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This easy Vegetarian Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe swaps out chicken for cannellini beans and honestly, nobody at the party will ever notice! It’s creamy, spicy, and loaded with cheese + ready in just 40 minutes.
Love vegetarian dips? You need to try our Loaded Black Bean Dip as well as our simple Cottage Cheese Queso and our Cream Cheese Taco Dip!
Why you’ll love this Vegetarian Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe
game day
Why you’ll LOVE this:
- Protein packed – the beans add fiber AND a good source of protein in place of chicken giving this 18 grams of protein per serving!
- Only 10 minutes of prep – the whole thing comes together in one pot, dumped in the baking dish, and then topped with cheese before being popped in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Big + bold flavor – between the ranch, buffalo sauce, and all of the cheese, this is absolutely PACKED with flavor.
- Great for a crowd – this crowd-pleasing dip is the ultimate vegetarian super bowl recipe! I’m certain that even avid meat eaters will love this version and there will certainly be non left over!
Ingredients needed
The simple ingredients for this recipe are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the pantry staples needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired!
- White beans – I’m using cannellini beans for this recipe but really any white beans work well. Even chickpeas would be nice in this recipe! I think it would work ok but I don’t personally recommend black beans in this recipe.
- Cream cheese – cubed cream cheese really gives this dip the creamy and rich flavor we all love so much! Use a vegan cream cheese to keep this dairy free and vegan.
- Hot sauce – I’m a baby about spicy food even though I love it so I often get the mild version of buffalo sauce. Any kind you have will work well.
- Ranch – I’m using a classic ranch dressing here. Get a vegan version as desired. For a lighter version, you can swap this for Greek yogurt or even sour cream.
- Cheddar cheese – I prefer freshly grated cheddar cheese as it melts better. Any cheese you want here will work well including a vegan version.
- Mozzarella – I love topping this dip with nice and melty cheese! You can use other melty cheeses or vegan cheese as desired.
- Green onions – For a nice onion kick. Make sure to chop extra for garnish. Chives also work well.
- Garlic powder + pepper – for extra flavor!
- For serving – tortilla chips, pita chips, veggies such as carrot and celery
How to Make Vegetarian Buffalo Dip
Just a reminder that you can find the FULL written instructions down in the recipe card, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you :)
- Mash the beans – place HALF of the beans in a bowl or on a large plate and use the back of a fork to mash them. The texture here doesn’t matter too much and some larger chunks leftover are totally fine.
- Start the sauce – In a pot, which together the buffalo sauce, cream cheese, ranch, pepper, and garlic powder. Whisk until the cream cheese has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat.
- Stir in beans, cheese, and onion – Stir in the mashed and whole beans, green onion, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and 1 cup cheddar cheese to the sauce until well combined.
- Layer on the cheese & bake – Transfer to a small baking dish and top with the remaining mozzarella and cheddar. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and a nice golden brown. Top with green onions or cilantro and ENJOY hot!
Recipe Tips
- Cube the cream cheese first – this really helps the cream cheese melt evenly and quickly into the sauce without very many lumps remaining.
- Don’t over-mash the beans – leaving some texture in the beans helps the dip feel heartier and more like it has shredded chicken in it.
- Adjust the heat to taste – start with what the recipe calls for (1 cup) and then add more once baked if you want it spicier!
- Be careful with the broiler – every broiler is different so watch yours closely! It can only take a couple minutes to go from golden brown to burnt, so don’t walk away.
Frequently Asked Questions
For sure! Assemble the dip up to a day in advance (follow the steps up until baking it), cover, and refrigerate. Bake it fresh when you’re ready to serve it, adding a few extra minutes to the bake time since it’s starting from cold.
Yes! I’m a huge fan of white beans in this recipe (such as cannellini, great northern, or navy beans) but chickpeas also work well.
Yes- combine all of the ingredients (be sure to mash the beans first) in the slow cooker and cook on low for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until melted and heated through. As desired, you could save the cheese topping and place that on in the last 30 minutes of cooking.
Vegetarian Buffalo Bean Dip
Ingredients
- 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 8 oz cream cheese, cubed
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- 1 cup buffalo hot sauce, such as Frank’s RedHot
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup green onion, chopped
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Roughly mash HALF of the beans. I do this by placing the beans in a bowl or on a large plate and mashing them with a fork. You can still have some larger chunks left over. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the cream cheese, ranch, buffalo sauce, 1 pepper, and garlic powder. Whisk until the cream cheese has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat.
- Stir in the mashed and whole beans, green onion, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and 1 cup cheddar cheese to the sauce until well combined. Transfer to your prepared baking dish and top with the remaining mozzarella and cheddar.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted, a nice golden brown color, and bubbling at the edges. For a dark golden top, broil for an additional 2-3 minutes, watching closely so it doesn’t burn.
- Top with cilantro and/ or green onion and serve warm with tortilla chips, crackers, or veggie sticks.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
