Like the one you make with the packet of soup mix, but with no weird chemicals and 1,000 percent tastier. While most dips like this require you to babysit caramelizing onions on the stovetop for what feels like forever, our (relatively) hands-off version lets the oven do most of the work. It's kind of counterintuitive, but you want to keep the onions and garlic in a mound on the sheet pan rather than spreading them out; this allows them to steam and soften without browning too quickly.
All products featured on Bon Appétit are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through the retail links below, we earn an affiliate commission.
What you’ll need
Measuring Cups
$18 At Bon Appétit Market
Measuring Spoons
$10 At Bon Appétit Market
Chef's Knife
$34.53 At Amazon
Cutting Board
$10 At IKEA
Rimmed Baking Sheet
$20 At Bon Appétit Market
Parchment Paper
$3 At Amazon
Spatula
$12.99 At Amazon
Medium Bowl
$17 At Amazon
Platter
$29 At Amazon
Ingredients
4 servings
1½
4
¼
1½
2
1
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400º. Peel and trim ends off 1½ lb. mixed onions. Cut in half lengthwise. Place halves cut side down on cutting board, then thinly slice.
Step 2
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss onion and 4 garlic cloves with ¼ cup oil and 2 Tbsp. water until evenly coated. Season with salt and toss again until well coated. Mound onions and garlic in center of sheet pan rather than spreading them out; this allows them to steam and soften without browning too quickly.
Step 3
Bake, tossing and stirring onions every 10 minutes, until all onions are golden brown and softened, 40–50 minutes total (some onions will brown more than others but that’s okay!). Let cool.
Step 4
Transfer onions and garlic to a cutting board and squeeze out garlic cloves from peel. Using the flat side of a chef’s knife, smash garlic cloves to a paste. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Step 5
Finely chop caramelized onions and transfer to bowl with garlic.
Step 6
Add 1½ cups yogurt and 2 tsp. lemon juice; season with salt and lot of pepper. Stir to combine.
Step 7
Cut 1 bunch radishes in half and arrange on a platter. Sprinkle dip with cayenne pepper. Serve radishes and chips alongside.
How would you rate Slow-Roasted Onion Dip?
Leave a Review
Reviews (28)
Back to Topi've found my forever onion dip recipe. everything about this was perfection. the onions definitely took a lot longer than the recipe stated to get them close to the color in the picture, almost 2 hours. so freaking worth it. i mixed a red, yellow, and sweet onion for this.
alyssa
west long branch, nj
1/20/2022
We always caramelize onions on the grill in a cast iron skillet. Just be very, very careful when removing the screaming hot pan from the grill. A length of black iron pipe slid over the handle works for us. The onions get very brown, very fast, and the oil that they cook in is fantastic, also.
foundrygirl
Seattle, WA
1/1/2022
No. Just no. Those onions in the picture for the dip look anemic and not even what I would call “grilled,” let alone caramelized. I want jammy, sweet (without even adding sugar) onions where you start with a heaping pile and end up with scant little bowlful. I find nothing tedious about making them on the stovetop. I do it on medium heat for the first 10 minutes, covered. And then lower the heat and let them go for almost 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes. Oh, and a bonus tip: making them in a cast iron skillet keeps your pan seasoned and slick as nonstick.
Jacki Gansch
Columbus Ohio
6/13/2021
This looks wonderful and easy, and I do intend to try it, but... I'm looking at this for the 1st time in early June. Think I'll wait until at least Sept before I crank the oven to 400 for 50 mins.
Dan W
Connecticut
6/6/2021
SO good and easy. Highly recommend
liz
Montreal
11/21/2020
I liked this recipe. I did the onions in a dutch oven on the stove top instead of in the oven, and let them go for almost 2 hrs. I feel like they're less work then doing them in the oven, tbh. Added more acid then called for. Will make again!
Anonymous
Philadelphia
10/6/2020
Giddy up good! No alterations to the recipe except added some julienned zucchini and sweet peppers from the garden for dipping. Let it season for a few hours in the fridge. Made it to take to a gathering, about half of it made it there.
Robustogolf
Kingston, Ontario
8/24/2020
Very tasty and easy to make. Onions worked in the oven but did take ~70 minutes. Amped up the lemon as others suggested and added some South African Smoke mix from Trader Joes and old bay for seasonings before letting it hang out in the fridge for a few hours (magic). Sprinkled chili powder and paprika on top to serve.
honeysrirachaplease
Brooklyn
8/22/2020
I enjoyed it, i did 2 tablespoons of lemon and cooked the onions for about an hour. I think the greek yogurt flavor was a little strong.
Anonymous
seattle, wa
6/13/2020
This was so delicious and so easy. I did have a few problems with my onions burning on the tips so I needed to toss more often.
sarahmaeve
Houston
6/4/2020
Mine also turned out quite 'sweet'. I came around to the flavour, but it's definitely not anything like the MSG/salt punch you get from the soup mix kind of dip. Which is totally fine, of course. I roasted my onions and garlic for a bit longer than called for in the recipe until they looked like the gif, so I wouldn't be afraid to go a bit longer if yours still look very blond.
Anonymous
New York
4/22/2020
effin bomb recipe. so simple but so satisfying.
niccsux
Singapore
2/29/2020
Made this for a NYE party, and it was a huge hit. The AirBnb I was in didn't have real knives which was a struggle, but I made it work. Onions didn't get chopped as finely as I would have liked, but it was still pretty great. Served it with Ruffles :)
Anonymous
Columbia, SC
1/11/2020
Love this recipe and just made it for a 2nd time. I've made a couple modifications: 1. Instead of a sheet pan, i'm using a Le Crueset 7"x10" rectangular dish. This keeps the onions piled together, and allows water/oil to stay in place. When I used the sheet pan it spread under the parchment paper and made a big mess. 2. I used 2 cups of yogurt: Fage 5% is great! 3. I increased lemon juice to taste... probably closer to 4/5 tsp Enjoy!
MaineChef123
12/31/2019
This was a game-changing caramelized onion technique for me, but my Trader Joe's yogurt was just too sweet up against the sweet onions. I added a ton of pepper to counter it, but next time I'll do sour cream as the base instead.
alexbeggs
Bon Appétit
12/11/2019
