Homemade French Onion Dip – Budget Bytes

Caramelized onions are one of my favorite flavors EVER, so even though you can make a quick French Onion Dip made with just a packet of onion soup mix and sour cream, you know I’m going to try to make it from scratch instead! And this homemade French Onion Dip recipe is surprisingly easy! It only takes a few ingredients and it really lets the flavor of those caramelized onions shine. This dip is creamy, tangy, sweet, savory, and perfect for all your crunchy chips and crackers. Plus, it also makes an ah-maz-ing sandwich and burger spread, so even if you’re not a chip and dip person, you still need to try it!

Overhead view of a bowl of French Onion Dip with a chip in the side and chips all around.

What Is French Onion Dip?

French Onion Dip is a creamy and tangy dip for chips, crackers, vegetables, and more that has a flavor profile similar to French Onion Soup. The quick way to make French Onion Dip is to simply stir a packet of onion soup mix into a container of sour cream, but if you’re looking for more of a “from scratch” approach with that slow caramelized flavor, we’ve got you covered. And while caramelizing the onions does take a little bit of time, you don’t need many more ingredients to turn them into a really stellar dip!

Here’s what you’ll need to make a homemade French Onion Dip from scratch:

  • Onions: I just used plain ol’ yellow onions here, but if you want to get fancy you can go for a sweet onion like Vidalia or a Maui onion.
  • Butter: Butter makes the recipe extra rich and gives a slightly nutty flavor to the caramelized onions.
  • Cream Cheese: Cream cheese is the rich and tangy base for the dip.
  • Sour Cream: Sour cream lightens up the cream cheese just a touch and makes the dip much softer and dippable.
  • Worcestershire sauce: This gives the dip a savory note, similar to French onion soup.
  • Seasoning: I kept the seasonings simple so the flavor of the onions could shine through. All you’ll need is a bit of garlic powder, salt, and pepper. You can experiment with adding beef bouillon, but I found this to overwhelm the flavor of the dish, totally masking the delicately sweet flavor of the onions.

How to Serve French Onion Dip

French onion dip is classically served with potato chips, but it’s great for so much more! You can use it for crackers, on a vegetable platter (in place of ranch dip), or as a spread on sandwiches, wraps, or burgers. Try pairing this dip on a sandwich with thinly sliced roast beef, a slice of Swiss cheese, and spring mix. You won’t be disappointed! Or slather it onto a burger with some sautéed mushrooms. YES PLEASE.

How Long Does it Keep?

Homemade French Onion Dip will stay good in the refrigerator for about four to five days, but is not a good candidate for freezing. If your French Onion Dip has been in the refrigerator for a few days, make sure to give it a good stir before enjoying.

Side view of a chip being dipped into a bowl of French Onion Dip.


French Onion Dip

This creamy and tangy French Onion Dip is full of caramelized onions and perfect for parties, game day, or as a burger or sandwich spread. 

Author: Beth – Budget Bytes

Overhead view of a bowl of French Onion Dip with a chip in the side and chips all around.

Prevent your screen from going dark

  • Dice the onions and place them in a skillet with the butter.

  • Cook the onions over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, allowing them to soften and then slowly brown. Continue cooking for about 30 minutes, or until they achieve a deep copper brown color and jammy texture. If the skillet dries out too much as the onions cook, lower the heat slightly and add a tablespoon or two of water. On the flip side, if the onions are taking too long to cook, increase the heat slightly.

  • Meanwhile, stir together the cream cheese, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl until smooth and evenly combined.

  • Once the onions are fully caramelized, stir them into the dip.

  • Allow the dip to sit for about 15 minutes for the flavors to blend, then taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. Serve with your favorite chips or spread onto a sandwich and enjoy!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.


Serving: 0.25cupCalories: 193kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 3gFat: 18gSodium: 237mgFiber: 1g

Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.

How to Make French Onion Dip – Step by Step Photos

Diced onion and butter in a skillet.

Dice 1/2 pound of yellow onions (about two medium onions), then add them to a skillet with 2 tablespoons of butter.

Half-cooked onions in the skillet.

Cook the onions over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, allowing them to soften and then slowly brown. If the skillet gets too dry as the onions cook, turn the heat down slightly and add a tablespoon or two of water to the skillet to help dissolve the browned bits off of the bottom of the skillet. Or, if the onions are taking a very long time to cook down, you can increase the heat slightly.

Fully caramelized onions in the skillet.

When the onions are fully caramelized they should look like this—deep copper brown, translucent, and jammy in texture. The caramelization process should take about 30 minutes.

Dip ingredients in a bowl but not combined.

Meanwhile, combine 4oz. room temperature cream cheese, 1 cup sour cream, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper, and ¼ tsp salt in a bowl, stirring until the mixture is smooth.

Caramelized onions added to the dip in the bowl.

Add the caramelized onions to the dip and stir to combine.

Finished caramelized onion dip in the bowl with a spoon.

Allow the dip to sit for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend, then taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking.

Overhead view of a chip being dipped into a bowl of French Onion Dip.

Serve with your favorite crunchy chips and enjoy!

admin

admin

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *