Super Easy Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip

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Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip is a must-have at your next party for game day. Creamy and cheesy, this classic dip has a bit of a kick to it. And it's easy to make even hotter! This hearty vegan dip goes great with tortilla chips or sliced celery sticks.

Hey Internet, we got an amazing appetizer for you. We made this vegan buffalo chicken dip recipe a while back and we wanted to make it again. It's such a creamy dip! The best part is dipping a chip into that gooey top layer of vegan cheddar cheese. Just delicious.

We use this recipe as one of our go-to party foods. Just wrap the baking dish in aluminum foil after it's cooled. Then take it and a bag of chips or veggies to your event and your good to go.

We have plenty of other vegan recipes for parties. Our Vegan Brie and Vegan Salami are great for more refined parties. Our Vegan Jalapeno Poppers are more the right vibe for a football game. These BBQ Soy Curls are another great choice, but they take a little bit of prep.

What's great about our vegan buffalo dip recipe is that it doesn't take much effort to make. Just pop the ingredients into a food processor and then put it in a baking dish, top with vegan cheese and then bake. It's good food without a lot of hard work.

Why You'll Love This Easy Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip

• Simple Ingredients: White beans, vegan cheese, Frank's Red Hot Sauce, and spices. You can use soy curls if you want an incredible vegan chicken option. More on that in the substitutions.
• Easy to Customize: More Heat? Less Heat? We got you covered and more down below.
• Easy Storage: Just add some foil or store in airtight container and any leftover dip can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Ingredients

Pick up these simple ingredients the next time you're at a grocery store. See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredients, instructions, and accurate nutritional information (to the best of my ability; please consult your physician or healthcare professional if you have specific dietary needs). I give substitutions for the ingredients in the section below this one, so most people can still make this recipe!

• 3 15-Ounce Cans White Beans (About 4 ½ Cups Altogether): I used a mixture of white navy beans and Great Northern beans. The navy beans blend really well and the Great Northern beans are almost “meaty” so they’re nice kept whole in the last step. Chickpeas or butter beans would also work really well here. You could easily substitute jackfruit, soy curls, seitan, super firm tofu, or a store-bought chicken alternative.
• 1-16 Ounce Block Silken Tofu: More silky (get it?) than regular tofu, silken tofu is tofu that hasn’t been curdled. It’s perfectly safe to eat—it still gets cooked down, but it is smooth so it really lends itself well to being blended. I like it in this recipe because it takes the place of the cream cheese and makes the recipe creamy without adding a ton of fat. If you prefer, substitute a thick cashew cream or vegan sour cream.
• ½ Cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce: It wouldn’t really be a buffalo recipe without Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, am I right? This sauce is a mixture of cayenne peppers, vinegar and garlic powder, so you get a nice kick of heat and flavor from it.  
• ½ Cup Nutritional Yeast: This ingredient is so good at getting a cheesy and nutty flavor into any dish. It's great as a topping for many pasta dishes, but it's good to treat it like spice here.
• 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 2 Teaspoons Onion Powder
• 1 ¼ Teaspoons Sea Salt: You can use more or less of this to taste.
• ½ Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• 1 Cup Green Onions, Chopped (White Parts Separated): Chop up a bunch of green onions and use the white, firmer parts in the body of our vegan buffalo dip. They add a great little crunch and some good flavor. We can use the thinner green parts on top as a garnish AFTER the dip is baked (otherwise they burn). The white parts are tougher and will soften during their time in the oven. 
• 1 Cup Vegan Cheese + Extra for Topping

