I Tried 9 French Onion Soup Mixes, and This Is the Best, Hands Down

Grab this packet for sprinkling into dips, marinades, and of course, actual soup.

French onion soup mix is always in my pantry for one reason: last-minute guests. In five minutes, you can stir together a dip that’s irresistible, make a quick-marinade or delicious breading for chicken, or toss it with oil and potatoes for an easy side dish. I’ve even stirred it into homemade—or even store-bought!—mac and cheese and had people ask me for the recipe. Up until now, I’ve always bought the same brand of French onion soup mix, but is it the best? I set out to find out.

How I Chose the French Onion Soup Mixes

I went to four different stores and purchased every box and packet labeled “onion dip and soup mix.” (Fun fact: they are often on the top shelf in the store.) Then I went to the dairy section and bought a ton of sour cream. Since one of the most common ways French onion soup mix is used is to make onion dip, I decided to whip up a batch of dips—nine in total—and see which one tasted the best.

How I Tested the French Onion Soup Mixes

Since it’s very easy to have brand loyalty or be swayed by knowing which brand is which, I did the tasting blind, i.e. I didn’t know which brand I was tasting. I also didn’t want to be the only taster, so I invited other people to dip and taste each French onion dip. We tried the dips with plain, unflavored crackers, then judged based them on onion flavor, texture, saltiness, and color. Of the nine we tested, we deemed four worthy of including in our best-of round-up. Without further ado …

The Best Store-Bought French Onion Soup Mixes, Ranked

4th Place: McCormick Classic French Onion Dip & Seasoning Mix

With just five ingredients—onion, salt, buttermilk, yeast extract, and chives—the McCormick French Onion Dip skips a lot of the other additives that most of the other brands contain. However, we found we missed the garlic that’s in other mixes and felt that this dip tastes more like salt than any other flavor. If you’re looking for just onion flavor, this mix works, but if you want a little more input from other spices, there are better mix options.

3rd Place: Knorr French Onion Recipe Mix

There are a lot more ingredients in this mix, including milk, soy, and wheat, but the flavor is a lot more pronounced than the McCormick packet. Tasters appreciated the bold punch of savory flavors and agreed that this would be the mix they’d use to make chicken, especially if paired with a mushroom cream sauce. This mix tasted a lot like our favorite, but since one ingredient is beef fat, this mix isn’t vegetarian, making it a non-option for a lot of people.

2nd Place: Simply Organic French Onion Dip Mix

The French onion dip mix from Simply Organic was the surprise hit of the tasting. The garlic flavor is pronounced, but even better is the fact that the onion flavor almost tastes like scallions instead of regular onions. The color of the dip is bright white compared to the dull tan of the others, also making this the prettiest of the bunch. Tasters remarked at how much this mix from Simply Organic reminded them of homemade French onion dip, and while it’s twice the price of the Lipton mix—$2.19 for 1.1 ounces (Simply Organic) versus $1.79 for 2 ounces (Lipton)—it’s still very reasonable for the boost of flavor it provides.

1st Place: Lipton Onion Recipe Soup & Dip Mix

The clear favorite for everyone was the Lipton Onion Recipe Soup & Dip Mix. Many said, once the brands were reveled, this is the one they usually buy, so the flavor tasted familiar and most like the onion dip they know. However, we found that the onion flavor, texture of the onion pieces, salt level, and garlic flavor were all extremely balanced. This dip is widely available, budget-friendly, and delivers. A clear winner.

Read the original article on All Recipes.