Buffalo Chicken Dip is the hot, cheesy chicken dip of every game day: shredded chicken stirred into a warm sauce of cream cheese, ranch dressing and hot sauce, mixed with mozzarella and cheddar, then baked until the sides bubble and broiled until the top turns golden. Scoop it up with tortilla chips, vegetable sticks or crackers. One 9×9 pan serves 12 as an appetizer.
How to make it: Melt the cream cheese into the ranch and hot sauce with pepper and garlic powder. Stir in the shredded chicken, green onion and 1 cup each of mozzarella and cheddar, spread it in the pan and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 30 minutes, until the center reaches 165°F, then broil 2 to 3 minutes.
Why You’ll Love It
- All the buffalo flavor: hot sauce and ranch, like wings with dressing, but scoopable.
- Smooth, not lumpy: the cream cheese melts into the sauce on the stove before anything goes in the oven.
- Golden, bubbly top: two cheeses and a quick broil.
- Feeds a crowd: one pan, 12 servings, ready to set out.
- Make-ahead friendly: assemble it, cover it and bake it when guests arrive.
What Is Buffalo Chicken Dip?
It’s a warm, baked party dip made from four core ingredients: shredded chicken, cream cheese, ranch dressing and hot sauce, finished with melted cheese. Search for “chicken dip” and almost every recipe you’ll find is this buffalo version.
A different dip goes by the name crack chicken dip. It skips the hot sauce and uses ranch seasoning mix, bacon, sour cream and cheddar with the chicken and cream cheese. Both are baked and served warm; buffalo is the spicy one.
Ingredient Notes
Chicken: 3 large boneless, skinless breasts, poached and shredded, which gives about 3 to 4 cups. About 4 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken is the shortcut. Baked breasts or thighs and leftover turkey work too, and drained canned chicken in a pinch.
Cream cheese: one 8-ounce block, full fat, cut into cubes. Low-fat cream cheese can separate in the oven.
Ranch dressing: 1 cup, homemade or bottled. Blue cheese dressing can stand in for a sharper dip.
Hot sauce: 1 cup, plus more to taste.
Seasoning: 1 teaspoon each freshly ground black pepper and garlic powder.
Cheese: 1 1/2 cups each of shredded mozzarella and cheddar, divided. Both melt smoothly. Cheese you shred yourself comes together better than bagged shreds.
Green onion: 1/2 cup, chopped.
Ingredients
- 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, boiled and shredded (about 3 to 4 cups cooked chicken; about 4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken also works)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, full-fat block, cubed
- 1 cup ranch dressing, homemade or store-bought; blue cheese dressing also works
- 1 cup hot sauce, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Dip
1. Cook the chicken. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the chicken breasts and return to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat, cover it with a tight-fitting lid and let the chicken poach for about 25 minutes, until the thickest part reaches 165°F on a food thermometer. Take the chicken out, let it cool until you can handle it, then shred it. This time is not counted in the total. Skip this step if you use about 4 cups of cooked rotisserie chicken.
2. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9×9-inch baking pan (or one of about that size) with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Warm the sauce. In 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 into the ranch and hot sauce, then take the pot off the heat.
4. Mix and fill the pan. Add the shredded chicken, green onion, 1 cup of the mozzarella and 1 cup of the cheddar to the pot and mix well. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan and top it with the remaining mozzarella and cheddar.
5. Bake. Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the cheese has melted, the sides bubble and the center of the dip reaches 165°F. Then set the oven to broil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, until the top is golden brown, and take it out right away.
6. Serve. Serve hot with tortilla chips, vegetable sticks or crackers.
How to Keep It Smooth (and Less Greasy)
- Use full-fat block cream cheese. Low-fat cream cheese can separate when baked.
- Melt it first. Whisk the cubed cream cheese with the ranch and hot sauce over medium-low heat until it dissolves completely. Adding the chicken to a lump-free sauce keeps the whole dip smooth.
- Soften cold cream cheese. A few seconds in the microwave makes it easier to cube and melt.
- Shred your own cheese. Freshly shredded mozzarella and cheddar blend in better.
- Choose breast meat. No buffalo chicken dip is ever grease-free with this much cheese, but white meat keeps the extra fat down compared with thighs.
- Watch the broiler. Two or three minutes is all it needs; take it out as soon as the top is golden.
