French Onion Dip made from scratch will knock your socks off. It’s worth making because you will never, ever get this flavour in store bought dip! Not from the most expensive gourmet store in town, and certainly not in those tubs at the grocery store. It’s seriously incredible!
Homemade French Onion Dip
Confession time: I’ve made shortcut French Onion Dip using a packet of French Onion Soup mix many, many times…. and in fact, here’s the recipe!
BUT a REAL Homemade French Onion Dip, made from scratch by making your own caramelised onion trumps the shortcut soup mix version 10 times over.
Thank you Ina Garten!
I will never give up the packet soup mix French Onion Dip. It’s an 80’s thing, it’s an Aussie thing, and it’s a nostalgic thing.
But if you want a French Onion Dip that’s elevated to incredible status, make this Homemade French Onion Dip from scratch!
The BEST chips to serve with French Onion Dip are plain crinkle cut potato chips. It’s the classic way it’s served in the US – try it once and you’ll be converted for life!
French Onion Dip gets its name from French Onion Soup, with the flavour base of both being caramelised onion.
What French Onion Dip is made of
Here’s what you need for this recipe. Just a note on a few of the items:
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The dip base is cream cheese (tang + richness), mayonnaise (flavour + fat) and sour cream (tang + reduces richness a bit);
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Less butter – as much as I love Ina Garten, I often find myself cutting down the fat she uses in her recipes quite substantially. This is one such example. The original recipe called for 4 tablespoons of butter AND 1/4 cup of oil. I swear, this does NOT need that much – way too rich! I made it with 3 tablespoons of butter, no oil, which is plenty; and
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Hint of spice – adds a touch of extra flavour and warmth to the dip!
How to make it
And here’s how to make it. The key flavour base is the caramelised onions. It will take a good 20 to 25 minutes and it can’t be hurried otherwise the onions just burn instead of turning golden and sweet!
What homemade French Onion Dip tastes like
It’s a creamy dip, a gorgeous soft creamy texture rather than the rock-hard dips you get from the grocery store where your chips break every time you try to scoop some up.
The caramelised onion infuses it with beautiful flavour that’s savoury with natural sweetness – there’s no sugar in this recipe, it’s all from the natural caramelisation of the onion!
It’s great on the day it’s made, but it’s even better the next day once the flavours have had time to meld together even more!
How long can you keep homemade French Onion Dip?
I’ve kept it for 4 to 5 days and it was 100% perfect, no flavour loss at all.
How to serve French Onion Dip
Hands down, the BEST thing to dip in Onion Dip is plain crinkle cut potato crisps. This is an American thing that hasn’t yet made it across the waters.
And it might sound strange to some people, dunking potato crisps in dip.
But trust me. For French Onion Dip, plain potato crisps are the BEST. Better than corn chips, better than crackers, better than bread. It beats ’em all! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Note: typo in video! Says “paprika” instead of “cayenne pepper”. Though actually, you could totally use paprika instead!
More dip recipes
This Snack Monster has shared plenty of dip recipes!!!
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Guacamole (done right!) or Avocado Hummus Dip
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Retro Soup Mix 2 Minute French Onion Dip
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Hot Corn Dip – you’ll love the flavour in this creamy, bubbly dip!
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Smoked Salmon Dip (flavour you can’t buy in tubs!)
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See all Dip Recipes
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Homemade French Onion Dip
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 1/2 cups diced onions (2 to 3 onions) (brown, yellow or white)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4 oz / 120 g cream cheese (cold), cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup whole egg mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat is best, but you can use low fat or even yoghurt)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a fry pan over medium heat.
- Add the onions, salt, pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring. Then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions should be sweet and golden. Remove from stove and allow to cool.
- Place the cream cheese, sour cream and mayo in a bowl, mix until smooth (use microwave in 10 sec bursts if needed to assist)
- Add the caramelised onions. Mix until just combined. Refrigerate at least 2 hours to allow flavours to develope, overnight is better!
- Serve at room temperature, garnished with chopped chives if desired. Best served with crinkle cut plain potato chips!
Recipe Notes:
a) Original recipe called for 4 tbsp butter + 1/4 cup oil. I reduced it to just 3 tbsp of butter. This is very rich as it is - you don't need any more!
b) Original recipe also called for 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. I found this too rich so I reduced it to 1/4 cup.
c) Original recipe said to beat the cream cheese (at room temperature) with the mayonnaise and sour cream using a stand mixer. I tried this once and it is a bit fluffy at first but then it becomes denser after refrigerating it. So I make this by softening the cream cheese or even heating the cream cheese very gently in the microwave if necessary then simply stirring it with the other ingredients. Works perfectly, it's creamy and lump free (other than the onions of course!)
d) I added onion powder as an optional extra because I like the extra kick of onion flavour.
e) Original recipe called for 1 tsp of salt. I find this slightly too salty so I reduced it to 3/4 tsp. 3. Nutrition per serving assuming 8 servings.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published July 2015. Updated with new photos, brand new video, process step photos and of course the most important thing – new Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
No onion dip for Dozer – onion is bad for dogs! How about some carrot instead?? 😂 (He looks so keen, he hasn’t gotten a sniff of what it is yet!!)
