For dip fanatics seeking a guilt-free indulgence, this Keto French Onion Dip is a game-changer. Celebrating the holidays or any gathering with loved ones becomes even more special with delicious, diet-friendly food. This recipe delivers a creamy, savory dip bursting with amazing flavors, perfect for serving with low-carb dippers.
Why This Recipe Works
This Keto French Onion Dip recipe takes the familiar flavors of traditional French onion dip and transforms them into a low-carb delight. The key lies in caramelizing the onions to bring out their natural sweetness and using a creamy base of sour cream and cream cheese. The result is a dip that's rich, satisfying, and perfect for those following a ketogenic or low-carb lifestyle.
Key Ingredients and Their Role
- Onions: Yellow onions are the top choice. The star of the show! Caramelizing the onions is key for the dip to turn out. Cooking the onions at least 25 minutes in ghee will get them nice and brown. Take your time when caramelizing the onions. Cook them over medium to low heat to draw out their natural sweetness without burning.
- Sour Cream: The base for this dip is lovely, creamy, tangy, full-fat sour cream. It is recommend to buy sour cream that has one or two ingredients.
- Cream Cheese: Adds richness and creaminess to the dip. When assembling any dip, whether cold or hot, you always want room temperature ingredients. If the cream cheese in this recipe was cold it wouldn’t incorporate into the sour cream smoothly and you would be left with cream cheese chunks .
- Dried Herbs and Spices: Dried chopped onion, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and parsley create that heavenly onion flavor.
- Chives: Add a fresh, herbaceous note to the dip.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Caramelize the Onions: Melt ghee in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions to the butter and cook for 5 minutes, stirring. Then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once carnalized, remove from stove and allow to cool.
- Prepare the Dip Base: Combine sour cream and cream cheese in a mixing bowl, blending well. A hand held mixer can be used instead of a wooden spoon to combine the dip. This will give it more of a whipped texture that is super creamy.
- Add Seasonings: Add chives, parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined, adjusting seasonings as desired.
- Combine and Chill: To a large mixing bowl add all of the ingredients including the caramelized onions. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to combine. Chilling before serving is always recommended for best results. As the dip sits in the fridge, the more flavor it gets!
Low-Carb Dipper Ideas
You can’t serve a dip without dippers. For all your high carb friends and family options are endless, but tortilla chips or pita chips will always do the trick. But what about for us low carbers? Here are some great ideas for dipping:
- Low-Carb Tortilla Chips:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut your low carb tortilla up into triangles and place them onto the baking sheet so they aren’t touching one another.
- Spray both sides with coconut oil spray and bake for 5-7 minutes (watch them because they will burn quickly if left unattended).
- Turn the heat to broil for 1-2 minutes, while keeping an eye on them, for a crispy, browned tortilla chip.
- Serve immediately! With how easy it is to make low carb tortilla chips you have no excuse this holiday season.
- Vegetables: Sliced peppers, cucumbers, or carrots would pair well for a healthy snack.
- Cheese Crisps: Be reasonable! Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Since French onion dip is sour cream-based (dairy) don’t go nuts with the baked cheese chips.
- Pepperoni Chips
- Bacon Chips
- Celery
- Pork rinds
- Joseph’s Lavash Bread: Try baking Joseph’s Lavash Bread, cut into chip-sized pieces, until crispy.
Tips and Variations
- Make Ahead: This dip can be made ahead of time. In fact, it needs to sit for at least an hour for the dried onion to soften and for all of the flavors to come together. The longer it sits, the better it tastes, so feel free to stir it together a few days before serving.
- Storage: Store the dip in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- More Than a Dip: If you have a boring piece of protein that needs more flavor, slap this dip on top. It can also serve as a bomb sauce. Have some leftover dip? Scoop it into a baked potato!
- Adjusting Salt: With regards to salt, you might need to adjust that based on your bone broth. If the broth is salty, use less salt. If not, you might need more.
- Shallots: Admittedly dried shallots verses dried chopped onions and that gave this dip a slightly sweeter taste. Ultimately you should choose whichever dried onion works for your palette.
- Greek Yogurt: For an even healthier spin, you can substitute some or all of the sour cream for plain Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is lower in calories and higher in protein than sour cream. If you’re keto, you’ll want to use the full-fat version.
Addressing Common Questions
- Why is my French onion dip watery? As sour cream sits, the whey from the dairy sometimes puddles on top. This is totally normal, and completely harmless! Simply give the dip a good stir and serve as normal. The liquid will mix right back in.
- Can you freeze French onion dip? No, you should not freeze French onion dip. The dip tends to separate and change texture as it thaws. It's best to store it in the refrigerator instead.
- Should French onion dip be refrigerated? Yes! Since the main ingredient is sour cream, this is one dip you'll want to keep chilled. Don't let it sit out for more than two hours.
- What is the difference between French onion dip and onion dip? Traditionally, French onion dip is made with a packet of dried onion soup mix. This recipe uses ingredients found in that soup mix, without all the unnecessary extra stuff. Onion dips, such as this caramelized onion dip, are delicious, but different. They typically use fresh onions that you cook down until golden and caramelized. There's also often ingredients like mayonnaise and cream cheese that you won't find in French onion dips.
A Healthier Twist on a Classic
When I was a teenager and beginning to take a serious interest in cooking and nutrition, I thought to myself that there must be a way to make my dad's beloved French onion dip more healthy. The ingredient list on the store-bought version was long and complicated. My dad insisted that, to make the dip at home, you had to buy dried onion soup mix. The mix was filled with just as many unpronounceable ingredients as the dip itself, so I thought it was a hopeless business. I tried my hand at making caramelized sweet onion dips. They were delicious, but a completely different flavor than the dip my dad loved. Then, I decided to simplify things and just throw some herbs and spices into sour cream (or your substitute for sour cream). To my surprise, it tasted very close to the pre-packaged dip. My dad even commented on how good it tasted.
All you have to do is stir some dried herbs and spices into sour cream, and you have one of the most delicious healthy snacks. It's a yummy quick-fix game day food to bring to a watch party. Just pull out a bag of potato chips and dive in!
Read also: Delicious Keto Soup
A Word on Whole30
This is a question that is asked a lot by the Whole30 community. “Nut cheeses and dips ARE compliant on the program, with a strong caveat that these should be used with caution, especially if you know you rely on cheese as a comfort or stress-relieving food, OR if cheese is a trigger for other food cravings (like wine or crackers).
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide