Calling all buffalo sauce, buffalo wing, and hot dip lovers! One bite of this will change your life! It is easy, hearty, cheesy, and loaded with amazing flavor!
Hot Mama this Simple Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip is delicious! I can confidently say that I've made this dip no less than a hundred times in my life, and every single time, I leave the party with an empty dish.
Buffalo Chicken Dip can be made ahead of time, refrigerated, then baked in the oven before serving. Also, amongst a spread of indulgent potluck foods, it's a great low-carbohydrate, high-protein option that can be served with tortilla chips or vegetables.
When you need a go-to, a last-minute addition to a spread, turn to this dip! It will never fail you!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Recipe Card Below
- Cream Cheese
- Pepper Jack Cheese
- Cheddar Cheese
- Buffalo Sauce
- Ranch
- Shredded Cooked Chicken
- Optional: Green Onions, Chips, Blue Cheese, Cut-Up Vegetables
Tools You’ll Need
- 2 Quart Baking Dish
- Hand Mixer
- Cheese Grater
Why You’ll Like Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip
- It's addictively delicious!
- It's low in carbohydrates and high in protein!
- It's easy and takes less than 10 minutes to make!
- It can be made ahead of time and heated when ready to serve!
- It heats up well as a snack!
- It can be repurposed as a sandwich, wrap, or filling for a baked potato!
- It's a great way to use up leftover chicken!
- You can easily double or triple it for a larger crowd!
- It can be made in a Crockpot as well!
- It's a great dish to socialize around!
- It can be accompanied by lots of dipping options!
- It's easy to transport from home to a party!
- It's hot, decadent, cheesy, ooey-gooey goodness!
How to Make This Recipe
- In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, ¾ cup of each cheese, buffalo sauce, and ranch with a hand mixer until well combined.
- Fold in cooked chicken. Once combined, pour and spread evenly in a 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheeses on top.
- Bake 350℉ 30-35 minutes or until it's bubbling at the edges and browned on top.
- Garnish as desired and serve with your favorite accompaniments.
Tips and Substitutions
- If making this dip ahead of time, while the oven preheats, allow the dish to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Or, you can add 5-10 minutes to the bake time if going straight from the refrigerator to the oven.
- This dip is beautiful when garnished with sliced green onions, fresh or canned jalapeños, or crumbled blue cheese. Warning: blue cheese is loved or hated, so you might want to check with guests for preferences.
- Adding crumbled, cooked bacon on top adds a great smoky flavor and textural addition!
- Any cooked chicken you have on hand will work for this dish. You can use leftover chicken from dinner, a rotisserie chicken, or even canned chicken.
- The cream cheese needs to be at room temperature for ideal blending. Regular or light cream cheese both work great as well.
- Ranch dressing can be store-bought or homemade. Also, regular or light varieties both work.
- Packaged pre-shredded or freshly shredded cheeses both work in this dish. However, pre-shredded cheese has additives that help keep it from clumping. This does impact its ability to melt and meld with the other ingredients as well.
Storage
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Buffalo sauce is a type of hot sauce that is typically made from a combination of hot sauce, vinegar, and butter. The sauce is named after the city of Buffalo, New York, where it was first created in the 1960s.
Buffalo sauce is known for its tangy, moderately spicy flavor. There are different levels of heat depending on the brand of the sauce and temperament for heat is different from person to person.
Monterey Jack, Colby, Colby Jack, mozzarella, mild cheddar, medium cheddar, and sharp cheddar all work well in this delicious dip! I sometimes use making this dip as an opportunity to clean out my cheese drawer.
You can add ¼ to ½ cup blue cheese crumbles right before serving and/or serve blue cheese dressing on the side for dipping.
You can microwave it, stirring every minute until heated through. You can also reheat it in the oven at 350℉, stirring every 10 minutes until heated through.
Mix the ingredients the same as instructed for the oven, leaving off the shredded cheese from the top. Cook on high 1 ½ hours then stir well. Add the shredded cheese to the top and cook an additional 30 minutes on high or 1 hour on low or until the cheese is melted.
Pooling grease or oil usually happens for 1 of 2 reasons: the initial blend wasn't sufficient or it was overcooked. It is important that the buffalo sauce, cream cheese, shredded cheese, and ranch are mixed well together first. There will naturally be a little grease from the cheese that is incorporated within the dish and on top.
More Recipes Like This
Simple Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients
- 8 oz ⅓ less-fat or regular cream cheese softened
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese divided
- 1 cup shredded medium or sharp cheddar cheese divided
- ½ cup buffalo sauce
- ½ cup light or regular ranch dressing
- 2 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- To a medium bowl, add cream cheese, ¾ cup of each cheese, buffalo sauce and ranch. Blend with a hand mixer until well combined.
- Fold in cooked chicken. Once combined, pour and spread evenly in a 2 quart baking dish.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheeses on top. Bake 30-35 minutes or until it's bubbling at the edges and browned on top.
- Garnish with green onions. Serve with chips and vegetables.
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