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This Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip is the best healthy twist on this American classic. It’s equally rich, spicy, hearty, and cheesy – everything you’d want in a delicious game day dip. Gluten-free, Nut-free.
This Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip is a must-make for your next party, get together, or family movie night. It’s made with just 15 minutes of prep time and served warm right from the oven. No one will believe it doesn’t contain animal products!
Table of Contents
A Healthier Twist on Everyone’s Favorite Party Dip
Growing up, buffalo chicken dip was a staple at every party, game day, and casual hang out I could remember. Since I was raised a vegetarian, I never tried the ultra popular classic, but I did always marvel at its popularity. People were seriously obsessed!
Now that I’ve made my own version of this fan favorite, I can understand the hype. It’s spicy, creamy, cheesy, and has the perfect amount of texture. This version is what I’d call healthy buffalo chicken dip. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t miss out on any of the flavor. I’ve just made a few simple swaps for better, more nutritious ingredients. Vegans and non vegans alike will be raving about this one!
Ingredients for Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip
Classic versions of this dip are typically made with 4 components: shredded chicken, cream cheese, buffalo wing sauce, and ranch dressing. This plant-based version is of course a vegan and dairy free variation, yet equally creamy, spicy, tangy and the perfect thick, warm dip to spread on your favorite dippers. Here are a few key ingredient notes:
- Jackfruit – This is our vegan chicken. I’ve used both packaged and canned jackfruit and both work just fine! If choosing packaged jackfruit, look for a plain or very lightly seasoned version.
- Silken tofu – When paired with dried herbs, this combo makes a healthy, plant-based vegan ranch dressing.
- Cream cheese – The vegan cheese and true star of this rich and creamy dip. My favorite is Kite Hill – it’s naturally oil-free and has the perfect amount of tang, but feel free to use your personal favorite!
- Buffalo sauce – Essential to achieving that classic kick and spicy flavor. Good news is most versions are naturally vegan as-is. I typically use Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce.
How to Make Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Cut out the hard “core” and pods, then shred the remaining jackfruit pieces and set aside.
- Sauté the onion until translucent. Add in the garlic, parsley, dill, and black pepper and sauté for a couple minutes, or until fragrant.
- Blend the cooked onion mixture, vegan cream cheese, tofu, hot sauce, nutritional yeast, and tahini in a high speed blender until thick and smooth.
- Spread the jackfruit across the bottom of the baking dish. Pour the sauce on top and mix everything together well.
- Smooth out the top of the dip, then bake until set on the outer edges. Broil for the last couple of minutes for a crispier top.
- Let the dip cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm topped with green onions and desired dippers. Enjoy!
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Use jackfruit packed in brine, not syrup! When shopping for jackfruit in your local grocery store, it will likely be stocked with the other canned fruits, such as canned pineapple, canned peaches, etc. Make sure to purchase young, green jackfruit in brine. This jackfruit is picked before it ripens and has a neutral taste, making it the perfect meat substitute. Jackfruit in syrup, however, is fully ripened and very sweet. Save these sweet varieties for dessert recipes such as Turon (Banana Lumpia).
- Purchase quality tahini. The tahini is optional, but it does add a great cheesy flavor. And if you are new to vegan, plant-based cooking, you’ll likely see it popping up in several recipes and will want to add it to your pantry. Brands of store-bought tahini can vary widely in flavor, consistency and quality. Some of my favorite brands are Soom Foods and Shirley Bar Living – both I purchase online.
Serving Suggestions
Vegan buffalo chicken dip makes an excellent game-day or hosting appetizer. I recommend serving warm or room temperature with vegan crackers, tortilla chips, carrot sticks, celery sticks, crisp bell pepper strips or pita bread. If you happen to have any leftovers, spread it on a sandwich, wrap or tortillas for a buffalo taco!
If you’re looking for more Vegan Dip recipes, you’ll also love this Cheesy Vegan Crab Dip, Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Dip and this Vegan Seven Layer Dip!
How to Store Leftover Buffalo Chicken Dip
Leftover vegan buffalo chicken dip will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Store in the baking dish tightly covered with aluminum foil, plastic wrap or reusable wrap. Or, transfer the leftover dip to an airtight container (best for freezing).Reheat this buffalo dip in the microwave, or in the oven at 350F. If baking, cover with foil and heat until warmed through, about 15 minutes. If frozen, allow the dip to thaw overnight in the refrigerator for 1-2 days before reheating. If any separation occurs, stir well to combine before reheating.
