Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip
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Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip is a delicious, lighter version of your favorite appetizer! Easy, gluten free, keto & loaded with flavor – you’ll love it! There is no cream cheese in this recipe (you don’t need it!)
This post was shared in 2018 but has since been updated.
I mean is there anything better than cheesy, spicy healthy buffalo chicken dip? Let me answer that for you… uh no, no there is not.
This dip is one of my favorite appetizers, with Healthy Spinach Artichoke Dip, Parmesan Chicken Wings and Healthy Bean Dip coming in at a close second!
Buffalo chicken dip often gets a bad rep, but this healthy buffalo chicken dip is about to change that.
It still tastes absolutely amazing and is just a little bit lighter then regular buffalo chicken dip.
What makes this buffalo chicken dip healthy?
This buffalo chicken dip is so much healthier than regular buffalo chicken dip! Here’s why:
- Low Fat: Buffalo chicken dip is usually made with tons of cheese, ranch or blue cheese dressing and cream cheese which makes it super high in fat. I swapped out cream cheese/dressing for greek yogurt and cottage cheese. Yes.. you read that right, there is NO cream cheese in this recipe!
- Higher Protein: The greek yogurt/cottage cheese mix still makes this rich and creamy, with way less fat and a whole lot more protein!
- Simple Ingredients: Most dips use cream cheese or ranch dressing. This recipe uses simple healthy ingredients! If you want another easy dip, try our Healthy Onion Dip or Enchilada Dip!
I also added a little bit less cheese to it compared to normal buffalo chicken dip, but if you want to go ahead and add more in – I’m not going to stop you. More cheese is always better!
Now, let’s get into what you’re here for – how do you make healthy buffalo chicken dip?!
Ingredients for healthy buffalo chicken dip:
Making healthy buffalo chicken dip is ridiculously easy. You only need 6 ingredients.
- Cottage cheese (no you can’t even taste it, I swear) – look for a cottage cheese with no fillers/gums and one that is small curd. Good culture is our favorite brand.
- nonfat Greek yogurt
- cheddar cheese – we always grate our cheese fresh, it melts so much better!
- buffalo sauce – this one is our favorite
- cooked chicken
We love to get our chicken from ButcherBox. Learn more about why we love it in this Butcher Box Reviews Post.
Substitutions for this skinny buffalo chicken dip:
This buffalo chicken dip is pretty easy to make and customize.
Cooked Chicken: You can make our crockpot shredded chicken, instant pot shredded chicken or just buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it! I like to make this with chicken breasts, but chicken thighs or chicken tenders will also work.
Cottage cheese: I haven’t tested this recipe without cottage cheese, but if you’re asking because you don’t like it… just put it in there. I don’t like cottage cheese either (at all!) but I swear you can not taste it in this. Do not use fat free cottage cheese. Look for 4% milkfat or a brand with no stabilizers or gums. We like GoodCulture.
Buffalo Sauce: This is our favorite buffalo sauce. It’s made with great ingredients and it tastes amazing! I haven’t tried this dip with other sauces, but I bet it will be delicious!
Cheddar Cheese: We recommend using freshly grated cheddar cheese, not pre-shredded. Pre-shredded cheese does not melt as well and can result in a watery dip.
Blue Cheese: If you like blue cheese in your buffalo chicken dip, sub 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese with 1/2 cup of blue cheese.
Low fat cheese: Low fat cheeses do not melt as well as regular cheese. It will work in this recipe if you like it but it likely will make the dip watery.
Yogurt: Use nonfat Greek yogurt in this recipe. Do not use regular yogurt. Regular yogurt can make this dip watery.
Vegetarian: We made a vegetarian version of this recipe! Check out our Vegetarian Buffalo Dip.
How to make healthy buffalo chicken dip:
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl.
- Mix until thoroughly combined.
- You can totally top with extra cheese before popping it in the oven, but you don’t have to!
- Pour into an 8×8 glass baking dish (or a glass pie plate!) and bake!
How to serve healthy buffalo chicken dip:
There’s no wrong way to eat this healthy buffalo chicken dip.. but here are a few ideas
- Chips – these chips are yummy!
- Pretzels – (I love these flat ones for dipping!)
- Veggies – Celery, peppers, and carrots go well with this.
- A spoon… kidding? Not really. It’s that good.
- On a sandwich –Leftovers are delicious in a grilled cheese!
Help! My dip is watery
If your buffalo chicken dip is watery, no worries – we can fix it! Take a paper towel and gently blot it against the edges of the dip. You can tilt the dish using an oven mitt towards the paper towel so the excess water drains towards it.
You can bake the dip for an extra few minutes to help absorb the excess moisture.
