French Onion Dip

French onion dip served with crunchy chips or vegetables is a must-have appetizer for parties and game days. Skip the store-bought stuff. It tastes better from scratch!

Recipe Science

Use mild yellow onions for balanced sweetness and savoriness. When cooked, they have less sulfur and a richer caramel flavor.
Finely chop the onions for a strong onion flavor throughout the dip. This increases the surface area, ensuring they soften completely.
After 15 minutes, deglaze the caramelized residue with water to prevent burning and mix it back into the onions.

Why It Works

Instead of using powdered onion soup mix, the flavor comes from freshly chopped onions. To enhance their earthy taste, we’re going to caramelize them. This process transforms the raw and sulfurous notes into intense, sweet, and savory bites. I’ll show you my step-by-step guide for cooking the onions.

The caramelized onions are mixed with cool and creamy sour cream and just enough mayonnaise to add a rich texture. Grab a chip and dig in. Make a batch to enjoy for game day or your next gathering. It’s great to make it in advance. It tastes even better with more time for the flavors to meld together. If you love French onion soup, then this appetizer is for you!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients needed to make this French onion dip recipe.

Onions: I use yellow onions for this recipe. When cooked, they give a balanced sweet, savory, and mild taste. They have less sulfur in their cell walls and a richer caramel flavor. You’ll need about 2 large onions or 4 cups chopped. Here’s my guide on how to cut an onion.
Fat: I cook the onions with a combination of butter and olive oil. The milk solids from the butter add a butterscotch note when cooked. The oil helps raise the smoke point of fats, helping the onions carmelize instead of burn.
Sweetener: A small amount of brown sugar to accelerate the caramelization of the chopped onions.
Water: Assists in the caramelization process, preventing the sugars from burning in the pan.
Garlic: Minced garlic adds a savory dimension to the dip.
Sour Cream: Sour cream is used as the dip base. It has a high amount of milk fat for a thick consistency. The culturing process gives it a nice tanginess, which balances the sweetness of the onions.
Mayonnaise: Adds a rich mouthfeel due to the eggs and oil, but don’t overdo it. It shouldn’t taste too heavy.
Worcestershire Sauce: To add a savory dimension, sprinkle in Worcestershire sauce to boost the umami flavor and complement the creamy dip. Its concentrated vinegar, molasses, anchovies, tamarind, chili pepper, and seasonings give it a unique taste. Don’t worry—it won’t taste fishy.
Seasoning: Salt draws out the moisture from the cut onions to quicken browning while seasoning the dip. Black pepper adds a bit of subtle spice.
Onion Powder: Concentrated onion powder also helps to extend the taste from start to finish.
Chives: This delicate fine herb adds a fresh onion taste right before serving, without the strong sulfurous note.

See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).

Ingredient Substitutions

This homemade French onion dip recipe is easy to customize! Try these tasty options:

Using Sweeter Onions: Choose varieties like Vidalia or Maui for a sweeter taste.
Switch the Sweetener: Omit completely or add granulated sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
Add More Garlic Flavor: To give the dip a more pungent, lingering taste, add about ½ teaspoon of garlic powder when mixing the ingredients.
Sour Cream Swap: Plain Greek yogurt is a comparable substitute with extra protein and health-beneficial probiotics. The higher the fat level, the more luxurious the texture.
Mayonnaise Substitute: Room-temperature cream cheese can also be used for a richer consistency.
Worchestershire Sauce Swap: Add soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos, and a splash of vinegar.

How to Make French Onion Dip

Melted butter, olive oil, and brown sugar in a large pot.

Step 1: Melt the Butter

Use a large pot or Dutch oven and set it over medium-high heat. First, melt the butter, then add some olive oil, brown sugar, salt, and a pinch of pepper. Give it all a good stir to combine.

Chopped raw onions cooking in a dutch oven.

Step 2: Caramelize the Onions

To begin the caramelization process, cook the chopped onions in butter and olive oil. I also add a small amount of brown sugar to kickstart browning and some molasses for flavor. Salting the onions helps draw moisture to the surface, tenderizing them and quickening the color change.

Start cooking at medium-high to drive off moisture, then drop the temperature low to finish cooking gently. You don’t want to burn them! The natural sugars rise to the surface, deepening the hue to dark brown and sweetening the taste. Caramelized onions take about 20 minutes, but it’s worth the wait.

White ramekin pouring water into a pan of caramelized onions.

Step 3: Deglaze the Pan

After about 15 minutes, the sugar from the onions and brown sugar will leave some caramel residue on the sides of the pan. Do not let that go to waste. Add water to help deglaze and incorporate the browned bits back into the onions. This technique also helps to prevent burning.

Raw pieces of garlic on top of caramelized onions.

Step 4: Saute the Garlic

Once the onions are nearly done caramelizing, stir in some fresh minced garlic. The garlic complements the earthy flavor of the onion and mellows its spice when sauteed.

Step 5: Let it Cool

The caramelized onions will be reduced from 2 cups of fresh vegetables to ¾ cups of cooked vegetables. Let them cool down so they don’t melt the dairy products in the dip.

Mixing a bowl of ingredients to make onion dip.

Step 6: Mix the Dip

Stir together the onions, sour cream, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, salt, and pepper. The mixture should be smooth with bits of onions pieces throughout.

Experimentation Encouraged: Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor if you want a super creamy texture.

Step 7: Serve the French Onion Dip

I like to garnish the dip with fresh chives before serving. Nothing is more satisfying than loading up a salty potato chip or crunchy cucumber slice with some of this creamy dip.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does French onion dip taste like?

The base consists of tangy sour cream and mayonnaise for a creamy consistency. For the best taste, my recipe uses freshly caramelized onions. For a quicker option, you can use a packet of onion soup mix containing concentrated dehydrated onion powder. This dip is not French in origin, but it can have nuances of French onion soup when made from scratch.

What chips go best with French onion dip?

Wavy potato chips have grooves and ridges to catch the dip and are thick enough to hold the weight without breaking. The salty taste enhances the flavor of the dip. Tortilla chips also pair well.

How long does onion dip stay good for?

The dip stores very well, about 5 days. The taste improves over time as the water-soluble flavors from the alliums, sugars, and salts have more time to infuse together. The onion gets more pronounced over time, and it tastes delicious chilled.

Can onions caramelize without sugar?

Onions contain about 10% carbohydrates from natural sugars like glucose, fructose, and sucrose. They all break down and caramelize, starting around 230ºF (110ºC) with fructose—sucrose and glucose around 320ºF (160ºC). I add brown sugar to speed up the process, but it needs more time to heat up without it. Be careful. Sugars burn above 350ºF (177ºC), and you don’t want that taste in the dip.