5 Ingredients or Fewer

Crispy Garlic Dip

by:
September 16, 2019
4.5
15 Ratings
Crispy Garlic Dip
Photo by Ty Mecham
  • Prep time 1 hour
  • Cook time 8 minutes
  • Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Author Notes

Every party loves onion dip. But does every host love hovering around the stove, caramelizing onions for almost an hour, to make it? I think not. Luckily, the solution is easy: Skip the onions altogether and swap in garlic. This tiny-but-mighty allium goes from raw and sharp to golden and toasty in a matter of minutes. I first learned to team up pan-fried garlic and tangy yogurt from Meera Sodha, who created a garlicky raita for her book Made in India. The longer the two hang out together, the more intense the flavor becomes. Just before serving, I like topping this dip with crispy garlic chips, but you can skip this step if you’re short on time. Pair with raw vegetables, seedy crackers, and potato chips. Or plop it atop soup. Or spread it on toast for open-faced sandwiches. Note: To thinly slice the garlic cloves, I prefer to use a very sharp knife, but you can also use a mandoline (just be careful). —Emma Laperruque

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Crispy Garlic Dip
Ingredients
  • Toasted garlic dip
  • 1 1/2 cups whole-milk Greek yogurt
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
  • 6 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, and very finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • Crispy garlic topping
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced (see headnote)
Directions
  1. Make the dip: Add the yogurt to a bowl, season with the salt and pepper, and stir until smooth. Combine the garlic and canola oil in a small nonstick skillet and set on the stove over medium-low heat. (Starting the oil and garlic in a cold skillet helps the garlic cook more gently and evenly.) Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the garlic becomes golden-brown. Before it burns, immediately pour the garlic and its oil on top of the yogurt, then stir to combine. You could garnish and eat this right away, but it’s best refrigerated for at least 1 hour or up to a couple days.
  2. Just before serving, make the crispy garlic topping: Set a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl. Add the oil to a small nonstick skillet and set on the stove over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic slivers (they should loudly sizzle). Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the garlic turns golden, then pour into the sieve set over the bowl.
  3. To serve: Drizzle some of the garlic-infused oil (from making the crispy garlic topping) on top of the toasted garlic tip, then sprinkle the crispy garlic chips on top. Like onion dip, this is its very best with salty potato chips.
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  • Elizabeth Detrich
    Elizabeth Detrich
  • Mariam
    Mariam
  • Natasha
    Natasha
  • Courtney C
    Courtney C
  • Emma Laperruque
    Emma Laperruque
Emma Laperruque
Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.

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17 Reviews

mich
mich July 5, 2023
I found this recipe here years ago and think I forgot to leave a review! I have made this for YEARS and it's one of my top 10 go-tos for myself and for company/cookouts. I like to remind people that it's so good for you with its few natural ingredients and knockout flavor - I mean, look at some of the 'dips' out there - they have easily 20 ingredients, some are disgusting. Granted, the garlic is fried (I use EVOO), but you're not eating a pound of it and it's still a lot healthier than fried chicken (or the acrylamide in the potato chips, even)! I don't bother with the sieve, I just use a slotted spoon to fish out my (bit more done than golden) garlic and let it drain on paper towels. Sometimes if I'm making it just for myself, I make the whole thing (body of the dip and the crispy topping) in 1 go and refrigerate it with the crispy garlic on top for at least a day for the flavors to meld. Even gummy, those garlic planks are heaven! If I could give this recipe 50 stars, I would!!! If you don't love garlic, find another recipe.
 
Brigitte N.
Brigitte N. December 25, 2020
Delicious, thank you for this recipe!
 
Yogamissy
Yogamissy September 16, 2020
Unfortunately, I did not have as much luck with this recipe as other reviews. I found the dip bland and even after sauteeing the garlic for more than the recommended time, but at a very low heat and watching it carefully, the garlic was still sharp tasting. I ended up carmelizing some shallots and adding them, along with some lemon juice and additional salt. Also, I think using “cloves” as the quantity is not accurate enough. Heads of garlic vary greatly in size, and since it is chopped perhaps it should be in Tblsp? I also used a very good olive oil instead.
 
Elizabeth D.
Elizabeth D. September 16, 2020
Hi Yogamissy,
I love using elephant garlic, it's a milder version of regular garlic without all of the bitterness.
 
Elizabeth D.
Elizabeth D. September 13, 2020
I recently tried this dip and it was a smashing success! Elegant in it's simplicity. The olive oil was a perfect counterpart to the creamy yogurt. I made it a second time and added just a tiny touch of horseradish. Well Done!
 
Anna
Anna February 21, 2020
This dip is absolutely delicious! I bring it to parties and get rave reviews. So flexible - you can modify so many parts of this and it's just as delicious.
 
Mariam
Mariam December 30, 2019
Awesome, Emma, but i am a roasted garlic girl - so I think I will make a few adjustments to the recipe.
I will toast a clove of garlic, then squeeze its creamy aromatic flesh into the yogurt and after that I will garnish my dish with waves of extra virgin olive oil and crown it with chopped parsley - and maybe slices of a cucumber.
 
Emma L.
Emma L. January 2, 2020
Fun idea! Would love to hear how it goes if you try it.
 
majnara
majnara November 26, 2019
I am allergic to yogurt, would I still need to add the oil if I used a 1:1 ratio substituting with sour cream?
 
Emma L.
Emma L. January 2, 2020
Hi! I would still add the oil because it adds so much flavor (but you could add less if you want to taste).
 
maliers
maliers November 14, 2019
Not a review just yet, but a question: I really want to amp up the garlic flavor. Is the current amount of garlic for this recipe going to give the dip a mild, medium, or strong garlic flavor? If it is mild, how many more cloves would you recommend adding to the dip?
 
Emma L.
Emma L. November 15, 2019
Hey there! I think it's pretty dang garlicky, but taste it after an hour and go from there—you can always add more.
 
majnara
majnara November 26, 2019
Never mind. I somehow thought it was being mixed in the 1st step.
 
Natasha
Natasha October 19, 2019
Made this today and It was amazing. I approximated the ingredients. Could only get 2% Greek yogurt and it was delicious. Used olive oil which worked well. Can’t think of how you could go wrong with this recipe. 2 of us finished the entire bowl with some raw veggies and potato chips.
 
DanaERT
DanaERT October 17, 2019
This sounds tailor-made for Cape Cod potato chips... YUM!
 
Courtney C.
Courtney C. September 23, 2019
Lovely, simple and much more than the sum of its parts. Got gobbled up greedily.
 
Emma L.
Emma L. September 23, 2019
Thanks, Courtney—glad you enjoyed!