This Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip is always a crowd-pleaser. It’s creamy, cheesy, and packed with chicken wing flavors! A flexible recipe that’s easy to prep in 10 minutes.
For more vegan dips you can bring to the party, check out my Mexican Street Corn Dip, Vegan Jalapeno Popper Dip, and Vegan 7 Layer Dip recipes!
“Made this for the Super Bowl tonight — absolutely Delicious! This may be my go to dish for parties now. ☺️” – Shellie
If there’s a snack that’s just as perfect for the big game as my Buffalo Cauliflower Wings, it’s this Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip. Every scoop has all the flavors of buffalo wings, but in dip form! Your guests won’t even notice the chicken is missing.
What I love most about this party-ready dip is that it’s a rich and cheesy comfort food made with simple plant-based ingredients. No, there’s no vegan cream cheese to be found. The secret here is a rich cashew cream base and canned artichoke hearts (or vegan chicken), which have the same look and feel as shredded chicken.
All out of artichokes? Use store-bought chicken tenders, jackfruit, or seitan chicken instead! I’m giving you a ton of options to make this game day recipe work for you (and not the other way around). Let’s get the party started!
Why you’ll love this vegan buffalo wing dip
- Game day approved – If you don’t go to the Super Bowl party for the football, go for the chickenless buffalo dip. Trust me, you won’t want to miss the deliciously creamy, spicy flavors.
- Easy peasy! This dip is incredibly easy to prep in only 10 minutes. Seriously, all you have to do is blend the simple ingredients together before letting the oven do the rest!
- Make it with or without “chicken” – I used canned artichoke hearts for the “chicken” in this buffalo chicken dip, but you can swap them for store-bought vegan chicken or my Vegan Seitan “Chicken” for an even meatier twist.
How to make vegan buffalo chik’n dip
Find the complete printable recipe with measurements below in the recipe card.
Blend the soaked and drained cashews, fresh water, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder together in a high-powered blender until smooth.
Next, add in the buffalo sauce and artichokes or vegan chicken. Pulse to combine, but do not blend. The texture should be chunky and meaty.
Pour the dip into a baking dish and bake in the oven until it’s hot and bubbly.
Garnish with green onions and serve with chopped veggies, chips, crackers, and/or crostini for dipping. Enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
Traditionally, no, buffalo sauce is not vegan because it contains butter. However, there are several brands of accidentally vegan buffalo sauce out there (I recommend using Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wings Sauce for this recipe). The homemade vegan buffalo sauce from my Buffalo Cauliflower Wings recipe would also work here.
This ultra-creamy dip requires thick and sturdy dippables for scooping. I like it with carrot and celery sticks, toasted baguette slices, thick crackers, tortilla chips, and ridged potato chips best. And if you want to take the flavors up a notch, top it with sliced green onions, vegan blue cheese, and a drizzle of extra buffalo sauce.
You have a few options. The recipe calls for canned artichoke hearts packed in water because they have a “pulled chicken” quality, but frozen and thawed artichokes and canned jackfruit also work well.
If you’re not looking for a whole-food option and want a more realistic “meaty” texture and flavor, use an 8-oz bag of vegan chicken strips (I like the Daring brand best), rehydrated soy curls, or homemade seitan chicken pieces instead.
I haven’t tested it, but sunflower seeds might work in place of the cashews. You could also try replacing the nuts and water with vegan cream cheese, but I’m not sure if it will work or not.
The cooled leftover dip can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. It will reheat well in the microwave or oven. If it thickens too much in the fridge, stir in a little water to thin the texture a bit.
I haven’t tried freezing this dip, but it should work okay. Keep it in a covered freezer-safe container, then thaw the leftovers overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 cup buffalo sauce
- (1) 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained or 8 ounces vegan chicken pieces, cooked
- optional 2 cups shredded vegan cheddar cheese optional
For serving
- celery sticks
- carrot sticks
- tortilla chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Heat a few cups of water in a tea kettle or pot until boiling, then pour over the cashews in a bowl. Let them soak for at least 5 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- Drain the cashews and discard the soaking water. In a high-powered blender such as a Vitamix, add the cashews, 1 cup water, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder and onion powder. Blend until very smooth.
- Now add the buffalo sauce and artichokes or vegan chicken pices. Pulse a couple of times, but do not blend. You want to leave quite a bit of chunky texture!
- Transfer to an oven safe dish (1 1/2-2 quarts, a pie pan works as well). Add the vegan cheddar cheese, if using and stir into the dip a little bit, leaving some on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until hot.
- Serve warm with celery sticks, carrot sticks and tortilla chips.
Notes
- I recommend using Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wings Sauce for best results.
- You can also use frozen, thawed artichokes if desired. Just don’t use the marinated artichokes, as they will change the flavor of the dip considerably. Stick with canned artichokes in water or frozen.
- If you have leftover dip, store it in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. When reheating, add a little water to thin it out, as it will thicken as it cools. Simply warm in the microwave, or oven, and stir a little water in to thin it out a bit.
This recipe is sooo gooood (as I just got done eating some AGAIN)!!!
First time I made this recipe I had it with flour free tortilla chips. This time I decided to try it inside of a couple romaine lettuce leaf’s, topped with green onion and avocado…so BOMB!
