My Buffalo Chicken Dip is a hot, creamy, cheesy appetizer loaded with shredded chicken, Buffalo sauce, ranch, and a mix of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, then baked until golden on top. It’s ready for the oven in just 15 minutes, and I serve mine with celery, carrots, crackers, and tortilla chips.
There are two types of game-day cooks. The one who tears open a rotisserie chicken and stirs everything cold into a bowl, and the one who takes a few extra minutes to cook and shred the chicken and brown the aromatics first. I have been both, and I promise you the second one tastes way better. This and my BLT dip are the two my wife asks for the second football season starts. If you want to get ahead of it, my shredded chicken recipe is the shortcut you need. If you like a little more heat, my buffalo wings are in the same lineup at our house.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Buffalo chicken dip is an American party appetizer that takes the flavors of buffalo wings, cream cheese, and ranch and serves them warm as a scoopable dip instead of on the bone. It shows up at tailgates, Super Bowl tables, and potlucks all over the country.
Here is how it goes. You cook and shred the chicken. Then, brown the onion and garlic in oil and melt everything down with cream cheese, buffalo sauce, and ranch. Fold in most of the cheese, scrape it into a baking dish, top with the cheese you held back. Bake until the top is melted and lightly browned.
I overthought this dip for years, dumping in whatever was in the fridge and wondering why it tasted flat. Then I started treating it like anything else I cooked on the line, seasoning as I went and browning the aromatics for real flavor, and it became the thing my friends ask me to bring. I highly recommend making a dish of this the next time you have a house full of people and a game on.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here is what I use to make this buffalo chicken dip recipe and what swaps in when you need it:
- Chicken – I use boneless skinless chicken breasts in my recipe because that’s really my wife and daughter’s favorite part of the chicken. However, you could certainly use thighs or legs as well. If you’re looking to save time, a precooked rotisserie chicken works great for this recipe.
- Olive oil – Just enough fat to sear the chicken and brown the onion and garlic. Ghee or avocado oil work the same.
- Chicken stock – The braising liquid that keeps the chicken moist and adds savory flavor as it cooks. Vegetable stock or water will do, but stock gives you more to work with.
- Yellow onion – Since I’m looking to brown them up, yellow onions are always the best. However, a white, red, or sweet onion would work, as well as shallots. Yes, you could get away with using dry onion, and it’s a 4-to-1 ratio of fresh to dry.
- Garlic – Cooked just until fragrant so it threads through every other ingredient without any raw sharpness.
- Cream cheese – Full-fat, softened, and cubed so it melts smooth. This is what makes the dip creamy.
- Ranch dressing – The tangy, herby note that ties buffalo and cheese together. Homemade is best, but your favorite bottled brand is fine.
- My homemade buffalo sauce is the heat and vinegar tang that makes it buffalo chicken dip. A bottled cayenne-butter buffalo sauce like Frank’s or Lily Q’s is what you want here, not straight hot sauce, or the whole thing comes out blistering.
- Sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack – Cheddar brings the tang and color, Jack brings the melt and a mild nutty note. Mozzarella melts nicely and a little crumbled blue cheese takes it toward classic wings if that is your thing.
- Salt and pepper – I pretty much only use diamond crystal kosher and I crack my own pepper these days. Season well to make sure this is delicious.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Dip
Prep: Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.
Sear in olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, undisturbed, for 3 to 4 minutes so a light crust forms.
Braise: Flip, add the chicken stock, cover, and cook over low to medium heat.
Shred the chicken: Remove and shred with two forks on a plate.
Brown the onion: Add a little more oil to the pan over low to medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook 6 to 8 minutes until lightly browned.
Add the garlic: Stir in the garlic and cook about 30 seconds until fragrant.
Melt the base: Add the shredded chicken, cream cheese, buffalo sauce, and ranch to the pan. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the cream cheese is completely melted and everything is smooth.
