This vegan French onion dip is rich, creamy, and packed with savory flavor! Made with caramelized onions in a silky dairy-free cashew base, it's great with chips, but good enough to eat with a spoon.
This vegan onion dip is the best onion dip I've ever eaten. And let me tell you: this girl has eaten her share of onion dips!
Onion dip was a favorite of mine as a kid. I kind of lost my taste for it as an adult — most onion dips are kind of overpowering and artificial tasting. But this vegan French onion dip is another story — the flavor is perfectly savory with a touch of sweet, while the texture is creamy and smooth.
Let's talk about how it's made!
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What You'll Need
- Onions. You'll need lots of them! A pound, to be exact. Plain old yellow onions will do.
- Olive oil. You can substitute another high-heat oil if you'd like.
- Organic sugar. Make sure it's organic to keep the recipe vegan
- Raw cashews.
- Garlic.
- Dried thyme.
- Balsamic vinegar. Quality matters here. You want the vinegar to be thick and syrupy, with a bit of sweetness to it.
- Raw cashews. It's important that they're raw. Using roasted cashews will give you something that tastes more like cashew butter than onion dip! They also need to be soaked in water for 4 to 8 hours to soften up.
- Non-dairy milk. Use something unflavored and unsweetened.
- Silken tofu.
- Lemon juice.
- Vegan Worcestershire sauce. Annie's and Edward & Sons brands are both vegan.
- Onion powder.
- Salt & pepper.
- Fresh chives. These are optional, but they make a great topping.
How to Make Vegan Onion Dip
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll down if you'd prefer to skip right to the recipe!
Caramelize the Onions
- Slice your onions super thin and place them in a skillet with the olive oil and a pinch of sugar.
- Give the onions a stir to distribute the ingredients, then place the skillet over low to medium-low heat.
- Slowly cook the onions, giving them a stir every so often. They'll gradually soften and brown. Be patient! The whole process can take about an hour.
- Now raise the heat just a bit and add the garlic and thyme. Cook everything for a minute, then add the balsamic vinegar. Stir it in and cook everything for just a minute more, until most of the liquid reduces.
Blend the Dip
- Drain your soaked cashews and place them into a blender or food processor bowl, along with the non-dairy milk. Blend the cashews and milk to a smooth paste.
- Add the tofu, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and onion powder. Blend everything again until the mixture is smooth. It should be about as thick as sour cream.
- Add the caramelized onions, reserving a few for topping if you'd like.
- Blend everything again until the onions are finely chopped up and incorporated into the mixture. Now season the mixture with salt and pepper before giving it one final blend.
Serve
- Spoon your vegan French onion dip into a bowl and garnish it with a few caramelized onions. I like to top mine with some fresh chives as well! Serve with chips.
Vegan Onion Dip Tips & FAQ
- Is this dip gluten-free? It is!
- Shelf life & storage: Vegan French onion dip will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 4 days.
- Does your dip taste like it's missing something? It's probably salt. Onion dip has a lot of salt in it, so don't be shy!
- Did you forget to soak your cashews? Try boiling them in water for 15 minutes. They won't blend up quite as smooth as if you'd soaked them.
- The caramelized onions can be made ahead of time. Store them in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for 3 months.
More Vegan Dips
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📖 Recipe
Vegan French Onion Dip
This vegan French onion dip is rich, creamy, and packed with savory flavor! Made with caramelized onions in a silky dairy-free cashew base, it's great with chips, but good enough to eat with a spoon.
Servings 16
Calories 102kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Pinch organic sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
- â…“ cup unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk
- ½ cup silken tofu
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Salt, to taste (I used 1 ½ teaspoons)
- Black pepper, to taste (I used ¼ teaspoon)
- Fresh chives, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Place the onions, olive oil and sugar into a large skillet. Stir to coat the onions evenly with the oil.
- Place the skillet over medium-low heat. Slowly cook the onions, stirring occasionally. The onions will soften and slowly brown as they cook, and should take about an hour to completely caramelize.
- Raise the heat to medium and add the garlic and thyme. Cook everything for about 1 minute, continuously stirring, until the garlic becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the balsamic vinegar and continue cooking and stirring everything for about 1 minute, until most of the liquid dries up. Remove the skillet from heat and let the onions cool a bit.
- While the onions cool, place the cashews into a food processor bowl with the milk. Blend to a smooth paste.
- Add the tofu, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and onion powder. Blend again until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the onions to the food processor, reserving about a quarter of the batch for topping, if you'd like. Blend again until the onions are finely chopped and incorporated into the dip.
- Season the dip (generously) with salt and pepper to taste, and blend the mixture one final time.
- Spoon the dip into a bowl and top it with the reserved caramelized onions and chives. Serve with chips.
Notes
Recipe makes about 2 cups.
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Nutrition
Serving: 2tablespoons | Calories: 102kcal | Carbohydrates: 7.6g | Protein: 3.1g | Fat: 7.2g | Saturated Fat: 1.4g | Sodium: 238mg | Potassium: 141mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 2.2g | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg
I can't have soy. Is there anything I can substitute for the tofu?
You could try using non-dairy yogurt, but you'll need to tweak the recipe a bit - I'm thinking it will need less non-dairy milk (or maybe even none at all) and a smidge less lemon juice. I'd try leaving both out and using a scant cup of yogurt, then adding milk and/or lemon juice a bit at a time if needed.
I'm going to try this. How much dip does this recipe make. I might want to make a double batch. Thanks
It makes about 2 cups. Thanks for asking - I just added that info to the recipe notes!
Love the look of this dip, caramelised onions are my fave too. I love your site, the T-rex clutching a carrot is so cool :)
Haha! Thank you! :)
Yum!!!!! I love all things dip. I also love things caramelized onions. So this is a definite, win win!
Caramelized onions are one of my favorites! Thanks Sam. :)