This caramelized onion dip is a total crowd pleaser! Serve with chips, pita or bagel crisps, or on sandwiches and burgers. YUM.
Caramelized Onion Dip
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This recipe is delicious!! Love the additions of wine, Worcestershire and soy sauce. Be patient with the onions, it’s worth the time.
Kendra Gabriel
This Onion Dip Is ELITE.
Can you guys learn to love this caramelized onion dip even if it is not a) healthy, or b) particularly beautiful?
Can you look past outward appearances to the soul of the caramelized onion dip which is, above all else, extremely luscious, totally delicious, and wonderful to share with friends?
Can you envision a future for this caramelized onion dip that includes appetizers, burgers, sandwich spreads, and maybe even a little something to help you get extra with your eggs?
I knew you could. I knew you had that in you.
This dip is my go-to for just about any gathering. Nobody can resist a bowl of creamy, tangy, sweet, umami dip sitting next to a bowl of salty chips. It’s truly one of my favorite appetizers ever.
It’s just so good. I can’t wait for you to make it!
Video For How To Make Onion Dip
How To Make Caramelized Onion Dip
1
Slice Your Onions.
There are lots of ways you could do this, but I love to use a mandoline to make them perfectly wispy and thin!
2
Caramelize the Onions.
Low and slow to make magic happen.
3
Mix It All Up.
Onions, sour cream, cream cheese, garlic, soy sauce, and Worcestershire. Grab a chip and DIVE TO THE BOTTOM OF THAT GOLD MINE.
Tips For Caramelizing Onions
Okay, so this is where you’ll spend approximately 90% of your time in this recipe. Caramelized onions take some time but they are WORTH IT. Oh so worth it.
The caramelization here is obviously key, and as with most of life, wine helps, but water can also soften things up for you if you’d rather not with the wine. What matters most here is TIME. They just need time. A good nonstick pan, a knob of butter, some gentle heat, and lots of patient time. We are looking for that deep golden brown color – my rule of thumb is that once I think they look pretty good, I give them another ten minutes just to be safe, and I’m always glad I did. We want deep, dark, sweet, soft, and fragrant.
Slow and low is the long game here – we don’t want those onions to burn, but we do want that delicious golden-brown caramelized goodness. Caramelized onions can take up to 30-40 minutes, so please please please be patient here.
And how do you know when your onions are *officially* caramelized? They’ll be golden brown, very soft, and sticky/ jammy.
What To Serve with Caramelized Onion Dip
Chips are a good dipping option (says the food blogger obsessed with all kinds of chips). I am partial to sour cream and cheddar ruffle-cut chips here, but plain potato chips are fine as well. I can also vouch for bagel chips, pita chips, pretzel crisps (especially Parmesan Garlic! why dey so good) and if you need to go the veggie route then FINE, yes, snap peas and red peppers and cherry tomatoes are also nice.
If you are making this recipe to eat between two people, I’d suggest cutting it in half. It will give you A LOT of dip. It is ideal for a big holiday party, like 10-15 people.
GOOD NEWS is that it will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days so you can relive the joy on all your future eats. I have yet to find a savory breakfast, lunch, or dinner that did not benefit from a spoon-plop of caramelized onion dip on top.
The Best Tool For Slicing Onions
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Caramelized Onion Dip: Frequently Asked Questions
Can you use any type of onions?
Yes! Yellow onions, white onions, red onions, shallots, or a mix of all of them – this is a very, very forgiving recipe. Need inspiration? Check out our guide to everything onion.
How long does this last in the fridge?
This should last for 3-4 days, so you can eat beyond the party or make it a day ahead.
How should I serve this dip?
The most obvious way: with chips and other dippers (potato chips, pita chips, tortilla chips, veggies if you must). BUT it also makes for a delicious burger or sandwich spread if you find that you have some extra to use up.
Are there any shortcuts for caramelizing the onions?
If you don’t want to stand over your stove, you have options. You can caramelize your onions in the oven, or dump them in the Instant Pot for an even more hands-off option.
Caramelized Onion Dip
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 12+ (perfect amount for a party) 1x
Description
This caramelized onion dip is a total crowd pleaser! Serve with chips, pita or bagel crisps, or on sandwiches and burgers. YUM.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 3 medium size yellow onions
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 teaspoons each salt and sugar
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 12 ounces sour cream
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 clove fresh garlic, grated (optional)
- fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced, to taste
- a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce (!!) to taste
Instructions
- Prep: Peel the onions and slice them very thinly. I always use a mandoline. (affiliate link)
- Sauté: Heat the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt and sugar, and saute for 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Pour a little bit of wine in and let it sizzle out. Stir, add wine, sizzle, etc. After about 30 minutes, your onions should be deeply golden brown and fragrant.
- Chop the onions: Transfer onions to a cutting board and chop coarsely into small pieces – or just use a kitchen scissors and snip them up right in the pan.
- Mix: In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese and sour cream with a hand mixer or a spoon (depending on how soft the cream cheese is). Stir in the onions and a handful of fresh parsley. Taste and season – if you want just a little sumthin extra, add a small splash (like, a tablespoon or less) of soy sauce and/or Worcestershire, or a clove of freshly grated garlic. YUM. Creamy and so flavorful! You can serve this warm-ish or cold – I love it both ways!
