This Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe is everyone’s favorite game day or party appetizer! Made with juicy shredded chicken, creamy ranch dressing, cream cheese, hot sauce, and loads of cheese, this easy and delicious Buffalo Chicken Dip is then baked until golden, bubbly, and perfect for dipping.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Creamy and extra cheesy, Buffalo Chicken Dip easily qualifies itself as one of my all-time favorite party foods. Made with simple ingredients like shredded chicken, hot sauce, and cheese, it’s no mystery why this dip is the very first thing to disappear from the snack table.
Buffalo Chicken Dip is also super easy to prepare, cook, and eat.
Without the mess of Buffalo Wings, and baked right in an easily portable baking dish, this Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe is guaranteed to be your new favorite, too.
Buffalo Chicken Dip Ingredients
- chicken
- cream cheese
- ranch dressing
- hot sauce
- garlic powder
- green onion
- cheese (cheddar and mozzarella)
Everyone has their own version of Buffalo Chicken Dip.
For me personally, I wanted to stay away from any kind of Dry Ranch Dressing Mix and use the real deal instead. In my case, I was lucky and had some homemade creamy ranch dressing that needed to be used, but any store-bought version will work.
I also wanted to use both cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese.
What is the best hot sauce for buffalo chicken dip?
Frank’s RedHot Sauce, hands down. Used in all my buffalo sauce recipes, including this Easy Buffalo Cauliflower and Buffalo Turkey Meatballs, Frank’s RedHot is easy to find in most supermarkets or on Amazon. Affordable, flavorful, and just the right amount of spicy, it tastes great plain or mixed with cheese, protein, or vegetables.
Is this Buffalo Chicken Dip Keto-Friendly?
Yes! Packed full of poached shredded chicken breasts, mixed cheese, cream cheese, ranch dressing, and hot sauce, this recipe is low carb and keto approved.
What can you serve with Buffalo Chicken Dip to keep it low carb and Keto-friendly? Thanks to the explosion of low carb brands and products available these days, supermarket shelves now come stocked with low carb crackers and chips. You may also serve with celery sticks or other low carb vegetables.
Can you prepare this Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe ahead of time?
Yes! Absolutely.
Depending on how much time you have, you may either prepare just parts of this recipe ahead of time or the whole thing and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake and serve.
The easiest way to save time when making this baked buffalo chicken dip is to cook the chicken ahead of time. Poaching and shredding chicken takes approximately 40 minutes, start to finish, so if you can knock that out and have the chicken ready, you’re already way ahead of the game.
You can also prepare the entire buffalo chicken dip recipe. Simply cover with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Add an additional 5 minutes or so to the total bake time, however, since you will be baking the dish from cold rather than warm.
Can you freeze Buffalo Chicken Dip?
I do not recommend freezing leftover buffalo chicken dip. Reheated from frozen and the cheese mixture becomes somewhat chalky, lacking that luxurious, creamy texture we love so much.
How to make Buffalo Chicken Dip
Just a handful of super simple steps is all it takes to make this Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe-
- Heat the cream cheese, ranch dressing, hot sauce, pepper, and garlic powder in a small pot over medium-low heat (tip- if your cream cheese is fresh out of the refrigerator, microwave for 10-15 seconds to soften up a bit before adding to the pot). Whisk constantly until combined and creamy. Remove from heat.
- Stir in the green onion, shredded chicken, one cup of the shredded cheddar cheese and one cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Transfer mixture to a baking pan and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese. Bake until golden and bubbly.
That’s about it! Super easy, right?
Tips and Tricks
- Grate your own cheese. This is a somewhat minor tip, but freshly shredded cheese always comes together better when compared to pre-shredded cheese. My guess is that it has something to do with the anti-caking agent that is added to cheese when it is packaged, but in any case, it is one extra (super simple) step that I have found myself doing more and more lately.
- The ranch dressing. Just because I love ranch dressing, doesn’t mean you love it, too. If you’re team blue cheese, feel free to swap the ranch for blue cheese. Or, go in half and half. OR, top your Buffalo Chicken Dip with big chunks of crumbled blue cheese.
- You do not have to use Frank’s RedHot. It’s simply my personal favorite.
- The chicken. Shredded rotisserie chicken, or even canned chicken, make great substitutes for poached shredded chicken. If you do use canned chicken, take extra care when mixing as the chicken is crumbly and will break apart.
What to serve with Buffalo Chicken Dip
The beauty of this Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe is that it tastes great with just about anything. Favorites include,
- Crackers, chips, pretzels.
- Celery and carrot sticks. Sweet mini peppers would also be great!
- French bread…or any bread.
- Basically, most carbs.
But what about leftovers?
If you find yourself with leftovers, it’s best to enjoy them within 2-3 days. You may easily reheat your Buffalo Chicken Dip in the oven or microwave. My favorite way to enjoy leftovers include,
- Fried up in eggs.
- Rolled into wraps.
- Topped on a frozen pizza.
- Or, simply eaten by the spoonful.
If you try making this Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to read your thoughts and feedback!
For more buffalo chicken recipes check out,
- Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Recipe
- Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bowls
- Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
- Buffalo Chicken Soup
- Buffalo Chicken and Cauliflower Taquitos
For more dip recipes check out,
- Hot Crab Artichoke Dip Recipe
- Easy Black Bean Dip Recipe
- Ricotta and White Bean Dip
- Homemade White Bean Hummus
- Beet Hummus
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The Best Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts - boiled and shredded
- 8 ounces cream cheese - cubed
- 1 cup ranch dressing - homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup hot sauce - (I used Frank's RedHot), plus more as needed
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup green onion - chopped
- 1.5 cups mozzarella cheese - shredded, divided
- 1.5 cups cheddar cheese - shredded, divided
Instructions
- Cook the chicken. If your chicken is not yet cooked, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the chicken breasts to the pot and return to a boil. Remove from heat and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Allow your chicken to poach, covered, for approximately 25 minutes. When fully cooked, remove from the pot and allow to rest until cool enough to handle (note- the cooking time for the chicken is not included in the total cooking time for this dish).
- Prep. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9x9-inch baking pan (or approximate size) with non-stick cooking spray.
- Warm the sauce. To a medium saucepot over medium-low heat add the cubed cream cheese, ranch dressing, hot sauce, black pepper, and garlic powder. Whisk constantly until the cream cheese has dissolved in the ranch and hot sauce. Remove from heat.
- Combine. Add the cooked and shredded chicken, green onion, 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese, and one cup of the shredded cheddar cheese to the sauce pot. Mix well to combine. Transfer to your prepared baking pan and top with remain mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
- Bake. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the sides are starting to bubble. Set oven to BROIL. Allow your buffalo chicken dip to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Remove immediately.
- Serve. Serve with tortilla chips, vegetable sticks, crackers, or enjoy leftovers wrapped in a tortilla with all your favorite greens.
Notes
- The chicken takes approximately 30 minutes to cook and is not included in the total cooking time. I recommended preparing the chicken ahead of time.
- You can substitute with approximately 4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken.
- I always use Frank's RedHot Sauce for all my buffalo recipes.
- I used my homemade ranch dressing, but feel free to use your favorite Ranch dressing or blue cheese.
- Leftovers taste great for at least 2-3 days.
Nutrition
Wonderful appetizer. I use SMOKED chicken breasts instead of boiled or store bought rotisserie.
Wow… what a dip that was… well done
This was perfect for my husbands NBA Finals game party over the weekend – it was gone by half time!
Wow, this dip vanished so fast…
Simply delightful! It was gone so fast at my husbands game day party!
Served this to a group of friends last night..you know it’s a hit when they ask for the recipe! I’ll definitely be making this again… Thanks Jessica!
Has anyone tried to serve this dip in a crockpot? I am serving it at my son’s graduation open house, and would like to keep it warm.
Hi Stephie,
Here is my separate recipe/post for the slow cooker version of this Buffalo Chicken Dip: https://theforkedspoon.com/slow-cooker-buffalo-chicken-dip/
Buffalo chicken dip turned out delicious. Everyone loved it. Thanks for the awesome recipe
Made this for a friend who is serving it at Bingo tonight. It is delicious! Saved a little for myself! Thanks for sharing!