Five-ingredient Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Dip has the mouthwatering perfection of chicken wings without the work! Just chicken, cream cheese, cheddar, ranch, and buffalo sauce in the crock pot for a game day win!
I love hosting for big games. Sundays and football are my best days of the week. I’ve made this recipe for years and years now, and someone always asks for the recipe, it’s that good! Not just me. Check out this comment from a reader.
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My go to recipe for years now. Always a request when there’s a get together. – KL
Buffalo Chicken Wings in a Dip
This dip is served hot and creamy. You can put it out with tortilla chips or even celery and carrot sticks. It has just a bit of heat, but if you want to tone it down, I would get a mild buffalo sauce.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This dip is supposed to be easy AND delicious. To keep it that way, here are some ideas to be able to use what you already have.
Chicken
Cook your own chicken fresh, use leftovers, or a convenient rotisserie chicken. Feel free to use white or dark meat in this recipe. Keep it simple, and use what you have.
Cream Cheese
Use real cream cheese, not the low-fat option, for the best flavor and texture.
Cheddar Cheese
Start with a block of cheddar cheese and shred it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking agents to prevent it from clumping, but these can also stop you from getting the best melt.
Buffalo Sauce or Wing Sauce
Buffalo Sauce and hot sauce are not the same thing. Buffalo sauce is a mixture of butter and hot sauce. It starts with a hot sauce made from cayenne pepper and white vinegar. This gives it that spicy, tangy flavor we love. If you only have hot sauce on hand, no worries. You can mix the two together.
- Mild – 1 part hot sauce to 2 parts melted butter
- Medium (this is the more common heat level)- 1 part hot sauce to 1 part melted butter
- Hot – 2 parts hot sauce to 1 part melted butter
If you’re worried about the spice level, use a mild buffalo sauce. Once it’s cooked and you’ve tasted it, you can always add more hot sauce.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Dip in a Crock Pot
Add the ingredients into the crockpot with 1 cup of the cheddar cheese. The rest will go on at the end. Give these a good mix, but don’t worry about getting everything perfectly mixed. You’re going to stir every 30 minutes. As it heats up, it will mix more easily.
If you can’t stir it every 30 minutes, no worries! Try to give it a good mix after the first 30, and then again about halfway through cooking, and again at the end, before you add the cheese topping
Once everything is fully melted, and you see no more chunks of cream cheese or cheddar cheese when you stir, the dip is ready, but you’re not done yet. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese on top and put the lid of the crock pot back. As soon as this layer of cheese is ready, you’re ready to serve.
Tips for Success
- Let the cream cheese come to room temperature if you can. This will make mixing at the beginning of cooking much easier.
- To keep this dip perfect for your whole party, serve it up in the slow cooker set to warm. This makes sure that cheese stays perfectly creamy.
- This is a THICK dip. You need to serve it up with some dippers that can stand up to it. My favorites are tortilla chips, celery, and carrots.
Troubleshooting Buffalo Chicken Dip
This usually means that it needs more time to melt all the ingredients, so that they can blend more evenly. Keep cooking until it is completely smooth when you stir. If it’s still thin, add in more chicken or cheese and let it melt.
This can happen if you cook it on the high setting. If you have the time, cook on low. Also, make sure that you’re using cheddar cheese that you’ve shredded yourself.
How to Store Leftovers & Reheat
You can keep this stored in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the fridge, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Just be aware that freezing it can affect the texture. If you do, allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat slowly. You may think about reheating in the crockpot if you can. Make sure to stir it to get it back to its creamy texture.
How to Use Your Leftovers?
This chicken dip recipe is so versatile. You can use the leftovers for so many meals throughout the week.
- We love to use it to make our Buffalo Chicken Dip Sliders.
- Place a scoop of chilled leftover dip on lettuce, then drizzle with ranch dressing or blue cheese crumbles for a tasty lettuce wrap.
- Spread it over a tortilla, add extra shredded cheese, and make a quesadilla…this is my boys’ favorite!
Other Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipes to Serve
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings are a juicy, tender wing option to serve alongside Buffalo dip.
- This Beer Bread recipe makes an awesome alternative to chips and is so good!
- Don’t forget the Blue Cheese dressing for your carrots and celery! It’s the classic side to Buffalo Chicken in any form!
*This post was originally posted on 04/27/2019.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked chicken breast shredded
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ¾ cup buffalo sauce*
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese shredded
- Green onions thinly sliced, for garnish
- Carrot sticks for serving
- Celery sticks for serving
- Tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
- Combine cooked chicken, cream cheese, buffalo sauce, ranch dressing, and 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese in the Crock Pot and stir together.
- Place lid on an set to LOW heat for 3-4 hours or HIGH heat for 1-2 hours. Stirring every 30 minutes.
