My Aunt’s Famous 3-Ingredient Dip Is a Must-Make for Football Season

When it comes to football season, it doesn’t matter if you don't have a team to root for or don't even understand the rules—there’s always something for everyone at a tailgating party. You’ve got the actual football game playing on the TV, some backyard games and activities, friends and family, drinks, and lots of food. Growing up, there was an emphasis on the lots when it came to the buffet spread at my family's football parties.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers. We’re the city that claims we “bleed black and gold,” which means Steelers football games are a big deal no matter who they are playing or what the stakes are. Because we’re a family of die-hard fans, we spent a lot of Sundays watching the games at my parents’ friends’ houses—think mini Super Bowl parties every weekend.

From those game days, there are a few recipes that will forever stand out to me as football must-haves, like my mom's pizza breadstick casserole and my aunt's three-ingredient chip dip that's so good, people often hover around the bowl to eat it.

My Aunt's 3-Ingredient Chip Dip

This chip dip was a signature of my mom’s best friend, who is basically like an aunt to me. However, the recipe was made famous by her aunt, making it a multigenerational favorite. No party was complete without the vat of sour cream and onion dip and a mountain of potato chips and crudités for dipping. 

I know what you’re thinking: sour cream and onion dip? Like the one from Heluva Good! and Dean’s? Well, technically, those are French onion dips, but, yes, the concept is the same. However, this homemade version is 10 times better—and that’s coming from someone who could eat a whole tub of store-bought onion dip given the chance.

Sure, everyone knows the trick of mixing a packet of onion soup mix into a container of sour cream for an easy dip. This recipe swaps out the onion soup mix for a freshly grated onion and a third ingredient, cream cheese, which creates a richer and fresher dip—the tears are worth it, I promise.

The “recipe,” which, let’s be honest, is probably not written down anywhere, calls for 2 to 3 tablespoons of freshly grated onion, but you can pretty much eyeball it depending on how oniony you want the dip to taste. Beware, this is not a dip that will make your breath smell good, but it will surely taste great. 

How to Make My Aunt's Famous 3-Ingredient Chip Dip

Ingredients:

• 2 (8-ounce) blocks of cream cheese, softened
• 1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
• 2 to 3 tablespoons onion, freshly grated

Instructions:

1. Combine cream cheese, sour cream, and onion in a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to beat together until combined. Adjust onion to taste.
2. Serve chilled with potato chips, pretzels, crackers, crudité, or on top of a baked potato.