And from the first time I published this recipe:
Dozer assuming his usual position while I shot the dip. Patiently waiting for a big dollop to land on the ground. Didn’t happen. Never will – onion is bad for dogs!!
Liz says
Never saw a recipe that said “whole egg mayo”. Interesting.
Ash says
What type of onion powder do you add and how much I can’t see it in the recipe?
Anne says
Do you even need the Mayo? Everything else looks great with your adjustments. I’m looking forward to making this. I also use reduced sodium chips.
Emma says
Made this for Christmas as part of a lunch spread and got asked for the recipe by four people. Have made several times since and love it. Keeps well and have stored for up to a week with no change in consistency, assuming all ingredients have a expiry date well into the future.
Tad says
One of the greatest things I’ve ever eaten!
Valerie says
Delicious!!!!!
OMG, this is just outstanding, no package mix ever needed….next time I’ll use less cayenne pepper
But otherwise the flavor is just outstanding 🧅🧅🧅
Mona says
Great recipe! Just made it and tasted it. I like the cayenne kick. Will not buy grocery store dip again!
Christine says
This is amazing! Have made several batches to take to Christmas/ New Year gatherings & people love it! I’ve used yoghurt instead of sour cream
mary carol todd says
There was not a bit left when I made this recipe. Thank you so much it is delicious! It is now my “go to” dip recipe. Thank you
Shannon says
I’ve made this dip so many times and my friends always fight over it, today I’ve made it with onions cooked in a smoker and it’s absolutely divine. If anyone wants to cook the onion in a smoker put it in a tray chopped up with the butter melted and all the spices and cook it at 225-270F for an hour.
Marian says
I am following everyone else’s comments. This is seriously good! I didn’t read the whole recipe and made it in a metal bowl … so no 10 second zaps in the microwave! A new fave! Thanks (again) Nagi!
Julie says
We will never buy a French onion dip again! Didn’t have sour cream so substituted for Greek yoghurt and used half over the recommended cayenne pepper so everyone could enjoy it and it’s super delicious!
Myron Edwards says
The recipe is excellent. I agree half the cayenne pepper makes those who don’t care for the heat much happier. I am going to replace the 1/4 tsp with more onion powder for that extra notion punch!
stacy says
Hi Nagi
this is seriously so delicious. I made it for a friends early Christmas get together snack and OMG, making again Christmas Day. And the best bit, because you cook the onion for quite a while – no after effects of the quicker french onion dip!!! Winner winner french onion snack! Thank you
Trevor Petty says
I’ve been eating this or a variant with plain crinkle cut potato chips for over 40 years in NZ and Australia.
GINGER MARSZALEK says
I made this and used whipped cream cheese as that’s what I had on hand. It was an easy to mix with mayo and sour cream. Also added about a tsp of Worcestershire sauce for added color to the onions and depth of flavor! Yum!
Dunny says
Made this yesterday for a party. I tasted it when it was done and I thought it needed salt. I wish I had listened to your tip and waited to let the flavors meld together. Made it too salty. I added some additional sour cream to it and it seemed to help. I was amazed that everyone thought I had used dried onion soup mix. Today, I just had to try what I reserved for me and it’s even better today.
This is a keeper. I do like your version. It tastes rich, but not overpowering.
Thanks so much for sharing. I love reading and trying your recipes.
Dunny says
Just made this today for a party tonight. I should have listened to your advice and wait together the flavors meld. When I first put together, it needed salt, so I added more… bad idea. Chilled a couple of hours and guess what? Too salty. I’m hoping that adding some sour cream to it will balance that out a little.
But other than that, it’s a keeper. Thank yiu so much for sharing the recipe.
Angela says
Great recipe!! Thank you!! It tastes so much better than the Lipton. I did change it just a tad. I didn’t have Cheyenne so I used chili powder, and I chopped 1 jalapeño and sautéed it with the onions. I will be making this again and make this my go to for parties.
Helen Harris says
Have bought your latest book n saw you on Sunrise n yes Absolutely LOVE a hard cover book.
Leah says
Totally addicted!! I have made it 4 times already in the last month & I keep craving it more. I live in South Korea so it’s hard to find dip like this here in a jar so I resorted to making it myself. I will never buy a jar of this again because making this recipe is the best ever!!! ❤️