Recipe: Caramelized French Onion Dip

January 1, 2012 by Laureen Fox | 15 Comments

I made some dips to serve with crackers, veggies and chips. I started with two different kinds of Hummus. A Perfect Base Hummus and a Raw Carrot Hummus. Both of these recipes by Amber at The Tasty Alternative were on my Must-Make-List. You can see in the pictures, I put a dollop of Hummus on cucumber slices and sprinkled them with freshly ground pepper. They were very good but I think next time I will heed Amber’s warning and go easier on the garlic and Tahini in the Raw Carrot Hummus. I couldn’t really taste the carrots at all and I do love carrots.

I didn’t have a recipe for French Onion Dip but I remember an onion dip my Mom used to make for our family gatherings. She used sour cream, mayonnaise and Lipton Onion Soup Mix. However, one look at the Onion Soup Mix ingredients label, quashed any thoughts I may have had about using the soup mix to flavour my onion dip.

Lipton Onion Soup Mix Ingredients:

Dehydrated Onions, Salt, Corn Starch, Sugar, Yeast Extract (contains Barley Gluten), Colour, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Monosodium Glutamate, Corn Syrup Solids, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate, Sulphites.

“Barley Gluten” automatically makes the Lipton Onion Soup Mix off-limits for someone like me with a Gluten Intolerance but imagine my reaction, when I realized that this product my family considered a good “seasoning stand by,” contained Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Sulphites and Corn Syrup Solids (which I believe is only marginally better than high fructose corn syrup or HFCS). Those are the worrisome additives I recognized straight away but I had to look up Disodium Guanylate and Disodium Inosinate. They are often used together as salty and savory flavour enhancers like MSG.

Well, if the old standard Onion Soup Mix was not going to work, I was going to have to come up with a new recipe. Something wholesome, with natural flavouring and free of Gluten/MSG/Sulphites/HFCS.

I started with some caramelized onions I had made the day before. Added some tangy Greek Yogurt instead of mayonnaise, an equal amount of sour cream and a bit of onion powder (not onion salt) and wow, the results were fabulous! I thought about adding some more spices but everyone seemed to like the Dip as is.

Our little grandson enjoys having this Onion Dip with fresh veggies for lunch.

The wonderful caramelized onions, are key to this five-star, or in my Recipe Book, it’s rated a five “♥♥♥♥♥” recipe. The dip is best made in advance and refrigerated (for at least an hour or two) to allow the flavors to meld and bringing the dip to room temperature before serving will really make the flavors pop.

I think this made from scratch Caramelized French Onion Dip is the very best. The finest. The epitome. Most excellent. To use a little urban slang, I think it’s the cat’s ass!

Recipe: Caramelized French Onion Dip

View Print Friendly Recipe Here

Gluten Free | Vegetarian

Summary: This Caramelized French Onion Dip makes a wonderful party dip, one that everyone will enjoy adults and children alike. Everyone in the Fox household, including our little grandson love this onion dip.

Ingredients

1 – 2 Tbsp grapeseed oil or cooking oil of choice
2 large yellow onions, coarsely chopped (about 1 pound)
1/3 Cup sour cream
1/3 Cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp onion powder (not onion salt)

Instructions

To make the Caramelized Onions, use a large thick-bottomed skillet over medium heat to sauté the chopped onions in cooking oil along with a couple pinches of salt. The salt helps to release the onions sweet juices.
Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally with a wood or metal spatula and cook until the onions are deeply golden, brown, and caramelized – roughly 30 or 40 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, yogurt and onion powder.
Add about 1/4 cup of cooled finely chopped caramelized onions to the sour cream mixture. Blend well, taste, adjust seasoning if needed. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
When ready to serve, scoop onion dip into a small serving bowl. Garnish with about 1 Tbsp of finely chopped caramelized onions or to make it extra fancy, top with a few Crispy Fried Onions (see instructions below).
Serve with crackers, veggies, potato or corn chips.

Quick notes

If you have any dip leftover, you can use it in place of regular sour cream on a baked potato. We had some Caramelized French Onion Dip on our perogies. Yum!
Caramelized onions freeze quite well. I keep some flattened in a freezer safe zip-lock bag. When I need some, I break a section off, allow it to thaw for a few minutes before stirring into my recipe.

Variations

To make Crispy Fried Onions, you will need one finely chopped onion and just enough oil to coat the bottom of a frying pan. Cook a thin layer of onions uncovered on medium high heat, stirring often, until the onions are crispy and golden brown. Remove from heat. Crispy Fried Onions will keep for several days if refrigerated in a covered container. Sprinkle the onions on top of dips, soups, salads, eggs, baked potatoes and other vegetable side dishes, etc

To Vegetarian

Diet tags: Gluten free

This posting is linked to the following events:

My Meatless Mondays hosted by My Sweet and Savoury

Make Your Own! Mondays hosted by Nourishing Treasures

TUESDAY TALENT SHOW hosted by Nikki at chef in training

Hearth and Soul Hop hosted by Alea at Premeditated Leftovers

Family Time Tuesday hosted by Janice at Celebrating Family

Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays hosted by Amy at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

Gluten Free Wednesdays hosted by Linda from Gluten-Free Homemaker

Fat Tuesday hosted by Jill at Real Food Forager

These Chicks Cooked Link Party hosted by Katie from This Chick Cooks