blue cheese pasta or yummy brie and onion puffs. If you love making dips, check out all dip recipes on the blog here.
FAQs on Caramelized Onion Dip
- What can I use in place of wine? White wine works best for the recipe -> not just for deglazing, also for elevating the flavour. You could try adding water - this will soften up the onions equally well and also make this dip alcohol-free & kid-friendly.
- How long do I have to caramelize onions? The process of caramelizing onions in this recipe is for about twenty minutes of constant stirring - keeping in mind that I am using red/ pink onions instead of traditional white or yellow onions and also adding some honey right at the start to make them sticky already.
- How thick should the caramelized onion dip be? I have tried this recipe minus the mayonnaise and have found it to be good to serve the same day (just one hour of refrigeration) - it still turns out to be very thick, but I like the consistency. If you want to have a creamier dip, keep adding mayonnaise upto the consistency that you would like. Dont forget that the dip gets stiffer/ thickens up the longer it stays in the fridge. The dip is good for about 4-5 days (does not really last that long though!) and gets better every passing day.
- Is there a way to make healthier caramelized onion dip? Yes! I've got you covered with a lightened-up version of french onion dip made with yogurt.
More recipes with onion as hero ingredient:
- French onion yogurt dip
- Caramelized onion and brie puffs
- Crispy onion pakoda burger
- Caramelized onion and blue cheese pasta
- Indian onion tomato peanut chutney
Quick and Easy Caramelized Onion Dip (French Onion Dip)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-5 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stove Top
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 3 cups or 320 grams onions
- 1 cup or 250 grams sour cream
- 1/2 cup or 60 grams cream cheese (softened / room temp)
- 1/2 cup or 115 grams mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup of 4 tbsp or 57 grams butter
- salt
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup white wine
Instructions
- To a large pan, add cubed cold butter and let melt on medium low flame just for a few seconds, until it becomes soft (not liquid and not brown butter). Add onions, honey and salt. Mix well until all onions are nicely coated with honey butter mix.
- Let cook for about 7-8 minutes until all of that honey butter liquid is evaporated. The onions will begin to soften up. After about 10 minutes, you would notice the onions to change colour, get stickier and begin to pan fry/ stick to the pan. Add half of the wine at this point to deglaze.
- Let cook until all the wine has evaporated (roughly 5 minutes). Continue cooking without wine for 2 more minutes. It will start to stick to the pan again, add the remaining wine to deglaze completely and continue stirring the onions (roughly 4-5 minutes)
- At this point, the onions will have reduced completely, texture would be sticky and jammy and completely soft and caramelized. Transfer to a bowl and let cool at room temperature for about 10-12 minutes.
- To another (larger) bowl, add mayonnaise, cream cheese, sour cream, cooled caramelized onions and mix well. Refrigerate for about an hour before serving with chips or crackers. (The dip tastes even better, when served the next day - the longer the jammy buttery onions sit in the creamy mixture, the better!)
Keywords: vegetarian, dip, caramelized, onion
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