Serving It at a Party
Hot dips need a little care on a buffet. Keep the dip at 140°F or warmer in a slow cooker set to warm, a chafing dish or a warming tray. If it’s sitting out at room temperature, put it away within 2 hours (1 hour if it’s above 90°F). For a long party, bake it in two smaller pans and put the second one out later.
Good dippers: tortilla chips, crackers, pretzels, pita chips, toasted baguette slices, celery and carrot sticks, and sweet mini peppers. Leftover dip is also good wrapped in a tortilla with some greens.
Variations
- Blue cheese: use blue cheese dressing in place of ranch, or scatter blue cheese crumbles on top.
- Milder: start with less hot sauce and add more to taste.
- Different cheese: Jack cheese melts well; feta or blue cheese gives a sharper bite.
- Slow cooker: mix everything in a small slow cooker and cook on high about 30 minutes until hot all the way through. You won’t get the browned top, but it stays warm for serving.
- No-bake: drained canned chicken stirred with cream cheese, hot sauce, ranch and cheddar can be served cold. Keep it in the refrigerator and don’t leave it out more than 2 hours.
Make Ahead & Storage
Make ahead: Poach and shred the chicken a day early, or assemble the whole dip in its pan, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you’re ready to bake. A cold dip may need a few extra minutes; bake until the center reaches 165°F.
Leftovers: Refrigerate within 2 hours in shallow covered containers and eat within 3 to 4 days.
Reheating: Reheat covered in the microwave or a 350°F oven (tent it with foil) until it reaches 165°F. Don’t reheat leftovers in a slow cooker.
Freezing: Not recommended. The cheese mixture turns chalky when reheated from frozen.
What to Serve With It
Round out the snack table with another warm dip, like the best dip in the world, a 4-ingredient cheese dip or white queso dip. For finger food with the same chicken, cheese and ranch flavors, add crack chicken pinwheels or chicken bacon ranch pinwheels.
Want it as dinner instead? Slow cooker cream cheese crack chicken turns shredded chicken, cream cheese and ranch into sandwiches.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the four ingredients in chicken dip?
Shredded chicken, cream cheese, ranch dressing and hot sauce. Melted cheese on top finishes it.
How do you make an easy chicken dip?
Melt cream cheese with ranch and hot sauce, stir in shredded chicken and cheese, and bake at 350°F until bubbly and 165°F in the center.
Can I use rotisserie or canned chicken?
Yes. About 4 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken replaces the poached breasts. Drained canned chicken works as a last resort.
What is crack chicken dip?
A chicken dip made with cream cheese, ranch seasoning mix, bacon, sour cream and cheddar, with no hot sauce.
Why is my buffalo chicken dip greasy?
The cheese and cream cheese release some fat as they bake. Using breast meat instead of thighs keeps it down.
Can I make it ahead?
Yes. Assemble it, cover it and refrigerate it until you’re ready to bake, then bake until the center reaches 165°F.
Can I freeze buffalo chicken dip?
It’s not recommended. The cheese turns chalky when reheated from frozen.
Final Notes
Melt the cream cheese into the sauce first, bake until the center hits 165°F and give it a quick broil for that golden top. If you try it with blue cheese or in the slow cooker, tell me in the comments how it turned out.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
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Ingredients
- 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts boiled and shredded (about 3 to 4 cups cooked chicken; about 4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken also works)
- 8 ounces cream cheese full-fat block, cubed
- 1 cup ranch dressing homemade or store-bought; blue cheese dressing also works
- 1 cup hot sauce plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup green onion chopped
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded, divided
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese shredded, divided
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the chicken breasts and return to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat, cover it with a tight-fitting lid and let the chicken poach for about 25 minutes, until the thickest part reaches 165°F on a food thermometer. Take the chicken out, let it cool until you can handle it, then shred it. This time is not counted in the total. Skip this step if you use about 4 cups of cooked rotisserie chicken.
- Heat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9x9-inch baking pan (or one of about that size) with nonstick cooking spray.
- In 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 into the ranch and hot sauce, then take the pot off the heat.
- Add the shredded chicken, green onion, 1 cup of the mozzarella and 1 cup of the cheddar to the pot and mix well. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan and top it with the remaining mozzarella and cheddar.
- Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the cheese has melted, the sides bubble and the center of the dip reaches 165°F. Then set the oven to broil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, until the top is golden brown, and take it out right away.
- Serve hot with tortilla chips, vegetable sticks or crackers.