Substitutions and Variations
- Jackfruit substitutions: If you do not have canned jackfruit in stores near you, substitute another vegan chicken alternative, such as Shredded Beyond Meat Chick’n, Tofurky Lightly Seasoned Plant-Based Chick’n, or another similar vegan chicken substitute. You may even be able to use another mock meat such as shredded homemade seitan or rehydrated, shredded soy curls, or 2 cans of drained and rinsed artichoke hearts in a pinch.
- Nut-free option: Use a nut-free vegan cream cheese from popular brands such as Violife, Tofutti or Trader Joe’s. Note that some do contain coconut oil, but are free from nuts such as cashews and almonds.
- Buffalo sauce options: Both the Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce and the Frank’s Redhot Buffalo Wings Sauce are vegan. For a milder, more savory dip, use the Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wings Sauce. It contains “butter flavor” but they have stated on their website that this flavoring is not animal derived and is dairy-free. If desired, you can also use an alternative mild buffalo sauce – feel free to use your favorite.
Recipe FAQs
Buffalo chicken dip isn’t always healthy – traditional versions are loaded with dairy ingredients such as cheddar cheese, ranch dressing, sour cream, cream cheese, butter, and more. This version is significantly healthier – it’s naturally dairy free, made cool and creamy with silken tofu and contains 3 cups of jackfruit instead of chicken!
Yes. If you are making this dip for hosting or to bring to a party, follow through step 5. Right before baking, cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Then, remove from the refrigerator and bake as usual when ready to serve.
If you’d like your dip a little thicker, simply bake it for longer. The longer you bake, the thicker it will become. Further, make sure to follow the liquid measurements. This will ensure it is the correct consistency when going in the oven.
I haven’t tested this dip without soy, but you may be able to substitute the silken tofu with a soy-free vegan sour cream or plain vegan yogurt. This will make for a slightly saltier dip, but would likely be the best substitute in terms of consistency and flavor.
Yes, you should be able to use a food processor just fine. It may not be as silky smooth as a blender, but this simply means your dip may be on the more textured side.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients
- 2 20 ounce cans jackfruit in brine about 3 cups shredded
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
- black pepper to taste
- 8 ounces vegan cream cheese
- 8 ounces silken tofu
- 3/4 cup buffalo hot sauce*
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons tahini optional, helps with cheesy flavor
- sliced green onions optional, for serving
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 2 quart baking dish and set aside.
- Prep the Jackfruit: Drain the jackfruit and rinse well. Use a knife to cut out the hard “core” of the jackfruit pieces and remove any seed pods. Shred the remaining jackfruit pieces and set aside (see recipe video for more detail).
- Aromatics: Warm the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic, parsley, dill, and black pepper to taste. Sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant.
- Blend the Sauce: Transfer the cooked onion mixture to a blender and add in the cream cheese, tofu, hot sauce, nutritional yeast, and tahini. Blend for 45 to 60 seconds, until a thick and smooth sauce forms.
- Assemble: Spread the jackfruit across the bottom of the baking dish and pour the sauce on top. Use a spatula to mix everything together well, then smooth out the top of the dip.
- Bake: Bake in the top rack of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. If you’d like, you can broil the dip for 3 to 5 minutes for a crispier top!
- Serve: Let the dip cool for 10 minutes before serving, which will allow it to thicken and set. Top with green onions and serve warm. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- I used Frank’s hot sauce for this recipe. Frank’s wing sauce has also been confirmed to be vegan (the “natural butter flavor” is dairy-free).
- Make sure to use jackfruit in brine, not syrup!
Hi! I was wondering if I could share your recipe of HEALTHY BUFFALO “CHICKEN” DIP (VEGAN & DAIRY FREE) on our blog at http://www.mylkguys.com Our blog post this week is vegan super bowl recipes! I will obviously list your name as the creator of the recipe! Thank you!
Hi there! You can share a photo and link to the recipe, but not the actual recipe itself.
My new favourite dip! It’s seriously the best dip I’ve ever had and I have zero self control with it. Thank you!!
Haha! Thank you, Lauren 🙂
Hey Cailtin! What are your favorite crackers to dip into this dip/ the ones pictured here? I’ve been looking for some super seedy vegan crackers and these look delicious.
They are the brand “Mary’s gone crackers”
Hi Caitlin! I am looking forward to making this for an upcoming girls night. After cooking the dip would it work to put in in a little crock pot to keep it warm?
Love all your recipes! You are an inspiration!
It may thicken a little, but it should keep well in a crockpot!
Amazing!!
Hi Caitlin, can’t wait to make this recipe. Quick question though, but I’ve never seen canned jackfruit at my local Fresh Thyme Market, which aisle does it normally hang out in?
