This classic Slow-Cooker Hot Chicken Dip is the ultimate creamy, spicy, cheesy hot dip—perfect for game day, parties, or New Year’s Eve gatherings. So, you may have heard of this also called Buffalo Chicken Dip. I’m using different ingredients than the original recipe and this one in my opinion, tastes so much better.
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Ingredients
4 cups of shredded chicken
2 1/2 cups of homemade ranch dressing
14 oz of cream cheese, softened
1 cup of white cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup of mild cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup of buffalo sauce
Tortilla Chips
Directions
- Cook 8 chicken breasts in the slow-cooker for 1-2 hours. Afterwards, cut or shred the chicken. Place it back in the slow-cooker. See my other tip on how to cook chicken below. Alternatively, use a rotisserie chicken.
- Add the cream cheese, ranch dressing and buffalo sauce.
- Now, stir until smooth.
- Next, place the lid on the slow-cooker and cook on low for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Grate the cheeses and add them to the dip (20 minutes before serving), stirring until thoroughly combined.
- Generally, it will be ready when it’s hot and creamy. Garnish with chopped green onions (optional).
- Lastly, serve with your favorite chips.
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Why This Recipe is Different from the Original
There are no artificial ingredients in this recipe. This hot chicken dip aka buffalo chicken dip recipe is made with real and clean ingredients. Let’s break it down.
Chicken
I use organic chicken. The source where I buy my chicken from feed a diet filled with grains, protein, good healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. I know they are also raised on grasses, legumes, and insects. Most of the original buffalo dip recipe is made with a rotisserie chicken. Basically, unless you know the ingredients or it’s an organic chicken, most of them are filled with junk and some places
Let’s take a look at the ingredients in a Costco Rotisserie Chicken:
Typical Ingredients Include:
- Chicken
- Water
- Salt
- Sodium phosphate
- Modified food starch
- Potato dextrin
- Carrageenan
- Sugar
- Dextrose
- Spice extractives
Ranch Dressing
The name brand ranch dressing, Hidden Valley Ranch is something that I grew up on. I even fed it to my kids when they were little. It was really the only brand that my son would eat. I recently checked and the bottle now has “bioengineered ingredients” listed on it. Bioengineered food ingredients are ingredients derived from ingredients that have been genetically modified using laboratory techniques. Specifically, those that contain detectable modified genetic material that could not be achieved through conventional breeding or found in nature.
Make Your Own Ranch Dressing
Homemade ranch recipe is made with real food ingredients. It’s creamy with the perfect amount of herbs and fresh garlic. Once you try it, it will be a staple you’ll want to keep in your fridge on a weekly basis.
Cream Cheese
I am using a brand called Tillamook. At the present time, it’s the cleanest one I have found near me and so creamy. The ingredients are milk, cream, salt and whey. It isn’t organic but I like the brand and feel comfortable using it. Emphatically, I don’t make my own cream cheese but it is a goal of mine to start. I know it’s not that difficult, I just haven’t taken the time to do it.
Buffalo Sauce
The original recipe for Buffalo Chicken Dip calls for Frank’s Hot sauce. This is made with seed oils and natural flavorings. Those both cause inflammation in the body. I removed them from my diet over a year ago. I use this one – Primal Kitchen Buffalo Sauce (made with Avocado oil and has no xanthum gum).
Tips
- I’m using a medium “heat buffalo sauce. Feel free to kick it up a notch if you like it really spicy.
- This can be made the day before and just heat it up in the slow-cooker the next day.
- Make the chicken ahead of time and place it in the freezer. Find the recipe below.
- Add crumbled bacon and top with chives for more crunch.
- If you would like to make a smaller batch, just half the recipe. I found this cute 3.5 qt slow-cooker that’s even PFAS/chemical free. Comes in some cute colors. It’s perfect for our camper too!
Prep the Chicken Ahead
Make this freezer “anything chicken” and prep it for those impromptu gatherings that you’ll need to bring this hot chicken dip. All you do is cook the chicken ahead of time, shred it and store it in the freezer.
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See my full disclosure here.
Items Used in this Recipe
Masa Chips – (my favorite chips and no seed oils) receive 20% off
Tongs
Organic Chicken Breasts – receive 15% off
Resources
Oliveira AMRCB, Yu P. Research progress and future study on physicochemical, nutritional, and structural characteristics of canola and rapeseed feedstocks and co-products from bio-oil processing and nutrient modeling evaluation methods. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2023;63(23):6484-6490. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2022.2033686. Epub 2022 Feb 14. PMID: 35152796
https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/BE_Consumer.pdf
https://healthtrendblog.com/costco-rotisserie-chicken-nutrition/
Slow-Cooker Hot Chicken Dip
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Cook the chicken breasts. I like to place them on a parchment lined baking sheet (seasoned with salt and pepper) and bake in the oven at 350℉ for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 165℉. Allow to cool.
- Shred the chicken and set aside.
- Mix the ranch dressing, buffalo sauce, cream cheese and add to the slow- cooker. Stir until smooth.
- Cook on low for 2-3 hours.
- Lastly, grate the cheeses and add them to the dip (20 minutes before serving), stirring until thoroughly combined. Once the cheese is all melted, it’s ready to serve. Garnish with green onions (optional).
Notes
- Serve with: tortilla chips, celery sticks, crackers, toasted mini sourdough loaves
- Use the buffalo sauce according to your heat tolerance. If you like a kick, add more and vice-versa. I don’t do a lot of heat and the 1/2 cup is good for me.
- Extra spicy: Add cayenne or chopped jalapeños.
- BBQ style: Swap buffalo sauce for BBQ + a pinch of smoked paprika.
I hope you enjoy making this recipe and that it will benefit you and your family all year long. Please share this post over on Pinterest and tag me over on Instagram. I’d love to see how you make yours.
Wendy Lea Walker, NTP
Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
I’m Wendy. A wife, empty-nester mama, homemaker, homebaker, gardener and small-time farmer. I love sharing wisdom and mistakes I’ve learned along the way. Anyone can garden or homestead, no matter where you live. It’s a mindset. You just have to start somewhere. I believe food is medicine. Feed the body real whole foods and healing will begin. I’ve learned to slow down over the years from all the noise that came with life and enjoy creating a simple home.
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