Caramelized Onion Dip Recipe

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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.

How To Make Caramelized Onion Dip

Step 1: Cut a few onions. Step 2: Caramelize those onions in a pan. Step 3: Mix them up with everything else in a bowl and EAT. 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. After that, things get pretty basic: cream cheese, sour cream, a dash of this and a sprinkle of that… boom. Grab a chip and DIVE TO THE BOTTOM OF THAT GOLD MINE.

Let’s Talk About 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. 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.

More Appetizers For The Win

Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese (a simple 3-ingredient appetizer that will blow you away!) Elote Queso (a grill + app favorite all bubbled up in one skillet) Crispy Salted Tostones (golden brown, crispy, salty tostones – yes)

One More Thing!

This recipe is part of our collection of best dip recipes. Check it out! 4.7 from 499 reviews 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.