Notes
I also like this with a mayo base, so sometimes I’ll swap half of the sour cream or cream cheese for an equal amount of mayo!
I used Sauvignon Blanc for the wine. If you don’t have wine or don’t want to use it, water works fine, too. The goal is to deglaze the pan as you go and keep the onions from getting overly dried and browned. The liquid helps them stay juicy and caramely. If you use water, you might find that you want to add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to get a little bit of acidity in there.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dip
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: caramelized onion dip, onion dip, party onion dip
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November 17, 2021
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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This dip is yummy!! But we have more than we can consume. Will it freeze?
Coming through YET AGAIN with a crowd-pleaser. Made this for a Christmas Eve appetizer and it was a HIT!
I was disappointed in this. Even adding Worcestershire and garlic it was pretty bland. It was ok but I wouldn’t make it again.
This caramelized onion dip looks absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try making it for my next get-together. The combination of flavors sounds amazing, and I love how simple the recipe is. Thanks for sharing!
IG reel mentions chives but recipe it’s not there? Only parsley… How much chives would you add? Ty!
Hi Annie! We’d add around 1 tablespoon!
I was excited to see this one on the holiday cooking club lineup. It’s a favorite amongst friends and family for a reason. Caramelized the onions using cooks illustrated method and used a combo of cream cheese plus what was left of my sour cream plus skyr and mayo. Also added 2.5 tsp of white wine vinegar and a smidge of cayenne! Delicious!
I’ve made this recipe twice now and it’s so delicious and simple! I even messed it up this second time around (didn’t really let the cream cheese get soft enough and the onions were a very light brown when I pulled them off the heat) and it truly didn’t matter—it was still absolutely delicious.
This dip is amazing! I’ve made it several times for parties, and everyone is always asking me for the recipe. The caramelized onions give it just the perfect hint of sweetness and flavor. It’s a million times better than any store-bought dip and really worth the extra effort. I also took the advice from another commenter to use a cast iron skillet for the onions, and the onions turned out perfect!!
Made this for a New Years Party. It was super easy and so good!
I made this for our New Year’s Day movie and snack marathon. It’s even better than my childhood memories of sour cream plus onion soup mix haha. I cut the recipe in half for just our family but next time will caramelize all the onions and save the extra for burgers or sandwiches. I almost just grabbed a spoon and ate them right out of the pan.
Forgot to add the rating. Also I used apple cider vinegar instead of wine and added chives!
This is good!
I made this with non dairy sour cream and cream cheese (Forager/Miyokos). The best (and simple) recipe!!! This will likely be in my fridge at all times. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Delicious! I made it today and think it will be even better tomorrow!
Thank you for this great recipe! We loved the flavor and enjoyed dipping veggies, bagel crisps and of course potato chips. I made have the recipe as suggested because it was only going to served 3 people.
This Caramelized Onion Dip looks absolutely delicious! I love how you’ve combined the sweetness of the onions with the creamy base. Can’t wait to try it at my next gathering—I’m sure it’ll be a hit! Thanks for sharing such a tasty recipe!
i recommend using more onions for this recipe. i used 5-6 onions instead of 3, and added a little bit of pork drippings as i was making chops alongside this. followed the recipe to letter aside from those changes. turned out very good.
Why not chop onions before caramelizing?
Great question! We’ve always used sliced onions when caramelizing, but you could probably chop them first too!
Lindsay, I love your Caramelized Onion Dip! I have been making and looking for just the right thing for us. I think this is the best! I will have fun adding a couple of thinges to try here and there too, but I am so happy with the base recipe. Thank. you! – Vicki
I know people seemed to love this dip, but we were quite disappointed. The onions turned out great in my cast iron pan, but that was the only flavor in the dip. And putting it on a potato chip, you even lost the flavor of the onions. I ended up adding soooo much to it for flavor. Was decent when I put it in the fridge, so we’ll see how it is in a few hours. To be fair, I did the water and lemon juice in the onions instead of wine since I was sending it to work with hubby, but again, the onions tasted great on their own.
Lots of unnecessary steps and tools.
1. Combine the ingredient in a food processor instead of using a bowl and mixer or fork or whatever.
a. this makes creaming cream cheese much easier.
b. This means NO mandoline. Just slice the onions.
c. first combine cream cheese and sour cream. blend til smooth. then add onions and all else and combine til onions as small bits as you want.
2. Just add the win after the onions brown and then reduce. speeds up browning.
3. Hooray for using worchesteshire. But, no need for sugar.
Soooo yummy!
Scrumptious!
I may have previously commented how yummy this is (and shared the recipe with those who said they must have it). If not, it’s divine and I will never go back to the package mix & sour cream version again! I’m going to be making it again and have a question. Can I chop/scissor the onions prior to sautéing?
I made this for a work potluck and it was devoured! Next time I will roast the garlic or leave it out since I felt that it was a little pungent using the raw minced garlic.
The flavor is really good, but the texture is a little thick for me. I softened the cream cheese for about 6 hours, so I don’t think that was the issue. I would make it again but might try using crema instead of sour cream or adding some milk next time