Caramelized Onion, Bacon and Gruyere Dip

You won't be able to stop snacking on this caramelized onion, bacon, and gruyere dip. The combination of sweet, salty, savory, and cheesy is unbeatable!

Ingredients

• Bacon: adds a rich, savory flavor and a crispy texture to the dip. Its smoky and salty profile enhances the overall taste, providing a delicious contrast to the sweetness of the caramelized onions. The rendered bacon fat can also be used to sauté the onions, further infusing the dip with flavor.
• Onions:  Essential for creating the dip's base flavor. When caramelized, they develop a sweet and rich taste. Use yellow onions or sweet onions such as Vidalia or Walla Walla for the best result.
• Mayonnaise: Provides creaminess and moisture to the dip, helping to bind all ingredients together.
• Sour cream: Adds a tangy flavor and creamy texture.
• Gruyere: Gruyere cheese is key for its nutty and slightly sweet flavor, which melts beautifully into the dip.
• Chives: Provide a fresh, mild onion flavor that brightens up the dip.

Substitutions and variations

• Cheese: You can use mozzarella, cheddar, Emmental, or Jarlsberg as alternatives to gruyere.
• Vegetarian: Omit the bacon or use vegetarian bacon.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Caramelize onions

The most difficult step in preparing this caramelized onion bacon and gruyere dip is making the caramelized onions. Properly caramelizing onions takes at least 20 minutes. You want to slowly cook the onions over medium-low heat to prevent them from burning while still breaking down the natural sugars to create caramelized onions.

Start by heating a touch of oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute, stirring occasionally. Monitor the heat on your stovetop, lowering the heat as needed. If you notice the pan drying out, add a little bit of water to the onions. If the onion starts to burn, reduce the heat.

Make sure to stir occasionally while the onions are cooking, but not too often that the onions are constantly moving. Stirring too frequently won't give the onions enough time with the heat of the pan, which means it will take longer for them to properly caramelize.

About halfway through, the onions will start to brown. As the onions become darker, stir more frequently until they reach a deep brown color.

Step 2: Bake dip

Once the onions are cooked, mix all the ingredients and transfer them to a baking dish. Sprinkle a little extra gruyere on top and bake until the cheese is lightly browned.

If preparing this dish ahead of time, you can chill the dip until you're ready to bake. I recommend waiting until you're ready to serve to bake it since the dip is best fresh out of the oven.

I thoroughly enjoyed this caramelized onion, bacon, and gruyere dip. The sweet onions with the salty bacon and the creamy texture of the cheese spread is a wonderful combination. I had mine with crostini, whole wheat baguette, and even tortilla chips, all appropriate dipping sides!

If your guests are heavy dippers, I recommend making a large batch because this dip is addicting. Trust me, if they like the dip as much as I did (which I'm sure they will) you'll need a big portion!

Make-ahead and storage

• Make-ahead: You can prepare the dip mixture up to a day in advance and refrigerate. Bake just before serving.
• Store: Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven before serving.

Frequently asked questions

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Recipe

Print Recipe

Caramelized Onion, Bacon and Gruyere Dip

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pork

Servings: 8

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

• 3 slices thick bacon
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 cups onion thinly sliced
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup shredded gruyere cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place bacon on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes or until crispy. Cut into small chunks.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add sliced onions and saute until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook until onions are caramelized, about 15 more minutes. If the pan becomes too dry, add a couple tablespoons of water. Remove onions from heat and cool.
• Mix together onions with bacon, mayonnaise, sour cream, ¼ cup gruyere, chives, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Pour dip mixture into a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle ¼ cup gruyere on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Serve warm with chips, crostini or crudite.

Notes

You can prepare the dip ahead of time and bake it before serving.