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    Home » Recipes » Sides & Appetizers

    Published: Jun 30, 2017 · Modified: Dec 19, 2020 by Melanie McDonald · This post contains affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 28 Comments

    Creamy Vegan Onion Garlic Dip

    GO TO RECIPE PRINT RECIPE
    4.89 from 9 votes

    A deliciously cool, creamy & nut-free Vegan Onion Garlic Dip. Full of sweet roasted garlic & caramelized onion flavour & perfect for your next party!

    Tortilla chip being dipped into a bowl of creamy Onion Garlic Dip

    You guys, I've made you a dip just in time for your summer parties! In Canada we have our 150th birthday to celebrate this weekend, then, a few days later, our U.S friends celebrate the Fourth of July.  Partying a-plenty, drinks a-flowing, and you know what happens then? The munchies. Without fail. So keep your guests (and yourself) happy by making a big bowl of deliciously Creamy Onion Garlic Dip and surround it with your favourite dippers. Some curry hummus would be pretty awesome too!

    I am thinking tortilla chips, breadsticks, raw veggie sticks and warm homemade pita bread.????

    NUT-FREE CREAMY ONION GARLIC DIP

    Unlike a lot of vegan dips, this Creamy Onion Garlic Dip is nut-free. Rather than use cashew nuts to make a creamy sauce, I have used silken tofu instead.

    I have many vegan tofu recipes, and have used tofu to make smooth, creamy sauces many times, like my Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce, but I had never used it to make a dip until now.

    It's a basically flavourless base, but because we want the garlic and onion flavours to shine with no distractions it is just perfect.

    And those flavours really do shine.☀️ We're talking garlic roasted in the oven until it's super soft and sweet. Slowly, and I mean really slowly, caramelizing the onions, then blending them all up with the silky soft tofu, a touch of thyme (plus a few other things) until we have garlicky oniony dip heaven. A pile of crispy caramelized onions finishes it all off rather nicely.

    Creamy onion garlic dip topped with caramelized onions and surrounded by tortilla chips

    The trick to getting the very best possible flavour is slow cooking the onions. It makes them super soft and sweet with a deep golden colour and I can't stress enough how important it is.  Their golden strings are literally packed with flavour by the time you have finished. The same with the garlic. Roasting it in the oven changes garlic so much. It loses it's pungency and becomes mellow and sweet with a texture almost like soft butter.

    Totally off track but if you are ever in need of a really yummy snack, roast a whole head of garlic as per my instructions here, squeeze it gently from it's papery skins, and spread it on crusty toasted bread. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and devour. It's seriously amazing!

    creamy onion garlic dip close up shot with caramelized onions on top

    Now back to the Creamy Onion Garlic Dip which, after all, is why we are here. If you give it a try let me know what you think in the comments below and share your pics on Instagram. Use my hashtag #avirtualvegan so I won't miss it.

    Ok, so you've got this dip thing right?

    Good, because all this talk of dip has made me hungry.  I'm ready for a snack and have a bag of tortilla chips and a half-eaten tub of Creamy Onion Garlic Dip to finish!

    A deliciously cool, creamy & nut-free vegan Onion Garlic Dip. Full of sweet roasted garlic & caramelized onion flavour & perfect for your next party!

    Creamy Onion Garlic Dip

    Author: Melanie McDonald
    4.89 from 9 votes
    A deliciously cool, creamy & nut-free vegan Onion Garlic Dip. Full of sweet roasted garlic & caramelized onion flavour & perfect for your next party!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe SaveSaved!
    PREP TIME: 5 minutes
    COOK TIME: 30 minutes
    TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes
    Servings: 10 servings

