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.
The Best Dip Recipe
Creamy and extra cheesy, this Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe 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.
It’s also super easy to prepare, cook, and eat.
Without the mess of sticky Buffalo Wings, and baked right in an easily portable baking dish, this easy, cheesy dip is guaranteed to be your new favorite, too.
Simple Ingredients
- Chicken – simple poached chicken, baked chicken breasts or baked chicken thighs, rotisserie chicken, or even leftover Thanksgiving turkey, anything works. Save time and use pre-cooked chicken (you will need approximately 3-4 cups). A couple of readers have mentioned that their dip has turned out super greasy. Given the ingredients, it’s easy to see where this grease comes from, however, you can easily reduce some of the excess fat by using chicken breast meat (white meat) instead of chicken thigh meat (dark meat) which is much higher in fat.
- Cream cheese – cream cheese is what makes this recipe extra creamy – rather than just cheesy. I do recommend using full-fat cream cheese as low-fat cream cheese may separate when baked.
- Ranch dressing – ranch dressing is my personal favorite, but go for whatever you prefer. Blue cheese, Ceasar dressing, etc.
- Hot sauce – Frank’s RedHot Sauce seems to be the overwhelming favorite when it comes to buffalo-related recipes. Feel free to use your favorite.
- Garlic powder – This is one of the very few cases where I find garlic powder better than fresh minced garlic. Careful not to add too much, though! Garlic powder has a much stronger flavor compared to regular minced garlic.
- Green onion – I strongly encourage you to include a solid handful of chopped green onions. They add delicious flavor with little work.
- Cheese (cheddar and mozzarella) – You guys, the cheese is very important. First and foremost, pick a good melting cheese. Cheddar and mozzarella are both great for melting, so that was easy. But decide if you want to add a somewhat more pungent cheese to spice it up a bit (I didn’t, but why not, right?). In my opinion, cheddar and mozzarella and cheddar are the perfect flavor balance for the hot sauce, cream cheese, and garlic.
Everyone has their own version of this ooey-gooey, cheesy 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.
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 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 this 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 I prepare Buffalo Chicken Dip 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 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 dip recipe. Simply cover your prepared dip 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 I freeze buffalo chicken dip?
I do not recommend freezing leftovers. Reheat 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 the very best Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe-
- Cook the chicken first. 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).
- pro tip – leftover turkey or rotisserie chicken is great in this recipe. You’ll need approximately 3-4 cups cooked and shredded.
- After your chicken has been cooked and shredded, heat the cream cheese, ranch dressing, hot sauce, pepper, and garlic powder in a small pot over medium-low heat. Whisk constantly until combined and creamy and remove from heat.
- pro 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.
- 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 the 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, you can even top your dip with big chunks of crumbled blue cheese or feta 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.
- Easily prepare this recipe in your crockpot. The only difference is that the crockpot version will lack the brown a bubbly cheese top. Read full instructions here, Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Dip.
How to serve
The beauty about this dip is that it tastes great with just about everything. Some of my personal favorites include,
- Crackers, chips, pretzels.
- Celery and carrot sticks. Sweet mini peppers are also great and are fantastic at scooping!
- 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 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.
You could also scoop a couple of spoonfuls into a bowl of cooked spaghetti squash, cauliflower rice, or zucchini noodles for a delicious, low-carb dinner!
More dip recipes,
- Hot Crab Artichoke Dip Recipe
- Easy Black Bean Dip Recipe
- Ricotta and White Bean Dip
- Homemade White Bean Hummus
- Beet Hummus
- Muhammara Recipe (Red Pepper and Walnut Dip)
If you try making this recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to read your thoughts and feedback!
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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.
Loved this recipe! Everyone complimented on how good it was!
The best for sure. Made it tonite . I tasted a lot of buffalo dips. But this one is awesome. I will not make another recipe for buffalo dip except this one. Instead of using Ranch dressing I used Kens blue cheese dressing in bottle. Excellent dip.
I made it! It JUST came out of the oven. I cannot wait to try it. Looks delicious!
HI, can I store this in the fridge covered in a glass jar when it’s cooled? and do I micro it or oven when I want to eat it again? Thanks!
Hi Anna,
Yes, my husband loves having this leftover – we store it in glass pyrex Tupperware. He reheats it in the microwave oven as well 🙂 .
This recipe is AWESOME SAUCE.. I have made it twice..I took some to work and my friends loved it..I just shared the recipe with one of them.. I will be making it again real soon
I made this but it separated, there was a lot of grease on top. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I did prepare everything then put it in the fridge but cooked it for 35 minutes at 375 and broiled for 3 minutes. The whole top is just a thick layer of grease.
I found that using fresh blocked cheese worked best. The shredded cheese ends up greasy and separating the final product.
Great recipe. Easy to make and short prep time. I didn’t have all the ingredients so I substituted and it was a winner. I substituted ground onion and Parmesan Caesar dressing. The taste was awesome and the cheesy skin on top was the 1st to go. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Jessica!
If we are using rotisserie chicken, how many cups of shredded chicken should we use?
Thanks!
Hi Samantha,
As the recipe calls for 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, I would venture to say the whole deboned deskinned rotisserie chicken, depending on its size.
How big does the baking dish need to be…I bought this adorable pumpkin shaped casserole dish and want to break it out this weekend w this dip. Thinking I may need to double the recipe though
Hi Julia,
The recipe in the default recipe card calls for a 9×9 inch baking pan in step two 🙂 :
”
Prep. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9×9-inch baking pan (or approximate size) with non-stick cooking spray.
”
Good luck with your new pumpkin dish!