Vegan buffalo chicken dip made with cauliflower is cheesy, rich, creamy and packed with flavor. A vegan appetizer made with simple whole food ingredients!
This buffalo wing dip uses cauliflower to get that chicken dip texture! Perfect to dip chips, crackers and even veggies. None of my guests believe me that it is dairy free!
Originally published February 26, 2017.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.
I am a hot sauce freak. I even make make my own homemade buffalo sauce! We use it to make all things buffalo flavored like this incredible cauliflower buffalo dip, Buffalo Wing Sliders, and Buffalo Chickpea Tacos.
Ingredients
The best part about this vegan buffalo chicken dip is that it can stand up to any dairy based equivalent. My love for creating dairy-free alternatives for popular dairy based dishes is strong! Showing that they can taste just as good, and even better, is always my goal.
Many buffalo cauliflower dips use vegan cream cheese as a base. However, the creamy base that makes this appetizer (or snack/dinner/breakfast/anything really) go from amazing to mind blowing incredible, is achieved from a combination of specific ingredients. Each one contributes equally and all are necessary to reach ultimate buffalo dip heaven.
- Potato - gives the gooey creamy base that all dips need for ultimate texture.
- Raw cashews - the star of most vegan cream sauces for a reason. These amazing nuts give a dairy tasting base like no other.
- White beans - these protein packed powerhouses help contribute to the creamy nature of this dip with also cutting a lot of the fat that extra nuts would give.
- Cashew milk - my go to non dairy milk of choice for the amazing creamy texture and flavor it contributes to everything it is in. I used the Silk brand for this recipe for it's creamy flavor that shows you that you do not need to compromise when it comes to dairy free alternatives!
- Veggie broth - for this recipe I prefer one without a tomato base.
- Onion - sweet, yellow, or brown are preferred for their neutral taste.
- Garlic - fresh cloves give the absolute best flavor.
- Cauliflower - this is one of my favorite veggies. It's so versatile and the perfect shredded chicken substitute to make this buffalo dip vegan! Plus it adds an extra dose of veggies into this amazing comfort food, but you won't even taste it!
- Hot sauce - our favorite is the Frank's brand of buffalo cayenne pepper hot sauce. Pick your favorite!
How To Make Vegan Buffalo Dip
The steps for this buffalo cauliflower dip recipe are pretty simple, all you need to do is:
- Bake the cauliflower.
- Blend the sauce.
- Pulse the baked cauliflower into the sauce.
- Pour the mixture into a baking dish.
- Bake and devour!
What to Serve with Buffalo Chicken Dip
Whether it's game day or a quiet night at home with the family, pair this vegan dip with any of these scoopers:
- Celery sticks
- Carrot sticks
- Tortilla chips
- Pita chips or bread
- Crusty bread
- Crackers
- Bell pepper strips
If you end up as obsessed with this vegan buffalo chicken dip as I am, try it spread on, mixed in, and spooned over these recipes:
Flavor Tips
- You can really adjust the level of spice in this with how much (or little) hot sauce you put into this dip. There are different types of hot sauce out there as well, so use the one that you love the most!
- If you take out some of the hot sauce, you'll need to replace it with some other liquid to maintain the texture of this. You can definitely use broth and/or cashew milk, but if you want to get creative you could try a mild salsa as well.
- Cauliflower is our favorite substitute for chicken in this buffalo dip recipe, but other good vegan options include:
- jackfruit
- store bought plant based chicken
- artichokes (make sure they're packed in water not oil)
- you can also just leave it out, but the texture will be more smooth and creamy
- Add some chopped green onions as a pretty garnish for a crunchy fresh flavor.
- If you are not using a high speed blender you can either soak the cashews overnight or grind them into a fine powder using a coffee grinder in order to still get a smooth consistency.
- Only need vegetarian buffalo cauliflower dip instead of vegan? Add some cheddar cheese or blue cheese on top!
How to Make Buffalo Dip Ahead of Time
This vegan buffalo chicken dip recipe can easily be made in advance, which makes it an excellent candidate to take with you to all those holiday parties. I wouldn't make it more than a few days before you need it. You want the flavor to be nice and fresh.
- The sauce portion of this recipe can be made up to 3 days in advance.
- The best way to make this so that it tastes the best is to wait to bake it until you're ready to serve.
- Make the dip, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to bake.
- Take it out the day of, and allow it to return to room temperature before baking.