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 teaspoons olive oil , make the dip oil-free by sautéing the onion in a few tablespoons of water instead of oil. it will be more difficult to get them really caramelized though so oil is the best option.
    • 1 whole head garlic , not individual cloves, the whole thing
    • 300g | 2 heaping cups onion , peeled, cut in half then sliced finely
    • 2 teaspoons sugar , optional
    • 349g | 12.3 oz silken tofu
    • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
    • 2 teaspoons white miso paste , optional - can be omitted but if you have some it's worth using it
    • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar , or lemon juice
    • ½ teaspoon salt , plus a little more to taste if necessary
    • 1 teaspoon dried thyme , you can use fresh instead if you have it and feel free to add more if you want a stronger type flavour
    • 60mls | ¼ cup plant-based milk , you might not need it all
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    INSTRUCTIONS
     

    • Preheat oven to 400°F.
    • Keep the garlic head all in once piece and slice about ¼ inch straight off the top of the whole garlic head exposing the inside of the cloves inside.
    • Take a square of tin foil and put the garlic head cut side down in the middle of the foil and wrap it tightly. 
    • Bake in the oven for around 40 minutes. After this time check it. It should be really soft if you give it a squeeze. Give it another 5 minutes or so if it's not. Once completely soft remove from the oven and allow to cool in the foil. 
    • While the garlic is roasting, heat a sauté pan over a medium low heat with the olive oil (or a few tablespoons of water). Once hot add the sliced onion. Cook slowly for around 30 minutes, stirring frequently. If you use water you will need to add a few drops more here and there to stop the onions sticking. 
    • Once the onion is really soft and starting to go golden, add the sugar (optional but recommended for a more caramelized result) and stir well then continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so until a deep golden brown then remove from the heat and set aside.
    • Add the tofu, nutritional yeast, white miso, vinegar and salt to a blender.
    • Take the roasted garlic head and gently squeeze the garlic out of the papery skins and into the blender along with half of the onion and a few drops of the milk.
    • Blend until completely smooth. Check the consistency and add a little more milk if you prefer a slightly thinner dip. I used a full ¼ cup but you might prefer less. 
    • Add the thyme and the rest of the onion and stir to distribute. If you prefer it completely smooth you can blend all the onion up into it. I like having some of the golden strands through mine for texture. 
    • Spoon into a serving dish. 
    • Optional :  Garnish with more caramelized onion or some fresh thyme leaves.

    NOTES

    Will keep for up to 1 week if refrigerated in a sealed container. 

    NUTRITION

    Serving: 53g (around ¼ cup)Calories: 53kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 3gFat: 2gSodium: 59mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2.8gVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 0.7mg

    Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.

    Tried this recipe?Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @avirtualvegan on Instagram and hashtag it #avirtualvegan
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Gloria Piroso says

      April 05, 2021 at 10:46 pm

      Up up up, good

      Reply
    2. Michael says

      July 27, 2020 at 11:04 pm

      5 stars
      Love this recipe!!!

      Reply
    3. Kim says

      May 24, 2020 at 1:28 pm

      4 stars
      I just tried a PC tofu onion dip so I wanted to make it cheap. I tried this recipe and it was good but even though I only put minimal milk, the dip was watery so I added a bit of ready made cashew dip I had on hand to thicken it.

      Reply
    4. Antisocial Vegan says

      October 13, 2019 at 3:06 am

      Could I just mix together pureed Onion and Garlic into ready made Vegan Mayo?

      Reply
      • Melanie McDonald says

        October 13, 2019 at 8:13 am

        I wouldn't imagine that would make a great dip. It would just be garlic/onion mayo. Up to you though.

        Reply
      • Cat Calhoun says

        October 28, 2019 at 8:51 am

        Actually, Antisocial Vegan, I've done just that and it was delicious.

        Reply
    5. Stacey says

      September 17, 2019 at 7:50 pm

      5 stars
      Thanks for the great recipe. We just loved it. I’ll be making it regularly now.

      Reply
      • Melanie McDonald says

        September 17, 2019 at 8:54 pm

        I'm really pleased you enjoyed it Stacey!

