Creamy, cool sour cream and cream cheese, swirls caramelized onions flavored with balsamic vinegar and salty potato chips to scoop it all up. Its cool ranch meets a sophisticated caramelized onion dip popped into a pretty dish and put out with an assortment of scoopable ingredients – be it potato, veggie sticks, pita chips, corn chips, or bagel chips. But if you want to grab a spoon and just go to town on the dip, hey, that’s cool. I won’t judge. There’s something so beautiful about completing a recipe for a get-together and having it ready to go at least a day before the event. And if it can taste better as it sits, then that’s just an added little bonus that tips me further in its direction. Hello, Christmas and New Year’s Eve! I like to get done as much as I can ahead of time! Since this is an excellent recipe to make ahead, I encourage you to take your time when you’re caramelizing the onions. That is the biggest make-it-or-break-it thing about this recipe. If it takes you an hour, so be it. Set aside some time earlier in the week and make the onions right. Put on a good playlist, grab a drink, dance a little while you stir. This caramelized onion dip will treat you exceptionally well if you let the onions do their thing right.
Ingredients for homemade caramelized onion dip recipe:
Butter: to saute and caramelize the onions in.Onions: You’ll need 3 medium to large onions here. You can use sweet onions or regular yellow onions for this recipe. I usually prefer yellow onions and add just a hint of sugar to help sweeten them. If you use sweet onions, you might want to use less or omit the sugar entirely.Seasonings: You’ll need all the pantry staples for this recipe. I use some dried thyme, sugar, and kosher salt for the caramelized onions. Then, when we combine the ingredients for the dip, I like to add some onion powder to really boost the onion flavor (it is an onion dip after all!) I also add garlic powder.Balsamic Vinegar: If you guys have made any of my other one-million caramelized onion recipes, you know I love adding a little balsamic vinegar near the end of the caramelizing process. The vinegar adds a nice level of complexity. One that’s sweet and tangy and hard to pinpoint. It’ll keep your guests guessing all night long. In the past, I’ve used a full tablespoon, but it does give the dip a bit of brown color. Feel free to use a little less if you don’t want the dip to be as brown!Cream Cheese: Be sure to soften the cream cheese at room temperature for several hours beforehand. It’s crucial to do this so that the dip is lump-free when you mix it up.Sour Cream: Adds a nice tang along with the buttermilk found in the ranch seasoning. You can swap the sour cream for full-fat greek yogurt (I wouldn’t use the 0% kind, it’s simply not worth it!Worcestershire Sauce: helps boost the umami flavor in any dip or dish. If you’re looking for a vegetarian alternative, you can use equal parts hoisin and soy sauce instead.Ranch Seasoning: You can use homemade or store-bought seasoning. As a child, I was obsessed with the french onion dip you can get in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. And this just adds the oomph factor! Onion soup mix would also work, but we’re also using onion powder in the dip recipe, so ranch works the best! It’s my secret ingredient!Chopped Parsley: Adds freshness and some much-needed color to this dip. Sometimes, I’ll swap some of the parsley for chopped chives as well.
How to make the best caramelized onion dip from scratch:
Best tips for caramelized onion dip:
Like cheese, I prefer to remove the dip from the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving. I find the flavors tend to taste better when the dip isn’t cold from the refrigerator.Best served with ridged potato chips. I don’t know what it is, but potato chips with ridges really make this dip taste so much better!
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Baked Tomato Goat Cheese DipHot Caramelized Onion Dip {Slow Cooker}Texas Green Chili Queso DipGruyere, Mushroom, & Caramelized Onion BitesCaramelized Onion and Gruyere Drop Biscuits
Recipe originally shared Dec 2017, updated with new images, and minor recipe updates Dec. 2021. SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave
Balsamic vinegar: I love using 3 teaspoons because the flavor is amazing, but it does give the dip a brown hue. If you’d like for the dip to stay lighter, use 1-2 teaspoons balsamic instead.
