I Tried 6 Store-Bought French Onion Dips, and One Brand Was So Much Better Than All the Others
Scoop it up.
Ashia Aubourg
Before cooking hacks became all the rage, my mom was a pro at whipping up quick and easy appetizers. One of her favorite tricks—especially when hosting a party—was always to have a delicious dip on hand for guests to enjoy. (Little did they know she usually went with a store-bought pick!) Naturally, I grew up seeing bowls of creamy, flavorful dips at her gatherings, with French onion being a standout. It quickly became my go-to, and during the festivities, I’d always grab some crunchy, wavy potato chips to dunk into it.
But, if I’m being honest, I’ve also had my fair share of bad French onion dips. You know the ones...You scoop up a big bite, take a taste, and immediately wish you hadn’t. They have that rancid onion flavor, which is so overpowering that you must (quickly!) find a drink to wash it down. To save you from this unpleasant scenario, I decided to test popular French onion dips. I aimed to find those with a cool, creamy texture and a balanced profile that’s subtly savory, sweet, and tangy. After blind-tasting them, here are the ones that stand out above the rest.
How I Chose the Dips
To start, I chose to seek out dips labeled "French onion" because there’s often confusion between those and straight sour cream and onion. The main difference is that French onion spreads tend to have a richer, more savory taste, with some homemade recipes even using beef bouillon. You’ll also discover it’s easier to find French onion than sour cream and onion options at most grocers. Additionally, I opted to judge both refrigerated and shelf-stable picks.
How I Tested the Dips
First, I thoroughly mixed all the dips in their containers before trying. Next, I purposely blind-tasted my picks because they all looked similar, and I wanted to choose a winner based on the most appealing flavor and texture. For the judging, I dunked wavy potato chips (Ruffles original, to be exact) into each spread to decide whether their profiles were balanced—not too much of a punchy oniony bite, with a hint of tang and a smooth, creamy consistency.
The Best Store-Bought French Onion Dips, Ranked
6th Place: FritoLay French Onion Dip
Ashia Aubourg
One of the benefits of this dip is that it’s shelf-stable, so you can easily keep it in your pantry and pull it out whenever you’re hosting or need a quick snack. However, as soon as you dunk a chip or veggie stick into it, you’re hit with an intense, artificial onion flavor, which makes it hard to keep going back for more. Plus, it has a sticky, tacky texture rather than the fluffy, creamy consistency you’d expect, making it unappealing in the end. At least we know the brand's chips are solid.
5th Place: Lay’s French Onion Dip
Ashia Aubourg
This Lay’s dip has a shelf-stable, mayonnaise-like texture, whereas the winning dip has a thicker, creamier consistency. The artificial onion flavor is also hard to ignore, especially if you’re looking for a pick that you’ll want to keep coming back to. Its slightly rancid, artificial taste makes it one to skip, especially since many other brands offer much brighter and more refreshing notes.
4th Place: PICS French Onion Dip
Ashia Aubourg
Since this is a refrigerated dip, you would expect it to have a more refreshing flavor. However, as soon as you take a bite of Price Chopper's store-brand label, you’re hit with a bold onion taste. After just a few dips, it becomes exhausting to continue digging into this spread. While it’s creamy with a smooth, thick texture, it’s not enough to balance its overpowering profile. To tone it down, you could mix in some sour cream for a bright, tangy contrast, but at that point, you might as well just try a different brand.
3rd Place: Dean’s French Onion Dip
Ashia Aubourg
Upon the first bite, Dean's French onion dip delivers everything you’d desire: a cool, creamy mouthfeel with punchy and savory notes. The onions come through in every bite, adding a subtle sweetness and a hint of beefy aroma. It goes well with mild dippers like potato chips and carrot sticks. However, the strong onion flavors can become overwhelming after a while, making it harder to keep going. If paired with a flavored potato chip, the dip would completely overpower it, which is why I’d recommend going with something else.
2nd Place: Heluva Good! French Onion Dip
Ashia Aubourg
With its thick yet scoopable, creamy texture, it’s easy to see why this French onion dip earned its name. It contains many of the same ingredients as our winning one, with a recipe full of spices and dried parsley that add subtle earthy notes. The onion essence isn’t overpowering, making it perfect for dipping everything from potato chips to crudités without getting deluged by its taste. I could even imagine slathering this on a sandwich, like an aioli, for an extra burst of flavor.
1st Place Winner: Cabot French Onion Dip
Ashia Aubourg
Another reason why I purposely blind-taste-tested these French onion dips is because I live in Vermont and know how delicious Cabot products are. Still, even with a scarf wrapped around my eyes, the spread from this brand came out on top. It possessed everything you could want in a French onion dip: a subtle caramelized onion profile with sweet, savory notes and a slight tang from the sour cream. Thanks to the parsley in the recipe, you may also pick up on a gentle herb flavor. This winning gem (which you could totally cosplay as being homemade!) also has a smooth, refreshing mouthfeel that made me want to go back for seconds—and thirds.
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