Skip the prepackaged French onion soup mix and make this homemade caramelized onion dip instead. I promise our recipe tastes much better than anything you can buy at the store. This sour cream and onion dip gets better over time, so save this recipe for when you need to prepare an appetizer ahead of time. I also love this black bean onion dip.
Key Ingredients
Onion: I use a sweet onion when making this dip. Look for Vidalia or Walla Walla onions. Yellow onions will work in the recipe but are less sweet. Butter: We cook the onion with melted butter in the oven so it browns and becomes soft. I use salted butter, but unsalted is fine, you might need more salt at the end. Sour cream: The base of our dip! Use a high-quality, full-fat sour cream for the best flavor. Some readers have asked about substituting yogurt. While I do prefer the flavor of this onion dip with sour cream, plain, thick Greek or Icelandic style yogurt work.
How to Make Onion Dip
I caramelize my onions in the oven, it keeps things easy and hassle-free. You can caramelize the onions on the stove, like when making French onion soup. If you’d prefer to use the stovetop, we’ve included how to caramelize onions in the recipe below. I use the oven because it requires less hands-on time. To roast the onions, mix them with melted butter and then bake until they smell sweet and softened. Roasting takes 50 to 60 minutes, but most of this time is hands-off. You’ll want to stir them every 10 to 15 minutes to ensure they roast evenly. When your onions finish roasting, stir them into sour cream and season with salt and pepper. We don’t add mayonnaise or other ingredients. Honestly, the dip doesn’t need it. Trust me. This dip is perfect the way it is. I prefer making onion dip a day before I plan to serve it. It gets so much better after a night in the fridge, and all the caramelized onion flavor leaks out into the sour cream.
Storing Homemade Onion Dip
You can store onion dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. In fact, it tastes better the longer it sits since the sour cream has more opportunity to absorb the flavor of the roasted onions. When you are ready to serve the dip, give it a good stir. You might notice some liquid pooled at the top from the onions. That liquid tastes amazing, so we want to stir it back into the dip. Unfortunately, we do not recommend freezing sour cream and onion dip. Sour cream does not freeze and thaw well. While it’s okay to eat thawed frozen sour cream, the texture changes, making it less than ideal for a dip.
How to Serve French Onion Dip
I love serving homemade onion dip with potato chips (I especially love kettle chips), but tortilla chips, pita chips, flatbread, and pretzels are all excellent. It’s also delicious with raw vegetables like carrots, celery, cucumbers, and bell peppers. You can even serve it next to some roasted vegetables. These crispy potatoes and roasted broccoli are our family’s favorites. 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 1 pint (16oz or 2 cups) sour cream 2Toss the chopped onions with the melted butter and spread them into a thin layer on the baking sheet. 3Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until the onions are soft, smell sweet, and turn a light golden color, 50 to 60 minutes. Keep a closer eye towards the end of the cooking time to ensure the onions do not overbrown. 4Transfer the onions while they are still hot to a mixing bowl and scrape all the butter left in the pan into the bowl with the onions. 5Stir in the salt, pepper, and sour cream. 6Cover and refrigerate overnight, and then serve. The dip will last up to 4 days in the fridge. Stir well before serving.