The dip is likely watery because of your ingredients. If you used a cottage cheese with fillers or gums, this could cause the cottage cheese to separate, resulting in a watery dip. Preshredded cheese can also cause the same issue. Using low fat ingredients instead of nonfat (they’re different!) can also result in a watery dip.
Either way, just try to blot as much of the excess water out and return to the oven to bake for a few minutes to help.
Can you make this keto buffalo chicken dip in the crockpot?
I wouldn’t recommend making this buffalo chicken dip in the crockpot. The water doesn’t evaporate like it does in the oven and it might be watery. Try this Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Dip instead!
How to make shredded chicken
You have a few options for how to make shredded chicken.
Instant Pot: You can make my Easy Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
Crockpot: You can cook chicken in the crockpot (you’d have to do it the day before or in the morning)
Rotisserie Chicken: You can buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it up (Save the bones and make crockpot bone broth !)
Boiled chicken: You can boil chicken for about 15 minutes until it is entirely cooked and then shred.
Canned Chicken: You could use canned chicken… but I think it’s gross and bouncy. If you do use canned chicken make sure to drain it EXTREMELY well. If you don’t you’ll be left with a watery mess.
Storing Buffalo Chicken Dip
Prep ahead of time: You can mix together this dip the night before and put it in the refrigerator (unbaked). When you’re ready to eat let the dish come to room temperature and bake per instructions.
Storing this Dip: This dip will last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Freezing Buffalo Chicken Dip: I haven’t tried freezing this dip but I wouldn’t recommend it. I don’t think it will freeze well. I think it would get watery/ and might not be as creamy.
Reheating Buffalo Chicken Dip: If you need to reheat this Buffalo Chicken Dip – you can put it in your microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until cheese starts to melt.
You can also reheat it in a toaster oven, or use a crockpot set to warm to keep it warm throughout!
Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- ½ cup buffalo sauce
- 1 cup nonfat greek yogurt
- ½ cup small curd cottage cheese
- 2 cups cheddar cheese divided (can also sub half crumbled blue cheese)
Instructions
Oven Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400.
- In a bowl mix cooked chicken, buffalo sauce, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and 1 cup cheddar cheese until thoroughly combined.
- Pour dip into an 8×8 baking dish. Top with remaining 1 cup of cheese. Bake at 400 for 25 mins.
- You can turn the oven to broil the last 2 minutes of cooking if you'd prefer a crispier topping.
- Feel free to drizzle the dip with extra buffalo sauce before serving if you'd like. Serve with chips or veggies or choice.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in instant pot base. Add 1/4 cup water.
- Set to pressure cook for 14 minutes. Make sure your pot is set to sealing, not venting. The pot will take 3-4 minutes to come to pressure. Allow it to cook and naturally release for 10 minutes. (You can also quick release if you're in a hurry!)
- Shred chicken with a hand mixer in the pot, or remove from the pot, shred with forks, and return back to the pot. Make sure to drain excess water from the pot/chicken to avoid a watery dip.
- Stir in buffalo sauce, cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese, tossing until warm.
- Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes until cheese has melted.
Crockpot Instructions
- In a bowl mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined.
- Pour dip batter into crockpot (top with extra cheese if desired!). Cover and cook for low 4-6 hours or high 2-3 hours.
Video
Notes
- Chips – these chips are yummy!
- Pretzels ( i love these flat ones for dipping!)
- Veggies – Celery, peppers and carrots go well with this.
- Instant Pot: You can make my Easy Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
- Crockpot: You can cook the chicken in the crockpot (you’d have to do it the day before or in the morning)
- Rotisserie Chicken: You can buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it up (Save the bones and make easy crockpot bone broth !)
- Boiled chicken: You can boil chicken for about 15 minutes until it is entirely cooked and then shred.
I make this Buffalo chicken dip recipe every year for the Super Bowl! So good and so easy to make! Everyone always loves it.
LOVED this recipe! Made it for super bowl Sunday! No one could tell I used cottage cheese. Yum. 🙂
So happy to hear this, Tiffany!
I’ve never made Buffalo dip but wanted to make a healthy version. I didn’t tell anyone till after the ate it and said it was amazing. Only thing different I did was add some ranch seasoning. Thank you for this delicious, healthy, high protein dip. I can now include this in my weight loss meals. I would eat it with celery although today we had it with whole grain scoops.
So happy you liked it, Cindy!
Delicious! And so easy to put together!
Thanks, Megan!
I brought this dip on a girls’ weekend and it was the star of the weekend! I pr-made the dip and baked it off when we needed it. The flavor was awesome, it took no time to throw together and tastes amazing with pretty much anything you can dip and scoop with. I am not a fan of cottage cheese, but I could not tell at all that it was in this dip. I will be making this again for sure!
