This creamy, decadent French onion dip is so good you’ll be licking it off the spoon! If you’re using pre-cooked caramelized onions for this recipe, it’s ready in less than 5 minutes. Pair your onion dip with crunchy crackers, crispy potatoes, or slather over sourdough in your favorite sandwich!

You might like my red pepper feta dip, herby tofu dip, and my viral whipped feta recipe if you’re looking for more gorgeous and creamy dips.

This French onion dip is the perfect way to use up delicious caramelized onions and makes a heavenly base for crispy chili roasted potatoes, crackers, or as a spread for sandwiches.

If you’ve got caramelized onions leftover from, for example, this French onion pasta, French onion loaded potato skins (can you tell I’m on a bit of a “French onion anything fix?!), or these scalloped potatoes with caramelized onions, this recipe is a must-try.

Ingredient Notes

The exact quantities of the ingredients you need for this recipe are included in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here, I’ve added a few notes on the ingredients you need, plus a few potential substitutions you could make if you can’t eat/find a certain ingredient.

• Onions: I used a large white onion for the caramelized onions for this recipe.
  
• Butter: Caramelizing the onions over a low and slow heat in butter gives them the most delicious flavor and soft texture perfect for dicing and using in your dip.
  
• Sour Cream: I used sour cream as the base for this recipe – it’s the perfect thick and creamy texture with that slightly tangy taste that pairs so perfectly with the sweetness of the onions.
  
• Cream Cheese: I also used some cream cheese to compliment the sour cream to make this French onion dip. It gives the dip that perfect creamy texture that you want to devour in one sitting!
  
• Garlic powder: I used garlic powder for this recipe, but you could also use fresh minced garlic if you prefer.
  
• Parsley: A scattering of fresh parsley finishes this dip off perfectly.

Variations & Substitutions

To Make This Recipe Vegan: If I’m making this recipe vegan, I use a combination of vegan cream cheese (the Philadelphia one is my personal favorite) and plant-based plain yogurt. I’ve not encountered a vegan sour cream, but if you know of one that could also work!  Vegan mayo could also be a good substitution. 

To Make This Recipe Low-Calorie: This recipe is a fairly indulgent one due to the sour cream and cream cheese. If you want a low-calorie version to enjoy in larger quantities or regularly, using Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream and cream cheese base could be a good replacement.

To Make This French Onion Dip in Less Time: If you’re caramelizing your onions from scratch for your French onion dip, you’ll need to allow about 40 minutes to cook your onions until they’re golden, sweet, and caramelized. Pre-prepare your onions to reduce the cooking time, or you could consider using a store-bought caramelized onion chutney.

How To Make This French Onion Dip Recipe

Again, the exact step-by-step instructions and ingredient quantities will be in the recipe card at the bottom of this page. 

Below is an overview of making this recipe, plus some process shots to help you visualize how this recipe should turn out.

Step 1) Caramelize Your Onions

To caramelize your onions, add butter to a pan and then once it’s melted, tip in your thinly sliced white onion. 

Cook the onions on low heat for approximately 40 minutes, stirring regularly so the onions don’t burn until they’re golden in color and soft. Note, 40 minutes is really the minimum amount of time it will take to caramelize your onions – you could let them cook for longer to get the onions super sweet and caramelized perfectly if you choose.

Step 2) Dice The Onions

Once the onions are cooked and have cooled down, tip them out onto a chopping board and finely dice the onions. I like to leave the caramelized onions with a little texture for the French onion dip, but you could also blend them into a paste if you want your dip to have no texture.

Step 3) Make The French Onion Dip

Combine your diced caramelized onions with the sour cream, softened cream cheese, garlic powder, and any other additional seasonings you want to use. Stir together into a smooth and creamy dip.

Scatter with your freshly chopped parsley.

What To Serve Your French Onion Dip With

For an insane flavor combination and real show-stopper of a side dish, pair your creamy French onion dip with these crispy chili roasted potatoes. Unreal.

You could also serve your French onion dip alongside other dips, such as whipped feta and baba ganoush, to serve with crackers, chips, or crudites.

Storing

This French onion dip can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Store the leftover dip in an airtight container or with the top of your bowl tightly covered. 

I would not recommend freezing this caramelized onion dip as the texture of the cream cheese and sour cream will change upon being frozen and defrosted.

FAQs

Can I add the caramelized onions while still hot to the dip?

I would recommend waiting until your onions have cooled a little before stirring them into the sour cream and cream cheese mixture to avoid the creamy ingredients from splitting.

Can I use caramelized onion chutney instead?

You could consider using caramelized onion chutney instead of homemade caramelized onions if you don’t have time to make them from scratch. It may change the taste and consistency of this recipe a little, but I think it could certainly work.

Is this recipe gluten-free?

Yes, this recipe should be gluten-free as it is. Always check your package ingredients in case anything unexpectedly contains gluten.

What do you serve with French onion dip?

Serve your French onion dip with crackers, crudities, on sourdough or in a sandwich, or even with crispy potatoes for a superb side dish.

Why does French onion dip get watery?

If your leftover French onion dip gets watery, this is likely just the creamy ingredients separating slightly. Give the dip a good mix and it should return back to normal.