Caramelized Vidalia Onion Dip
Creamy, savory and slightly sweet, this Caramelized Vidalia Onion Dip is a winner for a tailgate, movie night, or simple appetizer anytime with friends. Vidalia onions are a Southern staple and deliciously sweet in their own right. But the addition of a little white wine while caramelizing the onions really brings out their flavor.
All of us have had variations of a simple onion dip with potato chips. Easy peasy and everyone loves it. So why go to the trouble of cooking your own onions rather that dumping a soup mix into some sour cream? Because it takes it to the NEXT LEVEL, that’s why! And also, it is much healthier for you. I do not often cook with prepackaged mixes. Although I admit there is a place for them in a few beloved recipes.
If you have a mandolin, the onion slicing is a breeze. You will definitely want to have super thin slices of onion. You can find a reasonably priced mandolin at Target or on Amazon if you don’t have one. Doesn’t need to be fancy! Well worth the investment, in my opinion. Speaking of onions, if you can’t find vidalia onions, feel free to substitute yellow onions. They will caramelize up fine and the wine will sweeten them up nicely.
Even though you are only using a small amount of wine, always use a decent wine that you would drink. I don’t ever buy cooking wine or cooking sherry. Additionally, if there is ever any small amount of wine left in a bottle, I just freeze it in 1/4 cup portions or in ice cube trays. That way I always have wine for recipes on hand.
This Caramelized Vidalia Onion Dip is truly a crowd pleaser and can be served with any kind of chip, veggie sticks, or pita chips. It is an elevated take on the simple onion dip. So good!
Caramelized Vidalia Onion Dip
Ingredients
- 3-4 large vidalia onions
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp chicken base
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 16 ounces sour cream
- 1/4 cup fresh parsely chopped
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
- Peel the vidalia onions and slice very thinly, using a mandolin.
- Melt butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sprinkle with kosher salt, white pepper, and red pepper flakes. Saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in chicken base.
- After about 15 minutes, pour just a bit of the wine into the skillet and let it cook down/evaporate. Stir and add a bit more wine to the skillet; continue adding wine in small amounts until all the wine is used up. I stir constantly with a wooden spoon, breaking the onion into tiny pieces. After a total cooking time of about 30 minutes, the onions should be soft and light brown. Turn stove off.
- Add the cream cheese into the warm skillet so that it melts into the onion. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the sour cream and the worcestershire sauce with the fresh parsley, reserving a bit of the parsley for garnish.
- Pour the onion mixture into the sour cream mixture and stir well. Put into serving bowl. Let chill for about 30 minutes or so. When ready to serve, sprinkle fresh parsley and the smoked paprika on top. Serve with chips. Enjoy!