        Reply
    6. Alexa says

      December 22, 2018 at 9:33 am

      Looks amazing! Making it right now :) Have you tried baking this and serving it warm? Wondering how that would turn out.

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        December 23, 2018 at 4:13 pm

        I haven't tried baking it. Sometimes tofu can go a bit funny when baked so if you do try it, bake it on a low heat and take it out when it's just warm. Hopefully then you will avoid that happening.

        Reply
    7. Liz says

      October 03, 2018 at 12:29 pm

      This looks DELICIOUS! I will definitely be making it. Completely agree with you about water-sauteéd onions; they just don't fully brown or caramelize. But, this is what I do every meal prep day: I oven-roast chopped onions, plain, on a giant sheet pan lined with parchment paper at 375 degrees for about twenty minutes, stir around, then go about 10-15 minutes more. Then I let them cool and pick out any small dark-brown pieces, and voilá: oil-free roasted onions with way more depth of flavor than the water-and-skillet method! They're delicious in and on everything.

      Reply
      • Susan says

        November 23, 2019 at 9:16 am

        5 stars
        So excited to try right now with the oven roasted oil free onions! What a great idea that I hadn't thought of!

        Reply
    8. Mary says

      May 17, 2018 at 1:55 pm

      Do you have to use the nutritional yeast? I don't have any right now. Thanks

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        May 17, 2018 at 8:25 pm

        You don't have to. It will still be nice, it just won't have exactly the same depth of flavour.

        Reply
        • Mary says

          May 17, 2018 at 8:57 pm

          5 stars
          Thanks. I did make it and it turned out very good!

    9. Sheila L Gray says

      December 25, 2017 at 12:24 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely delicious! I love it. It could have used more lemon juice because it was not as tangy as sour cream, but I love it exactly the way it is. Great!

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        December 26, 2017 at 4:32 pm

        So glad you enjoyed it Sheila!

        Reply
    10. Rachel says

      November 13, 2017 at 2:10 pm

      Hi, I'm really excited to try this recipe!

      Did you use soft silken tofu or firm?

      Thanks!

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        November 13, 2017 at 2:13 pm

        As long as it's silken any firmness will be ok. Hope you enjoy it!

        Reply
    11. Lisa says

      July 28, 2017 at 9:12 pm

      5 stars
      Wow I love it! We have made it twice now. Thank you for the recipe!

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        July 29, 2017 at 1:35 pm

        So glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    12. Sarah Peters says

      July 11, 2017 at 11:46 pm

      Onions are so yummy when they are caramelized! This was absolutely delish!

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        July 12, 2017 at 12:40 pm

        Thank you! You just can't beat caramelized onions. And the smell when they are cooking is so good!

        Reply
    13. Nikki says

      July 09, 2017 at 4:11 pm

      Is there something to use instaed of tofu for people who Can't have soy????

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        July 10, 2017 at 4:11 pm

        I haven't made it with anything other than tofu. I almost tried it with a nut base, but every-time I do that with a recipe I get so many people with nut allergies asking for alternatives. I thought this time I'd go with tofu so they could all enjoy it for a change. Plus it's much lower in fat this way which helps out another group of people. You could certainly blend up some cashew cream though (cashews and a bit of plant-based milk) then add the onions, garlic and seasonings to it. Hope that helps!

        Reply
    14. Sarah McMinn says

      July 05, 2017 at 8:00 pm

      This is a great onion dip! Thanks for the recipe.

      Reply
    15. Amy Katz says

      July 03, 2017 at 1:13 pm

      This is one amazing onion dip!

      Reply
      • A Virtual Vegan says

        July 03, 2017 at 2:33 pm

        Thank you Amy! Glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply

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    Melanie McDonald

    I'm Melanie McDonald (but you can call me Mel), best-selling cookbook author and creator of A Virtual Vegan. I share well-tested, flavour-packed vegan recipes with clear, step-by-step instructions. My goal is to give you the confidence to cook amazing vegan food from scratch.

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