French onion dip is a party favorite dip recipe made from sour cream, mayonnaise, caramelized onions, garlic, chives and parsley. It’s creamy, full of herbs and guaranteed to get devoured pretty darn fast.
When it comes to party appetizers and dips French onion dip is a classic. Served up with potato chips or vegetable sticks, it always disappears amazingly fast. Some might say it’s highly-addictive. I just say it’s flavorful, creamy and delicious (and worth the second helping).
When I was a kid my mom would buy those those packaged dry onion soup mixes and stir into a bowl of sour cream and mayonnaise. It was easy, but not exactly fresh.
And when I was in college I’d buy the French onion dip in the green tub from the dairy section of the market (which, was even worse). Ingredients in that include: Sugar, Hydrolyzed Soy And Corn Protein, Hydrolyzed Torula And Brewer’s Yeast Protein, Monosodium Glutamate, Food Starch-Modified, Gelatin, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Locust Bean Gum, Soy Lecithin, Potassium Sorbate, Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Yellow 5 & 6.
Yikes. Not so appetizing, eh? But good news! Once you make French onion dip at home and taste how fresh, savory and delicious it is, you’ll never buy it from the store again.
French Onion Dip Ingredients
There’s just a handful of ingredients in this recipe and a few potential variations, which I’ll mention below:
- Sour Cream: I always buy organic sour cream for the highest quality, but it’s up to you.
- Mayonnaise: My mom always added a little mayo in her French onion dip recipe so that’s what I do as well. And you can’t beat homemade mayonnaise for freshness.
- Caramelized Onions: Golden and sweet caramelized onions add so much flavor. Pro tip: you can make these ahead of time.
- Chives: Fresh chives are finely chopped for little flecks of green goodness.
- Parsley: Because more greens and herbs are always better.
- Salt and Pepper: You can season to your liking
Recipe Variations
While most of the ingredients are fairly standard, I understand not everyone’s a lover of mayonnaise. Therefore, you can always leave out the mayonnaise or substitute with:
- Greek Yogurt: It maintains the same consistency and adds a lovely tang (with a bonus of probiotics).
- Cream Cheese: It makes the dip thicker, creamier and cheesier.
Can you use dried herbs for the fresh herbs? I don’t recommend it. They just don’t have the same strength of flavor of freshly chopped herbs.
How to Make French Onion Dip
There’s really only two steps to make the best French onion dip: caramelize the onions and then mix the remaining ingredients together.
Caramelizing the onions is easy… but it does take a bit of time so just remember to plan for that. I’ve got a separate recipe that walks you through how to caramelize onions, step-by-step with a video tutorial. It’s worth the watch.
Mix everything together. After your onions and garlic have caramelized and cooled, add them to a bowl with the sour cream, mayonnaise, chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir everything together until it’s creamy and serve immediately with potato chips and veggie sticks or refrigerate.
Make the Dip Ahead of Time
The flavor of this dip intensifies and melds together the longer it sits, so feel free to make it a day ahead for a party, potluck, barbecue or gathering. It will also last for up to a week in the fridge if you have any leftovers, though that’s very unlikely. Trust me!
French Onion Dip Recipe Video
To make this amazing dip recipe at home, watch the step-by-step tutorial video below!
More Dip Recipes and Party Appetizers
Want some more munchies for a party? These recipes are reader favorites!
If you’ve recently made this French onion dip recipe, let me know how it turned out in a comment below! Your reviews will greatly help this community.
French Onion Dip (Better Than Store Bought)
Homemade French onion dip is creamy, flavorful and fresh. Just a handful of ingredients are mixed together for a crowd-pleasing dip recipe! Watch the video above to see it come together.
Heat the butter or oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat and add the onions. Stir the onions for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat to low.
Continue stirring the onions every 2 to 3 minutes, allowing them to caramelize on the bottom before stirring again. If they start to stick or brown, add a few tablespoons of water to rehydrate them and deglaze the pan.
- Continue cooking the onions for approximately 45 minutes or until they’re cooked to your liking. When there’s one minute left on the onions, add the minced garlic and sauté for one minute. For more help with the onions, you can watch exactly how to make caramelized onions step-by-step on my separate recipe post.
Once the onions have caramelized, transfer them to a small bowl and place them in the fridge to cool.
After the onions have cooled, add them to a mixing bowl with the sour cream, mayonnaise, chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir everything together until creamy and garnish with additional herbs.
- This recipe makes approximately 3 cups of dip. The perfect amount for a party!
Calories: 203kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 33mg, Sodium: 92mg, Potassium: 126mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 430IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 72mg, Iron: 0.2mg
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Recipe originally posted June 2019, but updated to include new information.