Hi Sandii, I would check the Asian/International section!
i am obsessed with this and all your recipes! i went vegan a bit over a month ago and your youtube channel has been so helpful with everything! You are amazing!!
that’s awesome, Jenna!
This might be a silly question but are the parsley and dill fresh? Or can dried herbs be used?
You can use dried herbs instead, but personally I think fresh have more flavor. Also you need to reduce the measurements by 1/3 when using dried!
I just bought a whole jackfruit and cut it down. How would I go about shredding it for this recipe? I know you used canned but the deal at my store was too good not to pass up.
Hi Jamie, this recipe will only work with unripe Jackfruit – otherwise, it will be too sweet. If your jackfruit isn’t ripe yet, I think there are a few videos online that could explain how to process one better than I can do via text 🙂
I brought this in to my office for a party and my non-vegan co-workers loved it! They were really curious about what was in it, so I printed out your recipe because I didn’t feel like reciting the ingredients over and over. One girl even took a photo of the recipe with her phone so she could make it for her family. Now 20 more people know about the magic of jackfruit 🙂 Great recipe, very happy to have a little leftover to bring home to share with my boyfriend.
That’s amazing, Molly! Thanks for sharing with your friends 🙂
I am so excited to make this! Do you use canned jackfruit or an actual fruit?
Canned Jackfruit! You want the fruit to be unripe, or it will have a sweet taste that will not go well with the recipe.
Hi Caitlin – in the video it looks like the jackfruit was marinated or cooked with spices. Did you add something to the jackfruit or use it straight from the can. The recipe doesn’t say to cook the jackfruit at all…
Hi Jordan – the jackfruit was not cooked! I just updated the recipe notes to say where I got it from. I used packaged Jackfruit, which always has a pink/brown color (for some reason!)
Oh I see. Thanks!
Cannot wait to try this! It looks sooo delicious. Unfortunately I don’t have cream cheese on hand… Do you have any recommendation for a substitution? (Extra tofu? DIY cream cheese?) Thanks in advance!
You could use extra tofu, but I think you would want to add in another tbsp of Nutritional Yeast along with some salt as well x
I would seriously eat the entire dip! This dip would be perfect with buffalo cauliflower “wings”. Also, the Kite Hill cream cheese is my favorite cream cheese alternative!
Great idea! It’s my favorite too 🙂
Hey Caitlin! I am a soy-free vegan & normally I know what to do when I need to replace a soy ingredient. But, for this recipe, I am unsure! Do you have any recommendations?
Hi Shannon! I haven’t tested this recipe without soy, so I cannot say for certain. My instinct would be to substitute with a soy-free sour cream or more cream cheese, however keep in mind that this will add to the overall salt content on the dish, so I would omit the Vegetable Broth. You probably do not need to entirely replace the volume of the tofu – the dip will just be a little more thick. My only other thought would be to use pureed potato, but this will definitely affect the texture. Let me know how it goes!
I’m trying to not use tofu but after I made your dip I thought the tofu would cut the cream cheese flavor just right. I used kite hill ricotta and coconut yogurt instead, adding corn starch when it simmers and stirring for thickness. It turned out kinda over-cheesy tasting. What do you think would help, besides tofu?
Hi Sonny! You could remove the Nutritional Yeast from the recipe, that should help some
I can’t even…..OMG! Do you know how happy this makes me??? My Superbowl party is going to rock thanks to you!
Go Pats!
YES! Hope you have a blast!
Hi Caitlin!
I made this recipe yesterday after seeing it on instagram! Before I went vegan, but I was abstaining from eating meat, I made my buffalo chicken dip with beans instead of chicken. I really like it with beans, so I used your vegan recipe with great northern beans instead of jackfruit! It was delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Great idea Madison! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Caitlin- Thanks for this wonderful recipe! Did you use the firm or the extra firm silken tofu?
Hi Susana! I just checked my package, and it actually does not differentiate the “type” of silken tofu (brand is Nasoya). I would go with the firm over the extra firm if you have a choice, as it will blend better 🙂
Hey Caitlin! I love this and am definitely going to try it. Quick question though, can I replace the jackfruit with 3 cups of Shredded Beyond Meat Chickn? My Kroger doesn’t carry jackfruit at all and any other store near me is about a 45 minute drive.
Jackie, absolutely! That’s a great idea 🙂
Great recipe. I couldn’t find any Jackfruit either so I used some Gardein chicken. Worked! Thanks!
Yum!! What tahini brand do you recommend?
Hi Julie! My favorite brands are Soom Foods and Shirley Bar Living – I get both online
Sooooooo good!!! 5 stAr with omni’s as well, super bowl hit!