[6][5] The Lipton company promoted this mixture on the television show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in 1955, and early on, it was known as "Lipton California Dip", but soon simply as "California Dip".

[7][8] The recipe was added to the Lipton instant onion soup package in 1958.

[9] Around the same time, a similar recipe, but made with reduced cream, was created in New Zealand and became very popular.

[12] The original recipe consisted of sour cream and dehydrated onion soup mix.

[13][14] Commercially prepared products include additional ingredients to thicken, stabilize, and preserve the mixture.