Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip

The best plant-based alternative for shredded chicken to make a delicious Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip is oyster mushrooms. And how to make a cheezy, gooey cream cheese sauce that is not only vegan, but nut-free and soy-free as well? The not-so-secret ingredient is cannellini beans. Wanna know more?

Dips are one of the most versatile appetizers you can serve for a party, for Game Day, for tailgating, for movie night or for snacking on a regular weekday. We also have some up at our sleeves you can try like this 5-minute Hummus, or this Roasted Eggplant Bell Pepper Dip, or this Vegan Queso Dip, or this Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce.

⇒ If you need an Easy 7-day VEGAN MEAL PLAN, click to download our free e-book with a shopping list. 

What to expect from this recipe?

The classic Buffalo Chicken Dip became so popular as it is

• deliciously creamy,
• super easy to make,
• with only a couple of pantry ingredients, and
• you can even use leftover chicken breasts to make it.

To make it vegan you need to substitute cream cheese, hot buffalo sauce, shredded cheese, ranch dressing and shredded chicken breast. It seems like a lot to change as sadly the only vegan item on this list is the hot sauce.

How easy it is to make this vegan?

I would say not easy. It will never ever be an EXACT match for the dairy version. Especially as the original is loaded with dairy products like cream cheese, ranch dressing and loads of shredded cheese aka a real fat and cholesterol bomb. However, if you change your expectations a bit, and willing to try something healthier and more nutritious, you might be surprised how delicious and cheezy this dip can be.

So here is our favorite recipe that is veggie-based, nut-free, soy-free, dairy-free, egg-free, oil-free (so no cashews haha). Enjoy!

Best vegan shredded chicken

I would say the most important part to get right is what would you use instead of shredded chicken breast. I have been seeing recipes using

• jackfruit (in this recipe),
• shredded tofu (in this recipe),
• cauliflower florets (in this recipe),
• artichoke hearts (in this recipe), or
• store-bought plant-based chicken products (in this recipe).

However, it seems nobody thought that the best plant-based alternative is shredded oyster mushrooms, not king oyster but regular ones (see below photo). I have 5 reasons for you:

• allergy-friendly -> no soy, no nuts, no gluten
• pantry staple -> you probably already have a handful at home
• easy to buy -> available in all local stores compared to jackfruit or artichoke hearts
• cheap -> way cheaper than e.g. buying Gardein products
• quite neutral in taste -> they soak up any seasoning you add
• tough spongy texture -> perfectly replicating meat

We have even written a Guide to Oyster Mushrooms with the Best 20+ Oyster Mushroom Recipes to give you even more ideas to enjoy this awesome ingredient.

We used our Vegan Shredded Chicken recipe. In short, cut the stem of the oyster mushrooms and tear the cap into small shreds with our hands. If the stem is soft enough you can shred them as well. Mix them with homemade buffalo sauce and baked them in the oven on 425 Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius) for 20 minutes. You can see it in details in our video.

I mean look at the below picture. Would you have guessed it is mushroom and not chicken? It looks pretty amazing, right?

How to make Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip?

If you would make the classic dairy one, you would need cream cheese, ranch dressing and shredded cheese. However, for a delicious and nutritious vegan version we opted for one creamy, rich and cheezy white sauce made of cannellini beans. (We started using them for white cheese-like sauce first in our Vegan Eggplant Parmesan recipe. It made the dish so much richer and creamier without the heavy, fat texture. It was fantastic.)

So back to this Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip. What do you need to make a creamy sauce to go with the shredded and baked oyster mushrooms?

• cannellini beans or white beans
• onion
• garlic
• dairy-free milk (unsweetened almond milk or homemade cashew milk)
• apple cider vinegar
• nutritional yeast
• hot buffalo sauce (Frank’s Red Hot)

Peel and chop onion and garlic. Take a frying pan and add olive oil. Cook chopped onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes until tender and soft (photo #1). Drain and add canned cannellini beans (photo #2). Mix throughly. Add dairy-free milk (photo #3). Stir well. Add apple cider vinegar and nutritional yeast (photo #4). Stir and bring to boil. When ready, add it to the blender with ¼ cup hot buffalo sauce.

Use Vitamix for a crazy smooth sauce

When ready, take a blender and blend the cannellini bean mix with hot buffalo sauce until creamy. You can certainly use a hand blender (aka immersion blender) or a regular blender. They all make a nice creamy sauce. However, if you need this sauce to be extra smooth without a single little piece to find, we recommend using a high powered blender like Vitamix*.

Let’s bake it in the oven

Buffalo Chicken Dip whether vegan or not is a warm dip. It is delicious on the next day as well, but best to serve it while still warm.

Take an oven-safe dish. Add the shredded oyster mushroom and the buffalo dip from the blender and mix thoroughly. Layer it evenly. Pre-heat oven to 350 Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) and bake for 15 minutes. Not more though as the beans can thicken the dip too much and the upper layer will dry out soon. It should only be in the oven long enough to get it piping hot. See the result for yourself and dig in.

FAQs and Substitutions

How do you store it?

You can keep it in the fridge for 3-4 days tops without any problem.

Can you freeze the sauce?

I never had to freeze it as it is usually gone by day 2. If you try to freeze the sauce, let me know how it turns out.

What to dip in it?

• Take some flatbread or pita wedges (maybe make our flourless gluten-free tortilla) and dip them in it.
• Have some pita chips, crackers, or even tortilla chips with it for a quick snack.
• Cut up some fresh raw veggies into sticks, like carrot, cucumber, rutabaga (Oh so delicious…), celery, or bell peppers and scoop up some.
• This dip is a great addition to any party platters or appetizer boards next to classic hummus or vegan cream cheese.

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This Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe is egg-free and dairy-free. It is suitable for a vegan, vegetarian, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free diet. Its WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) being it oil-free.

⇒ If you need an Easy 7-day VEGAN MEAL PLAN, click to download our free e-book with a shopping list. 

More vegan dip and spread recipes

You can browse through our Vegan Sides or Vegan Appetizers or Vegan Condiments galleries or check out

• 5-min Oil-free Hummus
• No Nuts! Vegan Queso Dip
• Roasted Eggplant Bell Pepper Dip
• Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
• Dairy-free Sour Cream