Caramelized Onion Dip Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients in good foods caramelized onion dip? ›

Rbst-free Low-fat Greek Yogurt (pasteurized Grade A Skim Milk, Milk Protein Concentrate, Cream, Pectin, Enzymes, Live Active Cultures), Caramelized Onions, Mayonnaise (canola Oil, Egg Yolks, Lemon Juice, White Wine Vinegar, Water, Mustard Powder), Dehydrated Onions, Raw Cane Sugar, Garlic, Sea Salt, Onion Powder, Black ...

While you can start the cooking process at medium heat, low and slow is the name of the game when it comes to caramelizing onions. Once your onions begin to soften and take on a golden hue, you'll want to reduce the heat from medium to medium-low or even low for the remainder of the cooking process.

Depending on the consistency you want your onions, you can use more or less fat. Just cover the bottom of your pan for jammy, soft caramelized onions, or add a little more for more structured, slightly charred caramelized onions. The more fat in the pan, the more the onions will fry rather than soften.

Our Test Kitchen likes to use butter when caramelizing onions, as it offers the richest flavor. If you avoid dairy or don't have butter, you can caramelize onions in other fat such as margarine or olive oil. Add the onion slices. It's okay if they overlap a bit here because they'll shrink as they cook down.

Salt. While not strictly necessary, this adds flavor to the caramelized onions. Liquid. Water, chicken broth, vegetable broth, or a dry white wine will work well here, with the latter obviously yielding more flavor to the end result.

Cooking instructions

Caramelize the onions: Heat about 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the onions and stir to coat. Let cook, stirring every 5-10 minutes, until deeply caramelized, about 1 ½ - 2 hours.

You'll see some people add sugar to the recipe, which is done to speed it up. Doing this is caramelising the sugar, not the onion. The onions get plenty sweet enough on their own if you take your time with it. From a health perspective it's much better not to add extra sugar.

It's our most popular flavor because it combines a creamy, smooth texture with just the right balance of French Onion flavor.

Tip: use apple cider vinegar for white and yellow onions and balsamic vinegar for red onions. Tip: the vinegar serves to deglaze the pan, adds acidity, and brings this recipe together by boosting the tangy and savory flavors of the caramelized onions. If the onions stick to the pan, that's fine.

If you cover the pan, you'll trap steam, which will speed up their softening, heat them more quickly, and help release their liquid more quickly. Lift the lid a few times during this stage to give them a stir and make sure nothing is browning yet.

Why add baking soda to caramelize onions? ›

In addition to water, we have another secret ingredient: baking soda. We often turn to it to speed browning, since it creates a high-pH environment, which allows caramelization to occur more readily. Baking soda is also handy for softening vegetables because altering the pH helps weaken their cell structure.

Around 30 Minutes: Onions should be light blonde in color and starting to become jammy. More fond is starting to build up, but it should still be fairly easy to scrape it up with the evaporating liquid from the onions. Around 40 Minutes: Onions are golden and starting to smell very caramelized.

Like I mentioned above, we want to get rid of all the water in the onions to allow for browning to take place. But once the onions do start to brown, water can be your best friend! Adding water periodically into the pan while caramelizing your onions will prevent burning.

Onions are naturally sweet; and as caramel comes from the simple cooking of sugar when you slowly cook onions over an extended period of time, the natural sugars in the onions caramelize, making the result intensely and wonderfully flavorful.

Made on the stove with butter, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk, it's the perfect consistency for dipping pretzels and apples. I have a few favorite fall recipes that I always make for fun fall parties and events: apple cider, my favorite apple cheese board, and this Caramel Dip.

I wasn't new to Trader Joe's vegan caramelized-onion dip when I sampled it for this taste test but after trying it again, I was reminded of why it's my go-to for parties. It's absolutely delightful.