So happy you liked it, Dianna!
I’ve made this before and it’s really good, I was going to try it in the instant pot this time. When you say cover your chicken breasts in hot sauce, are these uncooked chicken breasts? Bc the main recipe only talks about them already being cooked, 2 cups worth. Trying to dirty up only the instant pot if I’m going to lug that huge thing out lol Thanks!
Glad you like it! The instructions for the Instant Pot include cooking the raw chicken in it. There’s really no need to dirty the instant pot for this, IMO. Either way – you need to bake the dip in the oven. I just have those instructions because some people wanted to make the chicken in the IP.
The best recipe out there!
Could this be prepped and then frozen to be thawed and cooked at a later time.?
Absolutely not, it would be terrible. You can mix the ingredients together and bake later but do not freeze this recipe. It will be watery and gross
I will only be using this recipe moving forward for Buffalo Chicken Dip! So creamy and delicious, plus so easy to make! The perfect healthy twist on a game day classic
So happy you like it Cara! Thank you so much!
Super easy to make and delicious! We used leftover ricotta we had in the fridge rather than cottage cheese and it was still *chef’s kiss*
So glad you like it!
Made this for a party this weekend and it was a huge hit. Easy to make and so yummy! I served it with celery, carrots and tortilla chips. I can’t wait to make it again for New Year’s Eve! Thank you for making eating healthy fun and enjoyable!
So happy you enjoyed it! Thank you!!
Easy and delicious!
Thank you so much, Cori!
Love this recipe! So easy to make and so yummy! I started making this version as a healthier option because my husband LOVES Buffalo chicken dip, and he can’t taste the difference from the more fattening version!
I’m so happy you like it, Callie!
So good, you will not even miss the cream cheese like the traditional dip recipe. I served this at my family thanksgiving & no one there even knew the difference! Will be making this again & again.
Thank you so much, Gina!
I’ve been wanting to make a Buffalo dip and this recipe surely hit the spot! Easy prep and I will definitely make it again.
So glad you liked it, Devin! Thanks for trying!
I planned to make a healthier version but felt like I was missing an ingredient – cottage cheese! Way to think outside of the box 🙂
I did double the recipe (honestly I based it off taste and consistency) and I also added a packet of Hidden Valley ranch seasoning. Oh my – so good!!
10/10 will keep this combination in my back pocket!
Soo glad you liked it, Brandi! Thank you so much!
AMAZING!! Absolutely loved this dish! Can’t wait to make it for game day
Thank you so much, Rebecca! It’s perfect for snacking on while watching the game!
Was so good and easy! I made the crockpot version for a football party and it was a hit! Will definitely be making this again!
So glad you liked it, Catie! Thank you!
This is fantastic! I make this as a low carb meal and serve it over some cooked spaghetti squash, with lots of left overs! Love how versatile this recipe is and can be used in many ways!
Thank you so much, Patti! Next time try our – I think you’d love it!
I really wanted to love this dip but it came out so watery. I followed the instructions/suggestions on using regular fat cheese and nonfat Greek yogurt so I’m not sure what went wrong. Perhaps it was the low fat cottage cheese I used? It wasn’t specified which cottage cheese to use so I assumed any would be ok. Do you have any other ideas or tips for what to do next time to prevent this situation?
Hi Melody – The recipe calls for small curd cottage cheese. We have a note in the substitutions that says ‘Low fat cheese – I find that low fat cheese do not melt as well as regular cheese. It will work in this recipe if you like it. It likely will make the dip watery.’ so the reason this was watery was likely because of the substitution. Hope that helps.
This looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it. Can you serve this cold? I want to bring it as a share item for 4th of July.
This is meant to be enjoyed hot. I wouldn’t serve it cold
I used low-fat yogurt and not Greek yogurt, and I probably should have used Greek yogurt because my dip was a little watery. The flavors were AMAZING and indistinguishable from a regular recipe. I think next time when I actually use Greek yogurt, it’ll be perfect!
Regular yogurt definitely could’ve made it watery but I’m glad you still enjoyed it, Paula!
Easy to find ingredients makes this the perfect food for any buffalo chicken craving. I love how clean the recipe is and I am so happy to have found suhc a simple and quick recipe! Thank you Clean Eating Couple! Looking forward to trying other healthy reicpes 🙂
So happy to hear you liked it, Alice!
This is one of my favorite snacks that I make every week! I use rotisserie chicken and it makes it even easier!
So smart to do that!
Love this recipe! I made it for my family for Superbowl Sunday and have made it every week since. My husband loves it and doesn’t know it’s healthy = )
Thanks, Amy! Glad you all liked it!