French Onion Dip

This homemade French onion dip puts the store bought kind to shame! Creamy, tangy, and packed with umami flavor, it's sure to vanish in minutes.

french onion dip recipe

For me, there’s almost nothing more nostalgic than French onion dip and ridged potato chips. They take me right back to the holiday parties of my childhood, where store bought tubs of French onion dip had a permanent spot on the snack table. When my sister and I were growing up, my mom always served us healthy, homemade food, so that French onion dip was a real treat. I’d shovel down as much of it as I could, relishing every bite of the creamy dip with the salty chips.

This year, I finally got around to developing my own French onion dip recipe. It’s far healthier than the dip I adored as a kid, but it’s just as addictive and even more delicious. The first time I made it, I found Jack standing in front of the fridge, devouring it as a late night snack. When I made it again a few days later, I had to tell him it was off-limits. It’s creamy, tangy, and packed with rich umami flavor. I wasn’t about to let him have it all to himself!

French onion dip recipe ingredients

French Onion Dip Recipe Ingredients

Unlike most homemade French onion dip recipes, this one is completely vegan and dairy-free! Instead of making the base with sour cream, mayonnaise, and/or cream cheese, I use my go-to cashew sour cream recipe. The cashews give it a luscious creamy texture, and Dijon mustard, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and onion powder make it tangy and savory. Note that it’s best made in a high-speed blender, such as a Vitamix. If you don’t have a high-speed blender, be sure to soak your cashews at least 4 hours in advance.

Once you make the cashew cream, you’ll add these ingredients to make the dip:

  • Caramelized onions – For rich, sweet, and savory onion flavor! You’ll only need 1 onion to make this dip, but I recommend caramelizing extra onions and storing them in the fridge or freezer. You can add them to pasta, pizzas, egg dishes, or more dip down the road!
  • Onion powder – It gives the dip a bold, concentrated onion flavor.
  • Fresh chives – For garnish! Their fresh flavor contrasts nicely with the rich caramelized onions and umami onion powder.
  • And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

how to caramelize onions

Caramelized onions and cashew sour cream in a bowl

How to Make French Onion Dip

This French onion dip recipe is easy to make, but it does require that you plan ahead. If you don’t already have caramelized onions on hand, you’ll need to cook them first. Caramelizing onions is simple (all it requires is cooking them over low heat, stirring occasionally), but it does take time. Be sure to set aside at least an hour to cook the onions before you make the dip, as well as time for them to cool.

When the onions are at room temperature (they can also be fridge-cold if you already have them on hand), blend up the cashew cream. As I mentioned above, you’ll need to soak the cashews ahead of time if you don’t have a high-speed blender.

Hands using a spatula to fold caramelized onions into cashew sour cream

Then, mix up the dip! Chop up the caramelized onions, and add them to a bowl with the cashew cream. Stir in the onion powder, salt, and pepper, and season to taste. Pop the dip in the fridge for an hour to chill to before you eat.

Homemade French onion dip

When you’re ready to serve, garnish the dip with the chives, and dig in! I will always recommend serving this French onion dip with ridged potato chips, but if you don’t have them on hand, plain potato chips or fresh veggies will work too.

Store any leftover dip in the fridge for up to 4 days. It’ll thicken as it chills, so you may want to thin it with water, a teaspoon at a time, before you serve it. Enjoy!

french onion dip

More Favorite Appetizer Recipes

If you love this French onion dip recipe, try one of these tasty appetizers next:

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French Onion Dip

rate this recipe:
4.93 from 14 votes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Serves 4
This French onion dip is creamy, tangy, and packed with umami flavor! Served with potato chips or veggies, it's a fantastic appetizer or snack. If you don't already have caramelized onions on hand, note that you'll need to budget around 90 minutes to make them and allow them to cool before mixing up the dip.

Ingredients

  • 1 recipe Cashew Sour Cream
  • 1/2 packed cup chopped Caramelized Onions*, chilled or at room temperature
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chopped chives
  • Potato chips, for serving

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, stir together the cashew sour cream, caramelized onions, onion powder, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Cover, and chill for one hour.
  • Top the chilled dip with the chives and serve with potato chips.

Notes

*From about 1 onion. It’s easier to make the whole batch and have extra than to cook just 1 onion. Caramelized onions will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze them for up to 2 months. 

19 comments

4.93 from 14 votes (8 ratings without comment)

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Amy
    06.01.2024

    When using yogurt or sour cream how much would you use?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      06.03.2024

      Hi Amy, you could use 1.5 cups.

  2. Pam Richason
    05.22.2024

    5 stars
    I made this but I did tweak it a little bit. I added some caramelized shallots and 1/4 teaspoon each of smoked paprika and freshly ground nutmeg. This is definitely a do again.

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      05.23.2024

      Hi Pam, those additions sound fantastic! So glad you loved the dip.

  3. Ritika
    12.10.2022

    4 stars
    This was absolutely awesome! Thanks for sharing this!
    Could you please share this recipe with the use of cashew sauces?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      12.16.2022

      So glad you loved the dip!

  4. I’ve made this 4x this week to share with others! Since getting a vitamix I’ve been excited to make as much cashew based recipes as possible now that it’s so..possible? Haha. Thanks!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.04.2022

      Wow, I’m so glad you loved it! I’m pretty obsessed with cashew sauces in my vitamix as well 🙂

  5. The Lactose Intolerant
    01.01.2021

    5 stars
    This was absolutely amazing! I am the only one in my family who has a dairy allergy but my husband and brother ate this up so quickly that there was barely any left for me!

  6. Amanda
    12.24.2020

    5 stars
    This dip is delicious! It is hard to believe that it is dairy-free. This shocked my husband, a committed dairy-lover. I added some fresh time and a splash of red wine vinegar to finish for some extra tang.

  7. Namita mehra
    12.17.2020

    How many grams of cashew nut one should use?

  8. Khushboo Bafna
    12.16.2020

    Hey lovely recipe ! Can u plz share non vegan version for French onion

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      12.17.2020

      You can use regular sour cream!

      • Jess
        02.03.2021

        How much sour cream would it call for?

  9. Simon
    12.10.2020

    5 stars
    that looks so delicious, curious about it’s taste.

  10. Sara F
    12.09.2020

    5 stars
    I made this today. Mine doesn’t seem as smooth as yours? My cashews were soaked longer and I used my ninja.
    This has great flavor!
    Thank you for sharing!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      12.09.2020

      I’m glad you enjoyed it! It might be the difference in blender – it gets really creamy in the vitamix.

  11. Sabrina from newkitchenlife.com
    12.08.2020

    I’ve missed this dip while avoiding dairy, so what a wonderful cashew swap that makes this work, thank you!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.