- If you plan on taking the dip along with you, bake it in a dish that has a lid to make it easier.
- And, bring it along in an Insulated Casserole Carrier to keep it nice and warm!
Storage Suggestions
- If, and I mean IF you have leftovers you can safely keep them for up to 3-5 days.
- Seal in an airtight container and keep refrigerated.
- Freezing this dip with the cauliflower is not recommended. However you can freeze the creamy base for up to 3 months.
- Reheat in the oven or microwave. Just let the baking dish come to room temp before placing in the oven so it doesn't crack.
More Easy Vegan Dip Recipes
This vegan buffalo cauliflower dip is one of our favorite plant based dips, along with these other recipes made with whole foods:
Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip (Using Cauliflower)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower , medium sized
- ½ cup buffalo cayenne pepper hot sauce (I like Franks brand)
Sauce:
- 1 cup cooked potato , about 1 medium potato
- 1 cup raw cashews (see note)
- ½ cup cooked white beans , drained and rinsed ( I use canned)
- ¼ cup cashew milk (I use Silk brand, almond would work too)
- ¼ cup veggie broth , low sodium if needed
- ¼ cup buffalo cayenne pepper hot sauce (I like Franks brand)
- ¼ of a medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F/230°C.
- Chop cauliflower and mix with ½ cup hot sauce until fully coated.
- Spread out on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes until slightly crisp. After baking it should be about 3 cups cauliflower (easier to measure after baking as it is softer and fits into a measuring cup easier).
- Lower oven temp to 350°F/180°C.
Make sauce:
- Cook potato and onion by boiling until soft. Drain.
- Place all sauce ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Then pour into a large bowl. You can also pulse baked cauliflower here if you prefer smaller pieces.
- Put baked cauliflower into the bowl with the sauce and mix well.
- Pour into a square baking dish (I used an 8 x 8 inch). Or you can also use smaller baking ramekins or casserole bowls.
- Bake at 350°F/180°C for 15-20 minutes. Check at 15 minutes and see if it has formed a nice firm layer on the top. Everything is cooked already so no need to worry about the cauliflower cooking, but you want it nice and heated all the way through. Keep in mind it will cook a little more as it is cooling.
- Enjoy nice and warm with your favorite tortilla chips, celery, veggies or crackers!
Notes
- I prefer to use a veggie broth without tomato in the base.
- If you are not using a high speed blender you can either soak the cashews overnight or grind them into a fine powder using a coffee grinder.
- Make sauce. Soak cashews if not using a high speed blender.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Abby
Hi! I can't wait to make this for Memorial Day! I have 2 questions that might be stupid but i want to get it perfect! I bought Great Northern beans.. will that work? And use a russett potato or yukon gold? Thanks so much
veggiesdontbite
Hi!! So sorry I am on vacation so just getting to this. The great northern beans are perfect! And you can use either potato but I use yukon gold or red. Let me know how it goes!
Joanne Marquardt
Trying this tonight- I have clients that are tracking macro's- what's the serving size in the "nutritional facts" listed?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Joanne! You will love this, it is so flavorful and one of my most popular recipes! I make this in an 8 x 8 square dish, so since there are 8 servings it would be a 4 inch by 2 inch "piece" of the dip. It's hard to say exactly how much that would equate too. I simply put servings in my recipe plugin in to give an approximate amount of people this could feed. Also, please keep in mind that the nutrition facts are calculated by my recipe plugin, and they can vary depending on brands of ingredients used among other things. So if you need exact numbers you should make sure to put them into your nutrition tool. Let me know how you like it!
Stacie
Hello! I do not have any potato's and live in a remote area with no stores, so it's not easy for me to pop out and grab one. Is there anything I could use to replace the potato with? Perhaps more beans of some type or extra cauliflower?
Thanks!
Stacie
veggiesdontbite
Hi Stacie! The potato is a big part of the texture and flavor here. If you really want to try it, you could try adding a little extra cauliflower, a little extra white beans and a little extra cashews. But I can't vouch for the texture or flavor since I haven't tried it. I think it would still be good, but let me know!
Joe D
I steamed the cauliflower, potato and onion for 30 min and threw everything in a vita mix blender and ended up with THE BEST VEGAN NACHO CHEESE DIP EVER! Absolutely delicious hot or cold, perfect creamy consistency and color, great with chips or veggies. Filling but doesn’t leave you overly full. Have converted dozens of folks who don’t eat vegan at several events now. It’s developing amazing recipies and sharing that will convert folks to whole food plant based diet choices. Thank you so much for developing and sharing this amazing recipe!!!
veggiesdontbite
Sounds amazing Joe! I am so happy you love it and you are getting others to love it to! Thank you so much for being here!
