Vegan Caramelized Onion Dip

Name: Vegan Caramelized Onion Dip
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 medium yellow onions, sliced thinly; 2 tbsp vegan butter; 1 1/2 tsp salt; 1 tsp sugar; 1/4 cup white wine (optional); 12 oz vegan sour cream, softened at room temp; 10 oz vegan cream cheese, softened at room temp; 1/4 cup chopped chives; 1 tsp garlic powder; Salt and pepper to taste

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This vegan caramelized onion dip is the creamy, savory, addictive dip you need in your life! Perfect for game day or a holiday appetizer, it's sure to be a crowd pleaser.

overhead view of vegan caramelized onion dip on a platter with chips and vegetables.

Why we love this recipe

Perfect for entertaining: this is the ideal dip for you Super Bowl (or any game day) party! It's also great for the holidays or as an appetizer for any occasion.
Easy to make: the caramelized onions take a bit of patience, but once they're ready, this vegan onion dip comes together in less than 5 minutes.
SO, so good. This is seriously one of my all-time favorite dips. (You can thank my midwestern roots!) I actually don't make it too often because I can't help myself from eating the whole batch in one sitting 😉

Ingredients

Here are the key ingredients you'll need to make this perfect creamy vegan onion dip:

Yellow onions (plus a whole lot of patience to wait for them to caramelize)
Vegan cream cheese and sour cream
Chives

Ingredient Notes

Onions: technically any variety of onion is great for caramelizing, but yellow and sweet onions work particularly well. You can also use shallots if desired, but they are typically smaller so you'll need to add more to the recipe.
Vegan cream cheese: just about any brand will do, but we particularly love VioLife, Daiya and Kitehill. Be sure to soften at room temperature before adding to this dip.
Vegan sour cream: same as the cream cheese - any brand will do, but we typically use either Tofutti, Kitehill or Forager.
Chives: You can substitute with parsley or finely chopped green onion.
White wine: we use a few splashes of white wine in our caramelized onions to deglaze the pan and deepen the flavor. This is optional; you can also use vegetable broth or even a splash of water to deglaze. (But if you do have some wine on hand, try it! It adds so much flavor.)
Sugar: a small amount (1 tsp) of sugar helps the onions caramelize. Feel free to leave it out if desired, or sub with coconut sugar or brown sugar.

close up view of caramelized onion dip in a bowl with chips.

Directions

How to caramelize onions

The key to perfect caramelized onions = PATIENCE.

Caramelized onions are actually quite simple to make, but if you rush the process with high heat, they'll definitely burn. Here's how we make them:

photo grid of caramelized onions from start of cooking process to finish.

Step 1: Prep the onions

Slice off each end of the onion, then slice the onion in half from root to tip. Place the onion flat side down on a cutting board, then slice very thinly from root to tip.

Repeat with all onions – you'll need 3 medium to large yellow onions to make enough caramelized onions for this dip.

NOTE: it will look like a LOT when you start, but they cook down significantly.

Step 2: Start cooking process

Start by adding some butter (vegan in this recipe) or oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add in all of the onions. Reduce heat to medium-low.

Stir well every 30-60 seconds or so until the onions start to soften and slightly darken in color.

Step 3: Add salt and sugar

At this point, add the salt and sugar and stir well. A small amount of sugar helps the onions caramelize. Reduce heat to low.

Step 4-6: Deglaze, stir and wait!

We use white wine to deglaze the pan, which keeps the onions from drying out and burning. Every 5-10 minutes, add a splash (about 1 tbsp) of wine to the pan and stir well.

Keep the heat on low for the rest of the cooking process and stir every few minutes. It's a slow process, but after about 45 minutes (total), the onions will be perfectly golden brown and caramelized!

close up of caramelized onions in a bowl.

How to make vegan onion dip

Once the onions are caramelized, transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop so you don't have any huge pieces of onion in the dip.

Add to a mixing bowl with softened cream cheese, sour cream, chives, garlic powder, pepper and more salt (to taste).

Stir well or use a hand mixer to incorporate. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

overhead view of two photos of vegan onion dip before and after combining ingredients in a bowl.

Expert Tips and FAQs

Make sure to let the vegan cream cheese and sour cream soften at room temperature before making this dip. If they're too cold, it will be hard to mix and you'll end up with lumps. Take them out of the fridge as soon as you start the caramelized onions and they should be perfect by the time the dip is ready to assemble.
For best results, we suggest chilling this dip for at least an hour (or up to overnight) before serving. It tastes better cold, and this also helps the flavors meld together. You can can even make the dip up to a few days ahead of time!
Storage: this vegan caramelized onion dip will last for 5-7 days in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

What should you serve with vegan caramelized onion dip?

Chips. Always chips. The saltiness and crunch is so perfect with this creamy, savory dip!

But for balance, we also love to serve it up with some crunchy fresh vegetables, like carrots, radish, cucumber and celery.

How do you speed up the caramelization process?

The short answer: you can't. You can certainly cook your onions on higher heat for a shorter amount of time, but they won't have that deep, sweet, delicious caramel-y flavor.

That being said, you can certainly make caramelized onions ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator for quick use. They typically last for 4-5 days, so prep accordingly.

How do you make caramelized onions without burning them?

As long as you keep the heat low, take your time and stir every few minutes, you shouldn't have any issues! The most common cause of burning is (not surprisingly) too high heat.

If your onions are drying out a lot as they cook, add more liquid to the pan to keep them moist.

More vegan dip recipes

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