Chive and Onion Cream Cheese works as a dip or spread. Quick and easy to make using textures to create layers of yum, this is a simple but delicious recipe. If you have 5 minutes, you have the time needed to make the recipe! Onion chive cream cheese and your favourite cracker will be your new favourite best friends for life combo.
Recipes like my Honey Walnut Cream Cheese, Cranberry Jalapeno Dip and Cream Cheese Onion Dip give us texture and tasty combinations.
My Halloween Dip, Thanksgiving Dip and Christmas Dip give us fun and creative 'on theme' options.
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Recipe Highlights
I have summarised the reasons why you will love, love the recipe in the points below:
- Super quick!
- Super easy.
- Simple ingredients: everything you need to make the recipe is easy to find at the local shops. The chives and green onions have the least shelf life, which is worth taking into consideration when purchasing ingredients in advance.
- Versatile: this combination works as a dip or spread, so you can easily use it to get the party started or spread it on sandwiches or wraps for an easy full bodied selection.
- Taste and texture: the layering of ingredients is done to create textures that both contrast and compliment each other at the same time.
- Breakfast or brunch: there is something simply delightful about a fresh bagel spread with cream cheese on a relaxing weekend morning. Take that experience up a notch with this spread which is sure to deliver maximum flavour without excessive effort or energy.
Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements.
As you can see, the recipe calls for:
- Cream cheese: we need an 8 oz, 250 gram block of this. Thick and creamy, it lends itself to sweet and savory recipes. You can use a tub if you really want or if it is just the 2 of you for date night. However, for parties, I think the block presents better and you have more surface area for the toppings. Everywhere sells this from Walmart to Tesco, Woolies and Coles, you will easily be able to get your hands on it.
- Horseradish cream: this is a condiment that packs its only party! Unmistakeable as a flavour that delivers zing to recipes, it helps both to stick the other layers to the cream cheese as well as tying everything together from a flavour perspective.
- Green onions: the 1st of the 2 types of onions we need for the recipe. These are subtle enough to use as a raw ingredient and deliver maximum flavour without a harsh raw onion taste. We need to finely slice them.
- Crispy onion: onion is such a great ingredient to use in so many recipes! But it can be tricky to use it for easy recipes where you don't want to cook it but also don't want to be serving raw onion. Hence crispy onion is the solution! It is a product that you can buy which is sometimes sold as an addition for salads or in the Asian foods section. It is cooked and crunchy. This ingredient brings fantastic texture to the dip as well as contrasting the smoothness of the cream cheese.
- Chives: a hugely popular herb that can be used as a garnish for almost anything! Use kitchen scissors to trim them slightly, then chop into small pieces.
- Crackers: you can use your favourite type of crackers for this recipe. Thick round ones work well, but the combination also lends itself to being served with thin water crackers if you want as it is perfectly spreadable (cheese knife needed for spreading).
Tasty Tip: if you haven't tried cooking with horseradish yet, you are in for a treat. With a bold flavour that is reminiscent of garlic, this condiment is made from vinegar, mustard seed, salt and horseradish. You can stir it through potatoes for a dream creamy mash idea (Horseradish Mashed Potatoes).
Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. Start by grabbing the cream cheese out of the fridge and removing both the cardboard box and inner foil layer.
- Plate the cream cheese (Photo 1)
- Spread with horseradish (Photo 2)
- Add green onions (Photo 3)
- Then sprinkle crispy onion over the top (Photo 4)
How to Make Chive and Onion Cream Cheese
To make the recipe, start by placing the unwrapped cream cheese in the centre of a serving board.
Then use a teaspoon to dollop on the horseradish, flip the spoon to the other side and spread it out to form a later. Sprinkle the chopped green onions onto of the horseradish to form their own layer.
Next sprinkle the finely chopped chives on top of the crispy onion layer.
- Sprinkle chives across the top of the crispy onion (Photo 5)
Once you have the chives on top of the layers, you need to grab some crackers and place them around the edges of the dip for serving. Slightly spread them away from the cheese so that you avoid any soggy crackers.
- Add crackers around the dip for serving (Photo 6)
Once you have popped the crackers on the serving platter it is only a matter of 3, 2, 1 then time to dig in ( 😁 ).
Serving Suggestions
A cheese knife is essential for serving as you want people to be able to cut into the dip/spread/cheese and then for them to spread it onto their cracker. Otherwise the crackers will break mid dunk and the enjoyment of each layer will not be fully experienced.
As for the crackers, opt for one which is thick as opposed to thin, but their shape can be whichever style you prefer. If you have a favourite type, use that one. Options such as fruit and seed crackers make for a sophisticated spreadable cheese combination!
The best thing is that people can fully load their cracker using the cheese knife to help spread it. As well as allowing for you to leave additional or leftover toppings in small bowls around the side of the serving plate, so that these can be used as the dip is devoured.
The 1st bite will deliver maximum yum through the crunchy cracker, bold horseradish cream, juicy green onion, crispy onion and delicate chives.
Once you have made it and tried the yum, you will find yourself thinking 'yup, I'm doing that again!'.
How to Guide
How to Store
This is a no bake dip that is best prepared moments before serving.
You can store leftovers in a sealed, air tight container and they need to be refrigerated. They will last 2 to 3 days. Try and keep the crackers separate so that they don't go soggy.
