Lightened up buffalo chicken dip – it’s gluten-free and has a dairy-free option. The most perfect dip for football season!
There are so many delicious dips out there. But, in my opinion nothing beats buffalo chicken dip. I’m salivating just thinking about it. If it’s at a party, you bet I’m loading up. I know there’s a handful of recipes out there for this classic game day/party specialty. However, I figured it was time to make a lightened up buffalo chicken dip that’s still delicious. So, this is it!
A healthier buffalo chicken dip has been the most requested recipe I’ve gotten. A few weeks ago my sister in law was in town and she made a vegan buffalo chicken dip. It was so good, I was like yes that’s going on my blog ASAP. Thank you Jamie 😉
After that I re-created it as soon as I could. I made a few adjustments and added rotisserie chicken. Ok, so there goes the vegan part. But, you can leave it out if you want it to be meatless. I also drizzled a healthier ranch, gorgonzola crumbles and chopped green onion on top. Because I can’t help myself when it comes to toppings. Also, ranch is life. And if you want this to be dairy-free – just leave out the cheese and ranch (or get a dairy-free ranch [3]) and there you go! It will still be delicious. It’s really so hard to go wrong when it comes to this dip.
So, what makes it healthier? It’s made with cashews (soaked in water), chickpeas, Frank’s red hot [4] and unsweetened and unflavored (very important) almond milk. You can also use cashew milk. Just make sure it’s not sweetened or flavored with vanilla or anything. Because that would be bad. You need a blender or food processor to mix it all together and give it that smooth dip consistency. And I added some paprika, onion powder, garlic powder salt and pepper. Boom – delish.
What to serve it with? Well, here’s some ideas. I love eating with Trader Joe’s [5] organic elote corn dippers (what it’s pictured with), plantain chips or tortilla chips. And if you want a healthier alternative try carrot chips.
Some of my other dip recipes you might like!
BLT Wedge Dip [7]
Clean Greek Dip [8]
What other lightened up dips would you like me to re-create? Let me know in the comments!
Print [2]Lightened Up Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in 1 & 1/3 cup warm water for at least 1 hour
1 15.5 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp Frank’s red hot
1/3 cup unflavored and unsweetened almond milk, or milk of choice
1.5 cups shredded chicken, I used rotisserie chicken
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
crumbled gorgonzola for topping, omit if dairy-free
ranch drizzle for topping, omit if dairy-free or use dairy-free ranch
1 tbsp chopped green onion for topping
chips for dipping
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Drain your soaked cashews.
Add cashews, chickpeas, red hot, almond milk, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to a food processor or high speed blender.
Blend/process until it’s smooth dip consistency. Taste and add more seasonings if need be.
Add shredded chicken and mix together until well combined.
Add dip to an oven safe dish and bake for 13-16 minutes or until warm.
Top with chopped green onion, gorgonzola crumbles and a drizzle of ranch.
Dig in with chips.
Find it online: https://dashofmandi.com/lightened-up-buffalo-chicken-dip/ [12]