- The dip is ready when the cheese is fully melted and you no longer see chunks of cream cheese.
- Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheddar cheese over the top and place the lid back on, letting the dip continue to cook until the cheese on top is melted.
- Serve with chips, crackers, or veggies.
Steph says
My go-to buffalo chicken dip for parties. Simple and delicious!!! I currently have it in the crockpot – thank you for sharing!!
Laura says
Mine is always greasy, I think it’s the cheddar cheese. Does anyone have any tips to get less grease, that still includes using the cheese? It’ll stir in momentarily, but always pools back up. Tastes great, just visually unappealing. It’s not like I’m not going to eat it, but just curious LOL.
Kim says
Mine did that as well… red orange grease. Very unappealing. Yuk
Lois says
Shred your own cheese makes less greasy and tates better. No film
Lisa says
I don’t put in the cheese & then you won’t get that grease. Instead, I used 2 cream cheeses. Still tastes yummy!
Tracie says
Try using a less greasy cheese like Colby or Mozzerella. My personal favorite is Colby in this dip.
Miranda says
Can you use a ranch seasoning packet?
Real Housemoms JK says
Miranda, I would make that packet into the ranch dressing before adding it to the crock pot. You don’t want to miss out on that extra creamyness!
Amanda K says
Is the buffalo sauce the Franks Red Hot? Thanks!
Real Housemoms JK says
Amanda, that is what I like to use!
Robin says
Has anyone ever used canned chicken for this recipe?
Laura says
I always use canned, works perfectly. Way less work.
Amy says
I used three cans of kirkland chicken worked great and was four cups.
cindy says
Can you make this ahead and keep it warm in the crockpot for a few hours? Having a pot luck at the office and hoping this will work.
Real Housemoms JK says
Cindy, that is what I would do too!
Christina says
What size crockpot do you use for this dip?
Real Housemoms JK says
Hey Christina! I use a 5 quart crock pot but you can use a little bigger or smaller too!
Lissette says
Very nice and easy recipe. Loved how everything came out.
Leslie says
What size crock pot? Thanks!
Real Housemoms JK says
Leslie, I use a 5 quart crock pot.
Melanie says
Great for a dinner meal by serving it on buns with a side of fries!
Bryanna says
I absolutely love this, its always a fan favorite at parties! I always like to add some scallions, ground garlic and half a packet of ranch powder too!
Carissa says
Absolutely Delicious!! You must try this recipe!! I added about 1/2-1/3 of a cup of sour cream (because I like mine a bit creamier) and I also added extra hot sauce (because I like mine spicier). I took 4 large chicken breasts and browned them quickly in a skillet. I finished them at 350° in the oven for about 35 minutes. Again – A great recipe!! Try it!!
Mehndi says
This looks so perfect for any party! I’m sure it goes fast!
Anastasia says
Made it 5 times already. Makes life easy on dips/appetizers. Even after a meal while playing games. Everyone is up for more. And your super right about no leftovers. It’s delicious!!
Lyndelle says
Sending a message from Sydney, Australia.
We’re hosting an “All American Night” to farewell a friend before she heads off for 6 weeks in the US.
I’ve been messaging a friend in Oregon about what things we should serve. She shared a link to your Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Dip to serve with pre dinner drinks. I decided to cook the chicken breasts this afternoon.
Love your tip on your “Buffalo Chicken Cups” link re shredding the boiled chicken in a stand mixer with a dough hook. Worked perfectly. So much easier then shredding with a fork
Can’t wait to try the finished dip tomorrow night.
Thank you for sharing
Lyndelle
Wendy Squires says
Fabulous
Kat M. says
Delicious! If you use an original crockpot, I suggest just doing the low setting it doesn’t take 3-4 hours it can do 2-3 just fine. Made this for Superbowl with the family and everyone enjoys it! Added a bit more cheese and buffalo sauce than the recipe calls for, just about 2/3 more of each. Worked like a charm! Would recommend.
Claudia says
I haven’t had buffalo chicken dip in forever, and I’ve never made it myself before, it was always brought to parties by friends. This recipe is perfect! Tastes exactly how I remember it. I used a rotisserie chicken and it was the perfect amount of chicken too. I like my dip a little bit spicier, so I added 3/4 cup of Frank’s Red Hot and then added more here and there to taste.
C says
I have a large amount of pulled pork left over from a benefit. Do you think that would work instead of chicken?
Jennifer Kimmel says
That would be amazing! I would use it!
Rosie says
Could you use frozen chicken breast and put straight into crockpot?
Jennifer Kimmel says
Hello Rosie! This recipe calls for cooked chicken. You can absolutely cook your chicken in the crockpot but do that before adding the other dip ingredients.