I do not recommend freezing the dip and there is no need to heat it at any stage, as it is best served cold.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are the sub in and outs you might like to try or consider as you work through the recipe:
- You don't have to use the same crackers as me. You can use your favourite, be they Graham crackers, tortilla chips or toasted bagel chips.
- Add some crispy bacon (dried) as a layer on top of the chives.
- I talk about this in my tasty tips below, but in case you miss it there, you do have the option to blend these ingredients together (or keep the leftovers like that) as per this image. This is the 101 of keeping a cream cheese spread in the fridge so it can be grabbed and used as needed.
- You can add additional herbs if you wish such as parsley (flat leaf or curly).
- You can add a touch of lemon zest or juice especially if you want to stir the ingredients together for a spreadable option.
Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks so that you can master the recipe from the get go:
- Go for a block of cream cheese, as opposed to the smaller (but same weight) spreadable tub.
- Provide a cheese knife to enable the combination to be cut and spread, as opposed to being dipped into.
- Have all of the ingredients prepped and ready to go, then pull together moments before serving.
- Regarding the crispy onions, these are store bought crispy onions, a different product to dried onion (seasoning which you see me use quite a lot). These will be with the croutons and other salad ingredients and are best not refrigerated to maintain their crispy texture.
- If you haven't tried horseradish before or try it and then recoil, it is simply a matter of getting used to it (🤍😘). In time you will come to love it if not the 1st time you try it. As an alternative, you can make the dip then stir it to combine like in this photo. It will give you the same ingredient pairings but will take the flavours down a couple of notches which may suit as it is more an an acquired taste than some condiments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is chive cream cheese the same as scallion?
Chives and scallions are different ingredients. Chives are long, thin and green. A herb which is best chopped and used as a garnish. Scallions are a type of onion which are often interchanged for either green onions, shallots or spring onions.
What is horseradish cream used for?
Horseradish cream is a unique condiment that can be served with roast or grilled meats, potatoes and fish. Unlike minced ingredients such as garlic and ginger which are best blended with other ingredients, horseradish cream is fine to use straight from the bottle as a sauce dolloped on all on its own.
Does Panera have chive cream cheese?
Panera is a bakery style café in The United States of America and Canada. It serves a variety of full and low fat cream cheese spreads that pair perfectly well with a French Baguette. Their 2 most popular versions are Honey Walnut Cream Cheese and Chive and Onion Cream Cheese, although they do offer plain cream cheese spread also (both low and full fat).
How many calories are in onion and chive cream cheese?
There are 80kcal calories per serve in onion and chive cream cheese. Calories will increase as portion size increases.
More Easy Dips and Spreads Recipes
All of the ways that you can dip or spread your way through life, can be found in my dips and spreads recipe collection. Try these on for delightful yum:
- Cream Cheese Pepper Jelly
- Cream Cheese Onion Dip
- Corn Relish Dip
- Gherkin Dip
- Cream Cheese Spinach Dip
- Chili Cream Cheese Dip
- Ham Dip
- Corn Dip with Cream Cheese
Or if you want to feed a crowd, my Grazing Platter will tick all of your boxes!
Adrianne xx
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📖 Recipe
Chive and Onion Cream Cheese
Equipment
- 1 Serving board
- 1 Cheese knife
- 1 Teaspoon
Ingredients
- 250 grams/ 8 oz block cream cheese Note 1
- 2 tablespoon horseradish cream Note 2
- 2 tablespoon green onions trimmed, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon crispy onions Note 3
- 2 tablespoon chives trimmed, finely chopped
Instructions
- Cream cheese: grab the cream cheese out of the fridge, undo the cardboard box, tear off the foil and place the cheese in the centre of a serving platter.
- Horseradish: use a teaspoon to dollop the horseradish onto the cheese. Flip the spoon over and use the back of it to spread it out into a layer.
- Green onions: spread the sliced green onion pieces out on top of the horseradish to form their own layer.
- Crispy onion: sprinkle the crispy onion out over the top of the green onion.
- Chives: use the chopped chives to form a final layer on top of the crispy onion.
- Serve and enjoy: place crackers around the sides of the dip, slightly off set from the edges. Provide a cheese knife for serving. Dig in and enjoy!
Notes
- Note 1 - Cream cheese: you will easily be able to get this at Walmart, Tesco, Aldi, Coles or Woolies etc. The blocks range from 225 grams to 250 grams ( 8 ounces) which is really 'same, same'. So grab one and the one you get will be perfect. The block has more surface area for the toppings than the small tubs do, so avoid those and seek out the rectangle.
- Note 2 - Horseradish cream: this is a strong flavoured condiment that you will find with the mayonnaise and mustards at the supermarket. It is best refrigerated after opening and has a good shelf life, maximising its usage and making it suitable to be grabbed and dolloped as needed.
- Note 3 - Crispy onions: these are store bought crispy onions, a different product to dried onion (seasoning which you see me use quite a lot). These will be with the croutons and other salad ingredients and are best not refrigerated to maintain their crispy texture.
Tammy says
You had me at crispy onions. We are having a girls night soon so this will be my plate to share. Thank-you for the recipe.
Adrianne says
No worries Tammy! Great to hear. Hope you make it and all of the girls enjoy the recipe!