Caramelized Onion Dip

This Caramelized Onion Dip is the perfect party appetizer! Grab some crackers, veggies and chips and get ready to dig into this classic dip!

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This Caramelized Onion Dip made me cry. Sure, it’s delicious, and I couldn’t stop eating it…but that’s not why I was crying. It was slicing up all those darned onions! This recipe calls for 3 onions to be halved and sliced. I made it through about 1½ onions before I had to step away due to the tears streaming down my face. Two tissues later, I was back at it and finished the job…crying the whole time.

So why do onions make you cry? To answer this question, we have to go back to high school chemistry…or is it biology? When an onion is sliced, some of the cells are damaged. As a defensive mechanism, the onion releases enzymes that are meant to scare away predators. The enzymes then create a gas that irritates your eyes. (I guess the knife wielding man in my kitchen was a predator to those onions.)

How to Keep from Crying when Slicing Onions

There are all sorts of tricks out there to keep you from crying when you cut onions:

• Use a Sharp Knife. Using a sharp knife creates less damage to the onion cells…thus meaning fewer enzymes are released. I always say make sure your kitchen knives are sharp regardless of what you’re cutting. The most dangerous kitchen tool is a dull knife!
• Wear Glasses. This is meant to block some of the enzymes from getting to your eyes, but I don’t find it works very well.
• Turn On a Fan. This trick is meant to blow away the enzymes before they make you cry.
• Chill the Onion. A cold onion doesn’t release as many enzymes. Put the onion in the fridge for 30 minutes before you slice it…if you can remember.

How to Caramelize Onions

Once you’ve gotten past the onion slicing gauntlet, you’re practically there. All that is left to do is let those onions cook over medium heat for a long time. Like almost an hour. When you first put the sliced onions in the pan, it will look like way too many onions. You might even go back and check the recipe to make sure you didn’t screw things up. Don’t worry. Those onions will cook down and reduce to a much smaller volume.

Speaking of caramelizing onions, I learned a little trick from a chef friend year’s ago: a tiny bit of sugar. Onions caramelize when the heat of the pan causes the sugars in the onion to break down. As those sugars cook, the color of the sliced onions becomes darker and the flavor becomes sweeter.

The trick? Once the onions begin to soften, add a tiny bit of granulated sugar to the pan. This will kickstart the caramelization process. Oh, and adding a bit of salt at the same time helps draw moisture out from the onions…thus leading to faster caramelization.

Caramelized Onion Dip

Ok, now that we’ve talked all about onions, let’s talk about this dip. Caramelizing the onions will take some time. It’s an easy process, and you can be doing other chores around the kitchen at the same time. But don’t rush it. The onions need to cook over lowish heat for a longish time to caramelize. Otherwise you just end up with burnt onions, and Burnt Onion Dip is not our goal here today!

Once the onions have caramelized, chop ’em all up and mix ’em into this dip. The dip itself is a very simple recipe. It’s similar to this sour cream dip except it includes half a block of cream cheese to make it a bit thicker. Feel free to omit the cream cheese for a looser style of dip.

We served this Caramelized Onion Dip with sliced carrots, radishes and potato chips. Not surprisingly, the chips disappeared first. Somewhat surprisingly (at least to me), the radishes were the next thing to disappear. I personally enjoyed the carrots combined with the flavor of this dip, so I helped polish off the carrots on the plate. Other sliced veggies or even thicker pretzels would be excellent dipper options, too.

The taste of this dip is fantastic. When you hear onion dip, you probably don’t think sweet…but this dip is on the sweeter side. That’s because caramelized onions are sweet. As the sugars in the onion caramelize, they become sweet. But that sweet + savory combination is quite delicious!

How to Store Leftovers

Leftover Caramelized Onion Dip should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. Leftovers can be served straight from the fridge, but I like to let them come to room temperature first. (When cold, the dip is a bit thicker due to the cream cheese.) I do not recommend freezing this dip.

If you’re looking for a tasty appetizer, then put this Caramelized Onion Dip on the menu. The flavors are different than a traditional veggie dip, but they’re still delicious. We took this dip to a party recently, and it disappeared quickly. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do here in our house – Cheers!

Did you make this Caramelized Onion Dip recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!

Caramelized Onion Dip

This Caramelized Onion Dip is the perfect party appetizer! Grab some crackers, veggies and chips and get ready to dig into this classic dip!

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 123kcal

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Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 medium yellow onions halved and cut into ¼” slices
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1½ cups sour cream can substitute plain Greek yogurt
• 4 oz. cream cheese room temperature
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ cup chopped fresh chives plus more for garnishing
• ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Sliced vegetables pretzels and/or potato chips, for serving

Instructions

• Using a large skillet, add butter and olive oil. Place over medium heat.
• Once butter has melted, add sliced onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until onions have softened.
• Add sugar, salt and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 35-40 more minutes, or until onions have turned deep golden brown in color. (Tip: If the pan gets too dry, add a tablespoon of water.)
• Remove skillet from heat and let onions cool slightly.
• Chop caramelized onions and place in a large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients (sour cream, cream cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, chives and Worcestershire sauce); stir until well combined.
• Garnish with additional chopped chives.
• Serve at room temperature with sliced veggies, pretzels or potato chips.

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