Anne
I made this tonight for super bowl, and it was a hit! Thanks for the great recipe!
veggiesdontbite
I am thrilled you liked it Anne!! Thank you so much for letting me know!
Janis
Made this dip for our Super Bowl celebration—what a hit!
veggiesdontbite
Yay!! It was a hit at our party too! So happy you liked it. Thank you so much for letting me know!
Emily
Thanks so much for the recipe! I cant wait to make this for the super bowl. Any cracker recommendations? Also, a lot of your recipes call for cashews, would it be the same/similar if i used unsalted, unsweetened cashew butter since we're pureeing them anyway?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Emily!! YES! I love the crackers by Simple Mills or Back to Nature. Both my top faves. But I also like this dip with tortilla chips!
Emily
Awesome, thanks! And what about substituting cashew butter, do you have any advice on that?
veggiesdontbite
Oh sorry!! Missed that. Yes, you can definitely try that! I'd start with about half of what I call for cashews. Then add more until you get the creaminess you like. Just make sure it is RAW cashew butter not roasted.
Liz Barkowski
This is by far the best vegan dip recipe ever!
I have made it three times now for parties and it’s always a hit! Once I left out the cauliflower and it was just as good! This could also serve as a great queso recipe. Omit the hot sauce, add nutritional yeast, tortilla chips, yum!
veggiesdontbite
Wow thank you so much Liz! I'm so happy it's been such a hit!
Lisa
Very well done! I added garlic because, well, I like garlic. It came out perfectly! Ate for lunch today with some crackers and added salad. Did I say perfect! Thank you, this is the first recipe I've tried that actually turned out great!
veggiesdontbite
Yay! Glad you loved it Lisa! It sounds amazing with the extra garlic! I eat this for lunch too and it's great as leftovers!
Nancy Kokko
Hello,
Do you use the Frank's red hot original or buffalo sauce?
veggiesdontbite
Hi!! I have used both I believe. The original is the one I more often find though.
Nancy Kokko
Thank you! I made this for a New Year’s party. It was a hit with both Vegan and non-vegans. I used raw cashews, but toasted them in the oven to soften them before grinding. I also roasted the garlic with my cauliflower. I used the buffalo sauce as we did find it. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
veggiesdontbite
I'm so happy you liked it Nancy!! Please let me know if you need any help on other recipes!
Laura
I made this for a Christmas party and it was a big hit with everyone, including the carnivores! I added a little nutritional yeast and lemon juice for a bit of tang. My husband has celiac and our family is vegan, so this recipe was perfect!! Thanks for sharing
veggiesdontbite
I am so happy it was a hit Laura!!! Yay!
Michele
My SIL lived with us for a few months and brought her vitamix with her. After making this recipe, I decided to purchase a vitamix for myself. This recipe is pure perfection and NO ONE can tell it’s vegan.
veggiesdontbite
Ah!!! You totally made my day! So happy you love this as much as we do. I also make it all the time and people have no idea! And isn't the Vitamix amazing?! It's like my 4th child (well 5th if you count my husband 😂).
Crystal Diver
Could I make this with extra cashew milk and no broth? I do not have any on hand
veggiesdontbite
Hi Crystal! Yep, you can definitely do more milk. The texture may change a tad, and the flavor will be a little richer with all the creaminess but it will still work great!
Alicia
Hi, do you ever leave the skin on the potatoe in this recipe?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Alicia! I do but you may see little specks in the dip. I don't mind it though! If you care then peel them.
Alicia
Thank you! We love this dip. A new favorite!
veggiesdontbite
So happy to hear Alicia!! Thank you so much for trying it!
Sydney
Just made this for the first time! I was honestly super skeptical about how it would turn out but it is TASTY! Will definitely be adding this to my recipe box. The only thing I think I'll change next time is thinning it out with more veggie broth/cashew milk - it was pretty thick and the chips kept breaking when we tried to dip them. Overall I'm a big fan 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Hi Sydney! Thank you so much for the great review! I'm thrilled you love it as much as we do. You can definitely add more liquid to get the texture you prefer. Ovens also vary so it could have to do with baking time, but adding more or less liquid definitely will give you the texture you want. Thanks for being a reader!