Deep-Caramelized French Onion Dip with Frizzled Shallots

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The dip that soup-mix versions are only pretending to be: three pounds of yellow onions cooked down for nearly an hour until they're mahogany and jammy, deglazed with sherry vinegar, then folded into a tangy sour cream and cream cheese base. A crown of crisp frizzled shallots gives every scoop the crunch a potato chip can't deliver on its own. Make it a day ahead — it only gets better.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola
• 3 lb yellow onions (about 4 large), halved and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups full-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp finely sliced chives, plus more for serving
• kosher salt, to taste

• 2 large shallots, sliced into very thin rings
• 1/2 cup neutral oil, for frying
• flaky sea salt

• thick-cut ridged potato chips, crackers, or crudités

Instructions

1. Melt the butter with 1 tablespoon oil in a wide 12-inch skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add all the sliced onions — the pan will look absurdly full — along with the salt and sugar. Toss to coat and cook, stirring every couple of minutes, for 10 minutes, until the onions collapse to about half their volume and release their liquid.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring every 4 to 5 minutes and scraping the browned film off the bottom of the pan as it forms, for 40 to 45 minutes. The onions should be uniformly deep mahogany, glossy, and reduced to about 1 1/4 cups. If they threaten to scorch, add 2 tablespoons of water and keep going.
3. Stir in the minced garlic and thyme and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant. Add the sherry vinegar and Worcestershire and stir, scraping constantly, until the liquid has fully evaporated and the onions look jammy, about 1 minute. Scrape everything onto a plate and spread it out to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
4. While the onions cool, fry the shallots: combine the shallot rings and 1/2 cup oil in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, for 8 to 12 minutes — the oil will bubble vigorously, then quiet down as the shallots turn pale gold. Pull them out with a slotted spoon the moment they're light golden (they darken off the heat) and drain on a paper towel. Season immediately with flaky salt.
5. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with a rubber spatula or hand mixer until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sour cream and mayonnaise and stir until no lumps remain, then mix in the onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper.
6. Roughly chop the cooled onions so no strand is longer than about an inch, then fold them into the base along with the chives. Taste and add kosher salt — usually about 1/2 teaspoon — plus a few drops more sherry vinegar if it needs lift.
7. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, ideally overnight, so the onion flavor spreads through the dairy. Let it sit out 15 minutes before serving, then transfer to a shallow bowl, pile the frizzled shallots on top with extra chives, and serve with ridged potato chips.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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