Happy hump day everyone! I hope you guys are having a fabulous week. The week seems to be flying by doesn’t it? At least around here it seems to be that way. I know that I mentioned recently that I have been trying my hand at more recipes that involve beer, besides the pairing of them of course. This cooking technique tends to scare me, but I’m getting better at it! It’s not my intention to ALWAYS go down the normal route of cooking with beer (brownies, cakes, chili, etc — all delicious, mind you). I’m trying to be as creative as possible, so as a result, beer caramelized onion dip. I don’t really think it needs an introduction. It’s really that good.
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I have really begun to love cooking with IPAs. They are my favorite to drink and maybe that’s why I enjoy adding them into my recipes. This isn’t your average onion dip. It’s loaded with all kinds of cheesy goodness: swiss, sharp white cheddar and gruyere. In my opinion, you can never have enough cheese. The cheese is tossed with a mixture of bacon, mayo, sour cream and cream cheese…
and the onions…
o dear Lord, the onions…
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If you’ve never had a caramelized onion, do yourself a favor, and whip up a batch. Yes it will take about an hour, but it will be so worth it. They are delicious on pretty much anything and everything.
Now if you HAVE had caramelized onions, throw beer in the next time around. Specifically, throw in an IPA. It adds such a delicious dimension of flavor that you didn’t even know was possible. Caramelized onions are ALREADY extremely flavorful, so that added beer flavor really kicks it up a notch.
Now if you are not into beer as much as I am (GASP!), I promise you, that you do not get an overwhelming bitter taste when you eat this dip. It’s hard to explain. You just have to try it. Trust me. It’s well worth you giving it a go.
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Big thanks to Zachary, for being a super patient hand model. :) I think we should paint his nails next time. What y’all think?
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After my lack of a beer pairing on Monday, I’m super excited to share this pairing with you today!
Brewed By: Epic Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 6.2%
Description: Have I ever mentioned how much I love beer out of the can? Well I do. I love it, and I feel like every time I turn around there is another brewery that is starting to can. Oskar Blues has done it well…always, and other breweries are following suit. When we saw Epic Brewing’s Escape to Colorado IPA in a can, I almost had a panic attack…in an extremely incredible way. I love this IPA. I especially love it for summertime, and I especially, especially love to cook with it. I think I’ve gone through an entire six-pack in the past week because I’ve made so many amazing dishes with it. I like to cook with IPAs in general. Sure, they tend to be on the bitter, hoppy side, but they give such an astounding dimension of flavor to food. It was the perfect addition to this dip, in that I decided to caramelize the onions in it. Have you ever had beer caramelized onions? Oh dear, if you haven’t, you must try it! This IPA is fruity and funkily delicious. It also has a strong florally aroma, a note that I crave with a traditional IPA. Just remember that when you go to cook with this bad boy, buy 2 so that you have one to drink as well! The pairing is as equally delicious as it is to cook with!
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I hope everyone is having a great week! Here’s the handy dandy recipe!
Beer Caramelized Onion Dip
Servings:
8Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 medium yellow onions diced
- 1/4 cup IPA beer
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon cooked until crisp and chopped
- 2 ounces swiss cheese grated
- 2 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese grated
- 2 ounces gruyere cheese grated
- crusty bread or tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
- In a large non-stick skillet, combine the butter and olive oil over medium-hight heat. Once the butter has melted, whisk in the brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the onions, and saute on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Lower the heat to medium-low and caramelized the onions for approximately 40-45 minutes.
- Once the onions have just begun to brown, add the IPA beer and crank the heat back up to medium. Cook until the beer has cooked out and reduced and all you have left are the caramelized onions. This will take 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the mayo, cream cheese, sour cream, bacon, a dash of salt and pepper and most of the cheese (reserving about 1 ounce to sprinkle on top). Add the caramelized onions to the mixture and stir to combine.
- Pour the mixture into an 8x8 inch baking dish, and smooth to even out. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake, uncovered, for about 20-25 minutes, or until the top is bubbly and just beginning to brown.
- Remove from heat and serve immediately with crusty bread or tortilla chips. Enjoy!
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17 Responses
Not to be uncouth here, but I kind of want to stick my face in that bowl of dip…Or at least eat it with a straw :)
Haha, you are totally not being uncouth! I kind of wanted to do the same exact thing. ;)
OMG! Love caramelized onions, through them together with cheese and beer and holy yum! Can’t wait to try this dip Justine!
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats
Haha, thank you so much, Krista! It’s such a great combo. I’m sure you’ll just love it!
JUSTINE! This dip sounds delicious! I bet it tastes even better. Great cheese choices too. I want to eat all of this. Beautiful pictures!
Haha, thank you, Natalie! I think the cheese choices totally make or break the dip! I hope you are having a fab week!
Oh yes. Yes yes yes. This looks seriously amazing!
Thank you so much, lady!
So…I’m thinking how amazing this would be smeared between 2 slabs of sourdough and then grilled in a panini press? Am I having crazy thoughts? :)
I think that is the best idea I’ve heard all week! So amazing, that I need to do this, this weekend! Yum! Thanks so much!
Looks tasty! Beer makes everything better :)
I totally agree, Darlene!
Hey Justine! Alright, this looks incredible! Would you be open to us sharing this on CraftBeer.com? I can’t wait to try it!! – Meghan Storey, Brewers Association
Haha! Of course you can, Meghan! Thank you so much for asking. Share away!
I love this recipe! I’m made this several times in the past few months for family and friends. It goes so fast that I actually prepare two batches every time.
I only make one change to the ingredients: we are all vegetarians so I leave out the bacon. It’s our very favorite dip.