This creamy, savory Vegan French Onion Dip is the perfect appetizer to make for game day, to bring to a party, or just a really tasty addition to weekday snacking. It's made with golden caramelized onions and homemade vegan sour cream for a plant-based take on the classic dip!
Do you guys go all out for big football games? You know me--I'm all about the food! I love having lots of yummy options out on the table, and this year I decided to do a Vegan French Onion Dip. It's a classic dip recipe made with plant-based ingredients that uses my Caramelized Onions and Vegan Sour Cream to create one of the most delicious dips I've ever had. It's perfect for game day or as a party appetizer, but so good and easy that I'll be making it for afternoon snacks from here on out!
Like I always do when preparing a new recipe, I went to Sprouts for all plant-based ingredients. They always have everything I need...and usually a few other goodies that I can't resist as well! I can find vegan alternatives to any ingredient, which is so important to me. This recipe uses a batch of my Vegan Sour Cream, which is made from raw, unsalted cashews. I find these in the Sprouts bulk bins and can buy exactly as much as I need...or enough to stock my pantry for a couple weeks! This is a really affordable way to load up on my go-to ingredients and I always take advantage when I'm there.
Caramelizing Onions for Vegan French Onion Dip
The most time-consuming part of this recipe is caramelizing your onions to perfection! This isn't difficult, it just requires a little time next to the stovetop while the onions turn a beautiful golden brown and become naturally sweet. Trust me when I say it's worth the wait! Turn on a podcast or some tunes and wait for your onions to caramelize. This is what makes this dip so special! Any leftover caramelized onions can be used on burgers, tacos, pizza, bowls...everywhere! They're SO tasty!
Vegan Sour Cream for French Onion Dip
The main ingredient in classic French Onion Dip is sour cream! This means that most dairy-free folks have to skip on it, which is such a shame because French Onion Dip is SO GOOD and totally addicting. Great news, friends: I have a Vegan Sour Cream recipe that's so good, most people who try it can't tell the difference. Cross my heart! It's made with just a couple ingredients (cashews for creaminess, lemon and apple cider vinegar for tang, and a little salt and water) and makes this dip perfectly creamy. Bonus: you can use it on any other dish that calls for a little sour cream! I almost always have some of this Vegan Sour Cream in my fridge.
What to Serve with Vegan French Onion Dip
Despite being tempted to eat this dip with a spoon, it's even better with some veggies, chips, or crackers! Try...
- Easy Homemade Almond Flour Crackers
- Grain-free tortilla chips or potato chips (I'm always able to find great options at Sprouts! I especially love the brand Siete for tortilla chips.)
- Sliced carrots, bell peppers, celery, cucumbers, broccoli...pretty much any veggie!
- Easy Homemade Seed Crackers
- I love to add color with garnishes! Around the holidays, I sprinkle pomegranates on top with the chives for a really beautiful texture and variety with some holiday colors.
More Game Day Dips & Snacks
All of these recipes are vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, peanut-free and refined sugar-free. I hope you'll tag me on Instagram if you make one; I love seeing your yummy snacks and treats! You can also leave a review below this recipe to let me know how it turns out and help other home cooks along the way.
- Sheet Pan Vegan Nachos
- Spicy Vegan Black Bean Soup
- Quick & Easy Creamy Hummus
- Mini Peppers Stuffed with Roasted Sweet Pepper Hummus
- Creamy Vegan Black Bean Dip
- My Favorite Guacamole Ever
- Crispy Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- My Favorite Chili
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- Mini Hasselback Potatoes
- Baked Crispy Cauliflower Poppers (Vegan & Gluten-Free)
- Vegan Sweet Potato Quinoa Tots
- Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
Vegan French Onion Dip
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This creamy, savory Vegan French Onion Dip is the perfect appetizer to make for game day, to bring to a party, or just a really tasty addition to weekday snacking. It's made with golden caramelized onions and homemade vegan sour cream for a plant-based take on the classic dip!
Ingredients
Make in advance if possible:
- 1 batch Vegan Sour Cream* (or 1 ¼ cup store-bought dairy-free sour cream)
- 1 batch Caramelized Onions (about ¾ cup which is from 1 large yellow onion)**
Garnish Ideas:
- fresh chives, chopped (or sub green onion or flat leaf parsley)
- diced caramelized onions (reserved from above)
- pomegranate arils for a festive holiday appetizer (1 cup for the dip and ¼ cup for garnish)
Serve with:
- potato chips (or pita chips or crackers)
- crostini/flatbread
- raw veggies/crudités
- baked potato or homemade baked potato fries or baked sweet potato fries
Instructions
- Add vegan sour cream to a large mixing bowl.
- Roughly chop the caramelized onions. Fold in the chopped and cooled caramelized onions. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. For best results, refrigerate 8 hours or overnight to allow the flavor of the caramelized onions to infuse the vegan sour cream.
- Before serving give it a good stir. The white sour cream will become golden brown since the caramelized onions start to "marinate" in it. This is a good thing! Transfer the dip to a serving bowl. Fold in 1 cup of the pomegranate seeds if using. Garnish with freshly chopped chive, more pomegranate seeds and reserved diced caramelized onions if desired.
- Serve with potato chips, crostini and/or freshly sliced raw veggies/crudités.
- Store leftover dip in an airtight container for up to five days.
Notes
* For best results make the Vegan Sour Cream eight hours in advance. This allows the sour cream to chill (it gets hot from blending as it is made). Refrigerating also allows time for the sour cream to thicken up. To make the vegan sour cream you will need to soak the cashews in advance so be sure to allow time for that as well. Learn more about How (and Why!) to Soak Cashews in this post.
** Allow the onions to cool slightly before adding to the dip. For faster caramelized onions you can finely dice the onion before cooking and they will cook faster than if sliced (about 30 minutes instead of an hour minutes). See my post on how to caramelize onions for directions. For this recipe you want the caramelized onions golden brown (but not black or burnt) and crispy. Allow them to cool to room temperature before chopping so that they crispy up nicely.
This dip is best the day after it is mixed together as it allows the flavor of the caramelized onion to infuse into the sour cream more. When this happens the dip will turn from white to golden brown.
- Prep Time: 5
Keywords: Vegan French Onion Dip
This post is sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market. All opinions are my own.
Sara says
SO. GOOD!!!!! WOW!!!!!! This will be on REPEAT!!! I even substituted the raw cashews for slivered almonds (another thing I learned from Eating By Elaine!) because it was all I had and it WAS PHENOMENAL!!!
Elaine Gordon says
Aw thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear that substitution worked here. Raw macadamia nuts can sometimes work too!