Ok, I had to look up the word Crudités the first time I saw it - I always called it "a veggie tray". You know .... with that plastic container of Ranch in the middle? Well now you can toss that tub of nastiness out - and use THIS Vegan French Onion Dip instead - omg...... nom nom nom
Seriously, this tastes just like those envelopes of French Onion Dip mix - only without all the salt, msg, or whatever else they add to their mix.
And instead of using Sour Cream we're going to use Tofu instead, making this recipe not only lower in fat AND 100% Vegan... but also perfect for those Holiday gatherings.
The hardest part of this recipe is caramelizing the onion, which I show you how to do in the video below. It's really very simple but just takes a little bit of time.
The rest of the ingredients go right into the blender. No fuss, no muss.
I will admit - I've tried making this before and it was a complete fail. But THIS time I think the planets were aligned just right
It's THAT good.
So without further ado - I give you my super easy, and super TASTY....Vegan French Onion Dip.
And might I suggest a few plates of my homemade Fat-Free Potato Chips.....you're welcome.
Vegan French Onion Dip
We're going to start with the widest frying pan you have (
Into the
Spread the onions out evenly, and then sprinkle ¾ teaspoon salt over the tops of the onions and walk away for 30 minutes.
Don't stir them, don't touch them, don't add any oil, just let them do their thing. The salt will help draw out the moisture.
Meanwhile, you can drain a 16oz package of Extra-Firm Tofu and toss that into your blender along with 5 teaspoons Lemon Juice, 3 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 teaspoon Vegan Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon of Maple Syrup. This will be our Sour Cream base.
Give that a few pulses to get everything mixed together, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary.
Next, add ⅓ cup of dried Chopped Onions (mine were the Kirkland Brand from Costco), 2 teaspoons Onion Powder, ¼ tsp Celery Seed, ¼ tsp Paprika, ¼ tsp Salt, and a pinch of Black Pepper.
Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides again as needed, and taste for salt. Adjust to your liking.
After our 30 minutes are up with our onions on the stove, give them a stir. They should be beginning to turn nice and brown. And if there's any burned on brown stuff in the pan - (the fond) - we'll add a few splashes of Balsamic Vinegar and scrape that right up mixing it into the onions.
Continue this process of allowing the onions to cook undisturbed for 5-10 minutes at a time, then giving them a stir and scraping up the bottom with water or veg broth until the onions are nice and soft and brown.
Finally - we'll add these caramelized onions directly into our blender and pulse a few times, not only to break up the onions but also to mix it all together.
Don't over blend - or you'll end up with a creamy dip (unless that's what you like) but just enough to bring it all together.
I left mine a little on the chunky side which to me, was absolutely perfect.
Let me know if you make this by leaving a comment below or tagging me on Instagram. Hope you all like it as much as I do!
Happy Holidays!
Vegan French Onion Dip
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 60 min (onion)
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: About 2 cups 1x
- Category: Dip
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: American, Vegan
Description
This Vegan French Onion Dip is perfect for those Holiday Veggie Trays or as a dip to my homemade Potato Chips. No weird ingredients either!
Ingredients
Caramelized Onion
- 1 large Yellow Onion, sliced into rings
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar and/or Veg Broth
Sour Cream Dip
- 16oz package Extra Firm Tofu
- 5 tsp Lemon Juice
- 3 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
- ⅓ cup dried Chopped Onions
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- ¼ tsp Celery Seed
- ¼ tsp Paprika
- ¼ tsp Salt
- Dash of Black Pepper
Instructions
- Slice onion into rings and add to a wide-bottomed frying pan
- Sprinkle ¾ tsp salt over the onion and set the burner heat to medium-low
- Do not add oil, or stir, or otherwise touch the onions for at least 20-30 minutes
- While the onions are slowly cooking, drain tofu and add to blender
- Add lemon juice, vinegar, worcestershire, maple syrup, dried onions, onion powder, celery seed, paprika, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth - stopping to scrape down the sides as needed
- Add salt if needed to taste - but remember the onions have salt too
- After 30 minutes on the stove, stir the onions and add the balsamic (or water/veg broth) to deglaze the pan - 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Scrape up the browned bits on the bottom and stir into the onions
- Allow to cook another 5 or 10 min at a time, then stir, add broth, scrape, repeat until onions are desired color - a deep golden brown
- Add onions to blender and pulse a few times to mix
- Serve with your favorite veggies or chips
Notes
Donna Groden
Made this for New Years eve. It's amazing and tastes just like the onion dip made from dry packets of onion soup and sour cream but so much healthier. Definitely a keeper.
Brenda Schnell
I made this for a veggie platter I took to dinner last night and people had no Idea it was vegan and gobbled it up!
Tracy
Chuck, how does this last in the fridge? Have you tried freezing it? I'm looking for something I can make ahead of time and I'm wondering how this holds up.
Chuck Underwood
I have not tried freezing it....but I know you can freeze Tofu. Just by itself in the fridge it should be ok 3-5 days.
Sue Resig
Couldn't wait to make this recipe, sounded so good! Well, I didn't have extra firm tofu on hand, only silken and the texture turned out fine unless there was a taste difference when you made it, Chuck. But as far as tasting like French Onion Dip, that was definitely not what we got. It's a dip and it's oniony, but the Balsamic vinegar deglazing ruined the flavor for me. I think I will try using white wine to deglaze the pan next time. And, there will be a next time, just need to tweak it for our tastes. HInt: adding the tsp of maple syrup to the pan while carmelizing the onions helps get the onions carmelizing faster. Thanks for the recipe! We ate ours on baked potatoes.
Erik
Looks good, but you might mention that a nonstick skillet should be used. If someone tries this with a stainless steel skillet, they could end up with an unmanageable mess.
Tamara
Try a thick almond milk yogurt with 5 grams of sugar or less and add about 2T or so lemon juice to yogurt
Michele
To funny, I was just thinking how we used to eat Hell of a Good Dip which was a french onion dip and that I would have to look up a recipe and I opened my email and here it is. Can't wait to try it.
PJ
Can you provide a copy able copy of your postings? I often want to save a copy of the recipes, but the constantly changing ads prevent the use of copy-n-paste.
Chuck Underwood
There is a print button that should allow you to "print" a pdf version of each recipe
Tammy
This sounds delicious. But I prefer to avoid soy as much as I can. Is there a sub for the tofu? Maybe white beans?
Amy Allen
Hi Tammy, have you used white beans and if so how did that work for you?
Carolyn
I think the dip would be even easier and creamier if you used silken tofu instead! You don't even have to press/drain it, it's creamier, and I think the "tofu flavor" is more mild. Just an idea!
Chuck Underwood
I tried Silken the first few times I tried to make this - epic fail.
Echo
Why was it a fail? Just curious, did it not hold together or something just wasn't right?
Linda Fletcher
You just threw my whole day into a tizzy. I spent the morning making your potato chips and a queso dip for a get together this afternoon! I just read your email and immediately fell in love with this recipe. I have a problem, though, because I don’t have enough time to make it before I have to leave. But don’t worry. ‘tis the holiday season and I will have more opportunities!!!