Caramelized French Onion Dip

Forget those packets of dried onion and make this Caramelized French Onion Dip; it’s a bit more work sure, but I promise you will not regret it!

It’s Progressive Eats time and we’ve run smack dab into Thanksgiving…so how about something different? As in an all vegetarian feast? Our host for this month is the lovely Susan with The Wimpy Vegetarian blog; wimpy as in will occasionally partake of that nemesis of vegetarians everywhere…oops, MEAT! But not this time; she has not only not wimped out, she has asked us to come along with her for the all veggie ride and I’m offering up this Caramelized French Onion Dip.

I have to admit it was easy; as I lean towards eating more vegetables and less meats mostly because I simply love them and find that my meat eating days are outnumbered by more days without it. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not the wimpy meat eater…I just don’t have to have meat every single day.

Within the list of foods amassed for your viewing pleasure (sounds like a commercial doesn’t it?) are some outstanding choices from my very talented group of friends and I’m thinking I’ll have to try several of these dishes soon. I’ve already made my Thanksgiving Feast of old; it will be fun to try something that goes in such a different direction.

That being said, I didn’t try to take a typical meat dish and substitute products to make it vegetarian. Nope…this was easy. Remember that old fashioned dip made with just sour cream and a packet of dry onion soup mix; the height of fine cuisine a few decades ago?

I’ve made a homemade version of this dip for several years but never wrote down the ingredients…lucky for you I did that this past week and the words that have been going through my head ever since this exercise? “Step away from the dried onion soup” and make this instead!

What I love about this appetizer is that it’s really not Thanksgiving specific…great for football games, bridal showers, actually any event where you want to serve finger type foods for noshing; like my lunch event at my desk today. 🙂

Long slow cooking of onions resulting in that sweet, caramelized flavor is mixed with a combination of sour cream, cream cheese and mayonnaise along with some seasonings and voila…a mixture that makes that dry mix seem as pathetic as it is. “So why not go all the way and make chips too?” I asked myself.

Not because I had nothing better to do but because a quick peek in the pantry found no bag of chips to be found but a brand new bag of red potatoes. To be honest? These are a bit of work for the end result. More honesty? So worth it! Maybe not for a big crowd as they do require some babysitting; the super thin slices of potato start to darken at different times requiring constant vigilance. An appetizer for 4? Absolutely. Twenty? Make the dip and buy the Lays is what I says!

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Caramelized French Onion Dip

Barb

The best onion dip is made from scratch with caramelized onions…so worth the extra trouble!

5 average from less than 50 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Jams, Jellies & Spreads

Cuisine American

Servings 6 Servings

Calories 544 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 3 large onions quartered and thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme minced
• 2 cups sour cream
• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce Worcestershire Sauce has anchovies; omit for an all vegetarian dip
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Salt to taste
• One bunch of fresh chives

For the Red Potato Baked Chips

• 2 medium red potatoes
• 1 tablespoon oolive oil
• Kosher salt
• Fresh thyme for garnish

Instructions

 

• Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium until butter is melted.
• Add onions and saute, stirring often until golden brown and caramelized, about 30-35 minutes. Add garlic and thyme when onions are browned and cook for an additional minute.
• Cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, combine sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise, Worcestershire Sauce (if using), salt and pepper.
• Fold onion mixture into the sour cream/cream cheese/mayonnaise mixture. Fold in chopped chives.
• Garnish with chopped thyme and chill at least 1 hour or overnight.

To Make the Potato Chips

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice potatoes very thin with a food processor (I used a Cuisinart #1; the thinnest slice available)..
• Brush a baking sheet lightly with olive oil and lay the potato slices out in a single layer on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes have browned and are crisp. (I checked frequently; smaller rounds browned quicker).
• Use a spatula to transfer to a paper towel to cool.
• Serve the chips with the dip!

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Caramelized French Onion Dip

Serving Size

 

1

Amount per Serving

Calories

544

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

46

g

71

%

Cholesterol

 

82

mg

27

%

Sodium

 

454

mg

20

%

Carbohydrates

 

29

g

10

%

Protein

 

6

g

12

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Calories

544

Keyword caramelized onions, French onion dip

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