With an enviable cheese pull and a creamy dreamy consistency that is to die for, you’d never guess this Hot Onion Dip With Cream Cheese is made with just 5 simple ingredients and 10 minutes of prep. Oh, and put down that packet of dried French onion soup — this homemade onion dip is the real deal.

Why We Love This Recipe

Here in the Cream Cheese & Lemon Squeeze kitchen, we’re all about simple recipes that deliver big flavor without a bunch of fuss. This delightfully cheesy hot onion dip recipe is a longtime favorite for just that reason. 

Aside from being sinfully delicious, our cream cheese onion dip is:

• Quick & Easy – Slice your onions, mix with cheese and mayo, dust with even more cheese, then bake. It’ll only take you 10 minutes of active prep time, tops.
• Made With Only 5 Ingredients – And not a single one of them is a bag of freeze-dried soup mix.
• Rich & Creamy – That’s what you get when you mix 3 types of cheese and mayo. 🤷‍♀️
• Meal-Prep & Freezer-Friendly – While this easy onion dip is easy enough to throw together last-minute, all of you planners out there can rest easy knowing that it can also be made well in advance of your party.

Ingredients & Substitutions

As we promised, you only need a handful of simple ingredients to make this onion cheese dip. Here’s your whole shopping list:

• Vidalia Onion – These sweet yellow onions are relatively local to us here on the coast. Feel free to swap in any sweet onion variety (e.g. Maui or Walla Walla) that you can find near you.
• Swiss Cheese – This sweet, nutty cheese makes a lovely pair with the sweetness of the onions. In a pinch, you can swap in fontina or sharp white cheddar. Also, note that certain varieties like Gruyere and Vacherin are particular types of Swiss cheese even if they aren’t marked as such. 🤓
• Mayonnaise – We are partial to Hellman’s (a.k.a. Best Foods on the West Coast), but any high-quality mayo like Duke’s or Blue Plate will also work great!
• Cream Cheese – We’re fans of full-fat dairy over here, but feel free to swap in Neufchatel cheese if you want to save on a few calories.
• Parmesan Cheese – Parmesan is nutty, salty, and an absolutely gorgeous topper for this vidalia onion dip.

What’s the difference between yellow onions and Vidalia onions?

Yellow onions can be either sweet or regular. Vidalia onions are a specific type of sweet yellow onion that can only be grown in a particular growing area in Georgia. 

That’s right, folks! Just the way champagne has to be made in a certain region in France to be called champagne, Vidalia onions have to be grown in a certain region of the Southern United States. As such, we’ve personally dubbed them “champagne onions” because they truly are the best. 😉

How To Make Onion Dip

A batch of this naturally gluten-free onion dip baked to golden perfection will be ready in under an hour, with only 10 minutes of active kitchen time. Here’s how it’s made:

Step 1: Prep. Preheat the oven to 400F. Coat a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Peel and slice the onions.

Step 2: Mix the first 4 ingredients (everything but the parmesan) until well combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish.

Step 3: Top the vidalia onion dip with a generous dusting of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Step 4: Bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly. 

Step 5: Serve the melty swiss cheese dip with crusty bread, your favorite crackers, or fresh veggies. Enjoy!

Optional Variations

While we love this swiss cheese onion dip just the way it is, there is always room for you to make customizations to any recipe to fit your dietary needs and preferences. Here are a few variations we haven’t personally tried, but that we think should work:

• Dairy-Free Onion Dip – Swap the Swiss cheese, parmesan cheese, and cream cheese for plant-based substitutes.
• Vegan Onion Dip – Follow the instructions for dairy-free dip and also make sure to use vegan mayonnaise.

Expert Tips

• Pop your onions in the freezer for about 15 minutes before starting to slice them. The cold helps to prevent the fumes that make your eyes water from spreading.
• Grate your own cheese. 
• Let the baked onion dip cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving. Take it from us — all that melty cheese is like napalm on the roof of your mouth!
• Get a jumpstart on entertaining by assembling the dip up through step 3, then covering and refrigerating it for up to 5 days or freezing it for up to 3 months. 

FAQs

More Dip/Easy Appetizer Recipes

• The Ultimate Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe
• Mouthwatering Corn Dip: An Easy and Flavorful Recipe
• Shrimp Cucumber Roll-Ups
• Pomme Duchesse: A Swirl of Delight

If y’all tried this sumptuous recipe for Vidalia Onion Dip with Swiss Cheese, holler and let us know how it turned out for you by giving us a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and commenting below. You can also always feel free to tag us (@creamcheeseandlemonsqueeze) in your social media posts so we can cheer you on.

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XO,

Anna & Ashley