Easy Buffalo Chicken Dip
If there’s one thing you know about me, it’s that I like easy recipes. From these mini calzones to these easy breakfast muffins – I like easy. This baked buffalo chicken dip is just that – easy. It is literally five ingredients just layered on top of each other and baked in one dish. Yep, I said one dish. That means clean-up is also easy. There’s a reason this dip is a staple at all of my family’s parties. I’ve tried a lot of chicken dip recipes in my day and this is by far the best buffalo chicken dip I’ve tried! Easy and delicious. Perfect for a Super Bowl Sunday (eat it while playing Super Bowl bingo) party, one of these fall party ideas, or really just an afternoon snack. Pretty sure I make it anytime someone asks me to bring something to share because I always have buffalo chicken dip ingredients on hand. And any leftovers? I use them the next day in things like buffalo chicken pinwheels, buffalo chicken stuffed potatoes, and buffalo chicken flautas.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
No-Fail Recipe – as long as you don’t forget to take this out of the oven, it’s pretty hard to screw up. And those are my favorite kind of recipes! Amazing flavor – the combination of the buffalo sauce, creamy ranch dressing, and cream cheese are amazing together!Good at room temp – when you’re serving a dip at a party, you want to make sure it’s good served at room temperature since it’s likely going to be sitting for a while. This one is of course better warm but it’s also great once it cool downs a bit!
Buffalo Chicken Dip Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Like I mentioned before, there are only five ingredients in this recipe and honestly most of them you probably already have at home. Here’s what you’ll need!
Shredded chicken – you want cooked, shredded chicken. I prefer chicken breasts but really any boneless skinless shredded chicken works. Frank’s Buffalo Sauce – You could use any buffalo sauce but Frank’s Red Hot is a classic and what we use, so I guess technically you could call this Frank’s buffalo chicken dip! Use leftovers in these buffalo chicken egg rolls!Cream cheese – you want to use the brick, not the spreadable kind, and you want it to be softened so it’s easily spreadable. I typically take it out of the fridge about an hour before I’m going to make this. Ranch dressing – I just use regular old Hidden Valley ranch dressing but you could use any favorite, it’s just for cutting the heat of the buffalo sauceMozzarella cheese – I like mozzarella but if you have something else on hand, toss it in. I’ve tried it with shredded parmesan, cheddar, and mozzarella and all are good. Mozzarella is just a personal favorite.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Dip
I don’t know why I’m even writing out the steps for this dip – it’s so easy since it’s literally just combining buffalo chicken dip ingredients in a pan and baking. But here we go anyway! And if you’re more of a video person, you can watch the video below to see how this is made!
1 – Make the buffalo chicken.
Combine the shredded chicken and buffalo sauce together in a large plastic bag until all the chicken is coated. If you like your dip with a lot of heat, add more buffalo sauce than the the recipe calls for. I wrote it to be mild so everyone could enjoy it!
2 – Spread the cream cheese.
Take your room temperature cream cheese and spread it along the bottom of your pan, creating an even layer along the entire bottom.
3 – Add your ingredients in layers.
Add the buffalo chicken in a single layer on top of the cream cheese and spread out so there is chicken across the entire dish. Once the chicken is added, add the ranch dressing on top of the buffalo chicken – no need to mix it in. This will help cut the heat of the buffalo sauce. If you want it hotter, just add more buffalo sauce – keep the ranch. Last but not least, top it with all sorts of yummy shredded cheese.
4 – Bake!
There’s a reason this is called a baked buffalo chicken dip recipe. Once all of your ingredients are in, bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and gooey. Everything in the dish is already cooked so you’re really just heating things up and melting them together.
5 – Garnish and serve.
If you want, top the buffalo chicken dip with some parsley or sliced green onions (not my choice but I know people like it that way). Serve hot with chips, bread, and veggies. Celery sticks are especially good in this!
Expert Tips
Go light on the buffalo sauce the first time you make it if you’re worried about it being too spicy. Then add more the next time around. Make sure you cover the entire bottom of the dish with cream cheese so you can get all the flavors in every bite. The creaminess of the cream cheese is a big part of the dip! Heat it back up in the oven for a few minutes if it sits out too long and the cheese is no longer gooey. Heating it back up will make the dip just like brand new. Store the dip in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. Reheat in the oven and enjoy again and again throughout the week.
More Appetizer Recipes
If you like game day appetizers, you’re going to love these other delicious recipes!
Queso fundido – this amazing dip is what you’d get if queso taco dip had a baby! It’s so good! Mini calzones – if you like pizza, you’ll love these bite-sized versions! Perfect for a game day snack. Bacon wrapped smokies – Bacon glazed in honey wrapped around little mini hot dogs, these are my personal favorite! Best spinach artichoke dip – this one is a crowd favorite and super easy to make! Pulled pork sliders – sweet pulled pork topped with a homemade cabbage slaw all on a sweet Hawaiian roll!
