Dairy Free Buffalo Chicken Dip (No Expensive Substitutes!)

Football is officially starting up, and that means it’s time for all the game day snacks.  Most dips are tough if you’re on a dairy free diet, because many contain cream cheese or cheese.  But with this dairy free buffalo chicken dip, you get all the rich indulgent flavor with none of the dairy!

Plus, this recipe uses no expensive dairy-free cheese substitutions. It’s made with staples you likely already have on hand.

Note: This post was first published in 2018. It has been updated in 2023.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn a commission on qualifying purchases.

Ingredients

Here’s a photo of everything you’ll need to make this recipe – just 3 main ingredients and 4 seasonings! – along with ingredient notes:

• Mayonnaise – This is the secret ingredient for a creamy buffalo chicken dip without any expensive dairy substitutes! Yes, I know it sounds kind of gross.  A dip with a bunch of mayo – for real?  But I promise, it tastes amazing. The mayo mixes together with the buffalo sauce to create that indulgent flavor you’re craving.

• Cooked chicken – You can make plain shredded chicken ahead of time, or if you know of a store that sells a safe rotisserie chicken, you can use that. You can also simply bake chicken breasts and chop them up instead of shredding the chicken. This recipe is flexible.

• Frank’s Red Hot Original – The classic hot sauce for making buffalo chicken dip! You can use another hot sauce if you prefer; this is simply always my go-to. Note that I use the original version, not the buffalo sauce version.

• Seasonings – This recipe is seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.

Instructions

You’ll find full instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below, but here’s a helpful overview with photos. Luckily, this recipe is crazy simple!

Start by mixing together all the ingredients in a bowl – the cooked chicken, hot sauce, mayo, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Dump that into a casserole dish. Pop the dish in the oven, bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, and boom – your dip is ready to serve.

Recipe FAQ

Here are some common questions that may arise as you prepare this recipe:

Allergens in this recipe

Disclaimer:  Always double check ingredients and labels yourself prior to making a recipe.  While I try to check all ingredients for allergens, there’s always the chance I may miss something, or manufacturer formulations can change.

As written, this buffalo chicken dip is dairy free, peanut free, and tree nut free.

This product does contain eggs in the mayonnaise. However, you can easily make this egg-free by using a vegan mayo like Hellman’s vegan mayo or Chosen Foods Vegan Mayo. I’ve used Hellman’s vegan mayo several times to make this recipe as we have a friend with an egg allergy, and it’s come out great.

This recipe may contain soy or wheat/gluten depending on your choice of mayo and hot sauce. At the time of publish, Frank’s Red Hot did not contain either of these ingredients. You’ll need to look at the brand of mayo you’re using to confirm it does not contain these ingredients (wheat/gluten is unlikely in mayo, but some contain soy).

What to serve with this dip

My go-to is the standard pairing of crackers.  Despite their buttery taste, most crackers on the market these days are surprisingly dairy free (but of course, product formulations can change so always double check the label prior to eating any of these).

For example, at the time of this post, the following varieties were all dairy free:

• Ritz Original Crackers (contain wheat & soy)
• Keebler Original Club Crackers (contains wheat & soy)
• Triscuit Thin Crisps Original (contains wheat)
• Mary’s Gone Crackers Original Gluten Free Crackers (contains soy)
• Crunchmaster Multigrain Sea Salt Crackers (no allergens)

You can also serve this dairy free buffalo chicken dip with:

• Homemade French bread (either regular or gluten-free)
• Celery sticks
• Carrot sticks
• Sliced cucumbers
• Zucchini sticks
• Sliced bell peppers

More Dairy Free Appetizers

If you’re looking for some other tasty dairy free appetizers and finger food to serve at parties or for game day snacks, try one of these ideas:

• Dairy free spinach artichoke dip with tortilla chips
• Dairy free stuffed pizza bites
• Mango jalapeno poppers
• Jerk chicken wings
• Dairy free French onion dip with potato chips

I hope you enjoy this dip as much as I do – and if you do, be sure to leave a comment or rate the recipe! 🙂

Share with me:  What’s your favorite game day snack or party appetizer?  If you made this recipe, what did you think?

Feel free to pin this post to save for later!