Fold in the cheese: Fold in most of the shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack. Reserve about a half cup of the cheese for the top. Stir just until the cheese is melted through.
Transfer and top: Scrape the mixture into a baking dish and smooth the top. Scatter the reserved cheese over the surface all the way to the edges.
Bake: Bake at 350°F on a middle rack for about 30 minutes, until the cheese on top is melted and lightly browned at the edges.
Serve: I love serving hot with celery, carrots, crackers, or tortilla chips.
Chef Tip + Notes
This is a classic appetizer for football Sundays, so I’ve made it many times already. Taste and season the base right before it goes into the baking dish, while you can still adjust it. Buffalo sauce, ranch, and cheese all bring their own salt, so I add my kosher salt in stages. Once on the chicken, once on the onions, and then a final check at the end. I also add freshly cracked pepper at the finish. When people say food tastes bland, 99.9% of the time it is under-seasoned, not under-sauced.
- Cook the chicken yourself: Shred your own chicken instead of using canned chunk chicken. The sear and braise add a savory flavor canned chicken cannot match, and a rotisserie bird is the fast version that still tastes real.
- Brown the aromatics: Take the extra 6 to 8 minutes to brown the onion and cook the garlic. Fresh browned aromatics beat onion powder every time in my opinion.
- Get the buffalo sauce right: Use an actual buffalo sauce, not plain hot sauce. Buffalo sauce is cut with butter and cornstarch to add body and balance the heat, so it flavors the dip rather than scorching it.
- Chase the browned top: Bake until the cheese on top browns at the edges. That color is your visual cue that the center is fully hot, and the cheese has melted the way it should.
Serving Suggestions
This is the dish I set in the middle of the table when the game is on, and people are grazing for 3 hours straight. My daughter handles the celery and carrots. I keep the crackers and tortilla chips stocked, and that’s pretty much all we need. If I am putting out a real game day table, I will place it next to a tray of crispy potato skins and a plate of deviled eggs with bacon so there is hot, cold, and creamy all going at once.
For a bigger crowd, I add a bowl of guacamole for folks who want something cooler to balance the heat. It is hearty enough to be a small meal, so any that survives the game gets covered and stashed. The next day I scoop it onto a toasted buns or fold it into scrambled eggs, and lunch takes care of itself.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: I can make this up to 30 minutes ahead and hold it warm, covered, at a very low oven temperature on a middle rack so the cheese stays melty.
How to Store: I cover it and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
How to Reheat: Cover it with foil and warm it in a 350°F oven on a middle rack for about 12 to 15 minutes, then take the foil off and give it another 5 to 7 minutes to brown the cheese back up.
Freezing: I freeze it for up to 3 months, then thaw it in the fridge for a day. Some of the cheese may separate, so I give it a good stir before reheating.
More Appetizer Recipes
Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1 ½ pounds total
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 yellow onion, peeled small diced about ½ cup
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese, cut into 1” cubes
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- 3/4 cup buffalo sauce
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Shredded chicken:
- Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a medium sized sauce pan over medium high heat. Once it begins to smoke lightly, add in the seasoned chicken breasts and cook untouched for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Flip the chicken over, add in the chicken stock, cover it, and cook over low to medium heat or until it will easily shred with two forks. Remove the chicken and shred. This cook time is not included in the final cook time.
Make the Dip
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to medium sized sauce pan over low to medium heat. Add in the onions, gently season with salt and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Then stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Next, add in the shredded chicken along with the cream cheese, buffalo sauce, and ranch dressing. Cook over low heat for 1 to minutes or until the cream cheese is completely melted.
- Then, fold in 1 ½ cups of the sharp and Monterey jack cheese while keeping a half cup to the side.
- Transfer the mixture to a 5×9 or like sized baking dish. Evenly sprinkle on the remaining half cup of shredded cheese. Bake in the oven at 350° on a middle rack for 30 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and maybe gently browned.
- Serve with carrots, celery, crackers, or tortilla chips.
Buffalo Chicken Dip