I first had this Vidalia onion dip recipe at Carrie Brady Faletti’s house on Lake Rabun when I was in college at UGA. She had invited a bunch of us sorority sisters up for the weekend. All these years later, I have no idea what we talked about, but I do remember I was so enamored with the Vidalia onion dip and couldn’t stop spooning it onto Triscuits all night. I finally asked her mom for the recipe. It was easy to memorize. She didn’t even have to write it down.
She said her Vidalia Onion dip recipe was 1 cup of mayonnaise, 2 cups of Swiss cheese and 2 Vidalia onions cut up. That’s it. I made it for years that way.
Then decades later, I finally looked up recipes and discovered that there are actually tons of ways to make Vidalia onion dip. Recipes from all over the South said you can add cream cheese, hot sauce, garlic or other cheeses. Over the years, I haven’t changed Mrs. Brady’s recipe much.
Here’s my favorite Vidalia onion dip recipe as it stands today:
2 Vidalia onions, peeled with a potato peeler or slice super thin (it makes all the difference!)
1 cup of Duke’s Mayonnaise (Duke’s makes all the difference too!)
2 cups of shredded Swiss cheese
½ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
Mix everything but the shredded Parmesan cheese in a bowl.
Spread the mixture of mayonnaise, Swiss cheese and onion into a baking dish (no need to grease the dish). There is so much oil in it.
Then sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. It makes a nice crust.
Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 30 minutes or until nice and golden brown. It is extremely oily when it comes out. I’ve seen some recipes that say just use low fat or fat free mayonnaise to cut the oil. But that’s not my style. So I just drain off or spoon off the excess oil.
You can serve it in the dish with Triscuits (my fave!), tortilla chips, or even little sliced bruschetta toasts. When I’m eating low carb, I usually serve it with pork rinds and it tastes delightful that way too.
You must use Vidalia onions as they have a distinct sweet flavor. They’re only grown in Vidalia, Georgia. And did you know the Vidalia onion was named Georgia’s state vegetable in 1990?
You do now. Enjoy.
And if you want the best Southern tomato pie recipe as well, here you go.