You can not go wrong with this delicious recipe!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful and fun review and comments! I’m so glad you love the dip!
can i make this the night before hand, and it in then refrigerator, and then bake it the next day?
Yes, that will work fine. Enjoy!
Love this recipe, I always add a half container of vegan cream cheese also! Makes it even creamier.
Thanks for sharing your review and comments! I’m glad you love the dip!
Have you ever tried freezing this recipe before cookout? I’d like to make it ahead of time for a week at the beach and be able to pop it in the oven to finish it off!
I haven’t tried freezing it before serving, but I think it would work okay.
Delicious! One question….what do you consider a serving? It says it serves 10, but doesn’t list an amount as a serving size. I do WW, so having either cups or oz would be good to know! Thoughts? TIA
Happy you enjoyed it! Sorry, I don’t break down my recipes that much to know exactly how much 1 serving would be. You’d have to divide it yourself and see.
Amazing!!! We couldn’t stop eating it!
Thank you for sharing your review! Glad you love the dip!
I’m making this today. Think I could use hearts of palm? I thought I had a jar of artichokes in my pantry but it was hearts of palm. Lol
I think hearts of palm will work, yes. Hope you enjoy the dip!
Why do you suggest not using artichokes marinated in oil? I’m going to give it a whirl in a minute so maybe I’ll find out the hard way 🙂
You totally can, they just might make the dip a bit oily as well. It won’t ruin it though! Enjoy!
I really want to try this but my husband is very allergic to cashews. Is there another nut I can use?
I haven’t tried it but raw slivered almonds would probably work, or even sunflower seeds.
This recipe was amazing. Made a half version for my BF and I for the superbowl, it was the right size for us. The flavors were incredible and I forgot it was vegan. Highly recommend. I also doubled the amount of artichokes (since I opened the can!) and it was kinda perfect. Can’t wait to make this easy dip again just cuz AND to take to parties post COVID. Thanks!
Thank you for your fun and terrific review! I’m so glad you love the dip! Thank you!
This dip is amazing! I just started transitioning from vegetarian to vegan this fall and I was looking for some recipes to wow my flexitarian fiance. I made this recipe the same day I found it and I swear it is what turned him vegan!
We have had it a few times since then and have really enjoyed it as a taco filling on a soft shell with some lettuce and tomato. Yum!
Thank you for you wonderful review, Holly! I’m glad you guys love the dip!
So unbelievable!!! Wasn’t sure how potatoes would work…. short answer, make this recipe often. I preferred to cook potatoes separately, and they turned out amazing! My daughter is also vegan, and we grubbed. Thank you?
Thank you, Jess! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Question…
I have all the ingredients to make this. I wondering if anyone has used this “dip” as a sauce for a Buffalo “Chicken” Mac and Cheese/Pasta? I am thinking that it could be delicious!
Thanks for any feedback.
I think that would be totally delicious! I’m sure it would work great. Thank you!
OMG! I made the full recipe. I boiled up a 16 oz bag of whole wheat fusili pasta. I added a bag of frozen broccoli for the last minute. I mixed the Buffalo “dip” with the cooked pasta and broccoli. I divided it between two 8×8 casserole dishes (one for now and one for the freezer). I baked the casserole at 350° for about 35-40 minutes. Soooo good!!
That sounds incredible! Must try this ASAP!
Made this for the Super Bowl for my family and they loved it!! I used the artichoke hearts ? This was awesome. I pulsed it a little too much and didn’t have the chunks, but it was still good. Will definitely make again.
I’m glad you guys loved the dip! Thank you for sharing, Quiesha!
Love this recipe! Even the non-vegan crowd loves this dip! Perfect for super bowl Sunday!
I’m glad you loved the dip! Thanks for sharing Lisa!
Absolutely amazing and mind blowing recipe! I am dairy free but not vegan so I substituted chicken for the artichokes. I also used 2 cups of boiling water to soak the cashews in the blender and did not drain, but used that as my liquid for the dip so I wouldn’t be dumping away the flavor. I prefer the consistency with the extra cup of water. My family was blown away! Brilliant recipe!!
Hi Teresa. I’m glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for sharing your comments!
Is there a good substitute for the artichokes?
Jackfruit makes a great sub.
Loved this recipe. Wonderful texture
Thank you, Elle!
So good! I didn’t use the onion powder because I didn’t have any, but this makes a ton of dip!!
Hi Carly. I’m glad you like it! Thank you!
Another fabulous recipe!
Thank you!
Hi! Can this be prepped the morning of the party, and then baked there a few hours later?
Yes, for sure! Enjoy!
Very tasty! This was my first time using cashews to make a vegan dip. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Hi Kelley. I’m glad you like it! Thank you!
TASTES LIKE THE REAL THING!! I added broccoli to add some more veggies – delicious. SO easy too!!
Hi Jacqueline. Thank you for sharing!
I personally am not vegan, but made this for a get together where I knew people with dietary restrictions would attend. This dip was a HUGE hit with everyone. Will definitely make again!
This was delicious! I only had 1/2 the buffalo sauce and some jackfruit on hand, but it was still plenty spicy and tasty.