Substitutions

• Beans: You can partly or fully substitute the beans in this recipe with soy curls. Rehydrate them in a vegan chicken broth or a vegetable broth for about 10 minutes, making sure to stir them every few minutes. Then add them to a pan an lightly brown them on a cooking range. Then add them to the steps where the beans would be used. I would recommend having a bean and soy curl mixture, adding the soy curls in the during the blitzing process or the final mix in just before the bake.
• Silken Tofu: Raw cashews can be used as a replacement for the tofu. For a smooth cashew sauce, add 3 cups raw cashews to 4 cups boiling water. You can boil your water easily in a kettle or a microwave safe dish. Let them soak for at least 10-15 minutes (an hour is best) then strain them. Add it to a high speed blender with about half a cup or more of water, adding the extra a little at a time, until smooth. You could also use vegan cream cheese.
• Vegan Cheese: If you don't have store-bought, you can make some of your own! You could shred our Vegan Cheddar on top, or you could make the mix for our Vegan Mozzarella Sauce or Vegan Cheddar Sauce and pour it on top to let it cook during the bake.

How to Make Creamy Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip

1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius) and lightly grease a 8x8 baking dish (or line with parchment paper if oil-free; canned coconut milk also works).
2. Drain beans: Start by draining 3 cans of beans—but keep them separate! I like to rinse mine because I’m already adding salt to the dip.
3. Blend: To a food processor (you can use a blender instead, try not to overblend in the next few steps--it’s nice to keep texture in this dish), add the first can of beans (I used white navy beans in this step), the silken tofu (after draining it), hot sauce, nutritional yeast, and spices. Blend until mostly smooth.
4. Pulse: Add the next can of beans (I used another can of white navy beans in this step) and just pulse it a few times to break the beans but not pulverize them.
5. Add the rest to a baking dish: Scrape the mixture into your baking dish and then add the remaining can of beans (I used a can of Great Northern beans in this step because they’re a little more “meaty”), white parts of the green onions, and the vegan shredded cheese (if using. Reserve a bit of the cheese for sprinkling on top). Mix through with a spoon or spatula and flatten the top.
6. Bake: Sprinkle on vegan cheese or panko breadcrumbs or nothing, if you prefer. Bake uncovered in the oven for 30 minutes. If your vegan cheese isn’t melting, you can try turning up the heat (I would go to 400F/205C… or use the broiler if you have one) for up to 10 minutes.
7. Cool and enjoy: Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes to thicken and cool a bit. Enjoy with chips (we used unsalted tortilla chips), carrots, celery, or whatever else you like. Pretzels would be nice here too, or you could dunk bread in it or even use it as a sandwich filling (it’s substantial enough and would be amazing on a toasted sub roll).
8. Store: Refrigerate leftover vegan buffalo chicken dip in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

How to Customize This Recipe

• Add a drizzle of vegan ranch dressing to the top—it’s really easy to make at home!
• Cube up some avocado and sprinkle that on top.
• Slice or dice up some jalapenos and mix them into this for extra spiciness.
• Try a different hot sauce—why not try sriracha or sweet chili sauce to mix it up?
• Use vegan chicken as the base--why not tear up some store bought vegan chicken nuggets or patties or give my jackfruit vegan shredded chicken a try?
• Add some olives—I’d use black olives in this.
• Chop up some fresh herbs like parsley and dill and serve those on top.
• Add a note of tanginess with a squeeze of lemon or a little vinegar (a little goes a long way).
• Add a crunchy topping like panko bread crumbs right before baking.
• Mix in some thawed frozen corn for a pop of sweetness and more texture.
• Dice up a white or sweet onion and mix that through before baking. It will get softened by the oven but will still add more flavor and a bit of crunch to the filling.

Storage Instructions

Place your leftover dip into airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 5 days. Reheat in a microwave until warm again.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Great Vegan Game Day Recipes

• Vegan Gluten-free Teriyaki Cauliflower Wings
• Vegan Pigs in a Blanket
• Vegan Baked Potato
• Vegan Charcuterie Board
• Vegan Sheet Pan Quesadilla
• Vegan Crab Rangoon
• Easy Vegan Tuna Melt Sandwiches

We have even more recipes on our post on Vegan Game Day Recipes!

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