This vegan onion dip is creamy and rich, smoky and caramelized and super easy to make. Divine served with chips.
This vegan onion dip is total caramelized perfection!
It’s also a total breeze to throw together and this plus chips will send you straight to snack heaven! And let’s be real, everyone wants to go to snack heaven.
The secret to this onion dip is enough onions, well duh! But the first time we tried it we only used 1 onion chopped up, and we used a higher proportion of cashew nuts, it was definitely tasty, but was more like an onion flavored cashew dip than an onion dip.
So we had to remedy that situation and did so by doubling the onion, so.. two onions and we reduced the cashew nuts, added in some vegan mayo and that was the magic formula!
How To Make Vegan Onion Dip
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
The onions are beautifully smoky and perfectly caramelized by cooking with some garlic and rosemary in olive oil until soft.
Then paprika, liquid smoke, maple syrup and soy sauce are added and that salty and sweet spicy blend caramelizes the onions to absolute perfection.
Then you simply add roughly two thirds of the cooked onions to a blender jug along with cashews, vegan mayonnaise, water and lemon juice.
Blend until smooth.
Transfer to a serving dish. Stir in the remaining ⅓ of the cooked onions, reserving a few pieces for decorating the top.
Serve with lots of chips for a seriously enjoyable snack!
Storing Instructions
It does keep well in the fridge (covered) for around 3-4 days, some separation may occur, just stir it up again and enjoy.
More Delicious Vegan Dips
- Roasted Garlic Hummus
- Sun Dried Tomato Cashew Cheese
- Vegan Spinach Dip
- Eggplant Dip
- Vegan French Onion Dip
- Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Onion Dip
Ingredients
- 2 Medium Onions White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoon Crushed Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Dried Rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon Paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon Liquid Smoke
- 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- ¼ cup Cashews (38g)
- ¼ cup Vegan Mayonnaise (63g)
- 1 Tablespoon Water
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Add the onions, garlic and rosemary to a pan with the olive oil and fry until softened. Then add the paprika, liquid smoke, maple syrup and soy sauce and continue to fry until the onions are golden brown, sticky and fragrant.
- Add roughly two thirds of the cooked onions to the blender jug along with the cashews, vegan mayonnaise, water and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Transfer to a serving dish. Stir in the remaining cooked onions, reserving a few pieces for decorating the top.
- Serve with chips!
Video
Notes
- Gluten free. Use a gluten-free soy sauce or switch for tamari if you want to make this dip gluten-free.
- Storing. It keeps well in the fridge (covered) for around 3-4 days, some separation may occur, just stir it up again and enjoy.
I can’t get Liquid Smoke, is 1/8 tsp of smoke paprika going to work the same?
Thanks, I love all your recipes.
Hi Kathy, yes sure that will work fine! 🙂
Delicious but… too sweet. I like a savory flavor for onion dip. I might try it again but only add 2 teaspoons of maple syrup instead of 2 tablespoons. Again delicious but not sure how I will use it, maybe just get a spoon and have dessert.
Hi Susan! Thanks for the feedback! I don’t find it too sweet at all, but of course tastes differ and I think it would work just as well with 2 tsp of maple like you say! 🙂
This is delicious! I can’t make this very often because I ate all of it over 3 days.
Haha that’s awesome! Thanks so much Kim! 🙂
Can you freeze this dip? Looks amazing!
Hi Lisa, yes I think it would be fine to freeze! It also lasts 3-4 days in the fridge. 🙂
I made this today for the Super Bowl. I cannot stress enough how good this is and how hard it was for me not to eat the entire bowl before my guests arrive! Tons of flavor and super easy to make! I put less rosemary by choice because I’m not a fan and added pickled jalapeños to the blender (because it’s Texas) for a nice kick and it turned out divine! This recipe is going in the forever rotation for sure! Thank you for a winner!
Yay! So happy to hear that Susan. Thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
Wonderful recipe. I made it yesterday….ate it all and now I’m making it again! Thanks!
Awesome! Thanks Karen! 🙂
Can I use white onions?
Sure! 🙂
Hello! What does the liquid smoke do? Can it be made without?
It adds a really delicious smoky flavor. You can use smoked paprika instead of regular paprika and then just leave out the liquid smoke, it will have a very similar effect. 🙂
This dip recipe is on my every weekend dip recipe list. Its so good!!!
I’ve eaten wwaaayyyy too many chips since discovering this recipe. So good- super easy. Thank you for sharing!
Haha, that’s fantastic! Thanks so much for the great review Colleen! 🙂
do you serve this cold or warm? great recipes! thx for sharing
Cold is fine. 🙂
Delicious!!! Will be making this for Thanksgiving. I added some chopped frozen spinach to see how it would taste and it is FANTASTIC!
(I found you on instagram – delighted to meet you!)
So glad it was good. I would never have thought of spinach as an addition to this, so glad it was delicious! Delighted to meet you too! 🙂
I’m trying to transition from vegetarian to vegan- thanks for this wonderful recipe. Pinning and will try- thanks
That’s so cool, hope you enjoy every bit of the transition, you have a wonderful food adventure ahead of you that’s for sure! So much fun! So glad you like this recipe, hope you’ll find many more here that will help you with transitioning. All the best! 🙂
Creamy and smoky flavourful dip!
Looks really good but one question:
did you soak or cook the cashews before adding them
No we didn’t – just add them in, no soaking required.