This vegetarian buffalo dip is an easy, cheesy appetizer made with chickpeas and buffalo sauce. It comes together in under 30 minutes and is the perfect meatless swap for buffalo chicken dip!
Buffalo chickpea dip is the ultimate vegetarian appetizer! It's my vegetarian answer to buffalo chicken dip, which my family serves every year on Christmas Eve.
Because if we can use cauliflower to make buffalo cauliflower wings, we can certainly use chickpeas to make buffalo chickpea dip!
Mashed chickpeas, similar to the kind using chickpea salad, are my answer to shredded chicken. The rest of the ingredients are simple but flavorful: cream cheese, buffalo sauce, shredded cheddar, and celery for crunch.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Quick & easy: This vegetarian buffalo dip is ready from start to finish in under 30 minutes using just one bowl and a skillet or casserole dish.
- Great texture: Some of the chickpeas are mashed and some are left whole, creating a great variety of textures. I highly recommend including the celery, as it adds a nice crunch to balance out an otherwise soft dip.
- Crowd-pleaser: Great for New Year's Eve, as a vegetarian tailgating recipe, football games, you name it. Serve with crackers, tortilla chips, or veggies.
- Subtly spicy: While I personally love spicy dishes, this dip isn't overpoweringly spicy because the buffalo sauce is balanced out by cream cheese.
Ingredients
- Chickpeas: One 15.5-ounce can typically yields 1.5 cups of chickpeas.
- Buffalo sauce: I like Sweet Baby Ray's or Frank's buffalo sauce, but this recipe works with any variety of buffalo sauce. See below for how to make your own.
- Cream cheese: I use Neufchatel cream cheese, which is low-fat cream cheese. Regular cream cheese works if that's what you have on hand.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter. It's okay if salted butter is all you have on hand, as we're using a small amount for the recipe.
- Shredded cheddar: I think sharp cheddar works best here, but mild cheddar also works.
- Green onions: The green parts are used for garnishing. Feel free to mix the white parts of the green onions into the dip before baking for extra onion flavor.
- Celery: One rib of celery is all we need to add a little bit of crunch to the chickpea dip.
Step-by-step instructions
This recipe uses ⅓ cup of buffalo sauce. To make your own homemade buffalo sauce quickly, just whisk together 2 tablespoons melted butter and ½ cup hot sauce, sauce as Frank's Red Hot or Cholulah. Jazz it up garlic powder and/or onion powder, to taste.
- Add the drained chickpeas to a medium bowl with the cream cheese, buffalo sauce, sautéed garlic with any butter from the pan, onion powder, and salt.
- Use a potato masher or a fork to mash the chickpeas until about ¾ of them are broken down. The chickpeas should be a variety of textures, with some still intact. Stir to combine.
- Fold in the diced celery, then transfer to the 9-inch skillet used to saute the garlic. Top with shredded cheese.
- Bake at 375F for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the buffalo dip is bubbling. Serve garnished with green onions and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Cassidy's top tips
- I like to make buffalo dip in a 9-inch cast iron skillet. If you don't have one, it can also be made in a small ceramic baking dish.
- Room temp cream cheese is easier to stir into the buffalo dip than cold cream cheese. It usually takes about an hour to warm up. I like to unwrap and slice the cream cheese so that it comes to room temp more quickly.
- Serve with celery sticks, crackers, or tortilla chips. Garnish with sliced green onions.
- Buffalo dip also works with a can of white beans, but the end texture will be a little softer than with chickpeas. I recommend great northern beans or cannellini beans.
Storage tips
- This buffalo dip keeps for 3 to 4 days, though it is best quality immediately out of the oven.
- The dip can be made and assembled up to 48 hours in advance and refrigerated until ready to bake.
- Reheat individual portions quickly in the microwave. To reheat an entire batch of buffalo chickpea dip, cover tightly with foil and bake at 325F for just 10-15 minutes. This keeps the cheese from overcooking/drying out.
More vegetarian appetizers
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Buffalo Chickpea Dip
This vegetarian twist on buffalo chicken dip comes together quickly using simple ingredients like homemade or storebought buffalo sauce, cream cheese, and a can of chickpeas!
Equipment
- 9-inch cast iron skillet or a small baking dish
- potato masher or a fork
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 15 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 4 ounces Neufchatel cream cheese see note #1
- ⅓ cup buffalo sauce see note #2
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- kosher salt to taste
- 1 rib celery finely diced
- ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- crackers and vegetables (such as celery, peppers, cucumbers) for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- In a small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic. Sauté until golden and aromatic, about 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the chickpeas, cream cheese, buffalo sauce, onion powder, black pepper, and salt to a medium bowl. Use a potato masher or a fork to mash the chickpeas until about ¾ of them are broken down. The chickpeas should be a variety of textures, with some still intact.
- Stir well to combine. Fold in the diced celery.
- Transfer to a 9-inch cast iron skillet or a small baking dish. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake at 375F for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the buffalo dip is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and serve hot with veggies and crackers.
Video
Notes
- Cream cheese: The cream cheese is easiest to stir in if it is room temperature. I like to cube the cream cheese to help it warm up more quickly. This recipe also works with regular cream cheese.
- Buffalo sauce: I like Sweet Baby Ray's and Frank's Red Hot buffalo sauce. To make your own homemade buffalo sauce, just whisk together 2 tablespoons butter and ½ cup hot sauce, sauce as Frank's Red Hot or Cholulah. Jazz it up garlic powder and/or onion powder, to taste.
- Baking dish: I use this 9-inch cast iron skillet to saute the garlic and bake the buffalo dip, but recipe works in any small baking dish.
- Storage: Keeps for 3 to 4 days, though it is best quality immediately out of the oven.
- Reheating: Reheat individual portions quickly in the microwave. To reheat an entire batch of buffalo chickpea dip, cover tightly with foil and bake at 325F for just 10-15 minutes. This keeps the cheese from overcooking/drying out.
Nutrition
Calories: 192kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 7gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 538mgPotassium: 176mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 448IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 111mgIron: 1mg
Did you make this?I love hearing how it went! Leave a review or tag me on Instagram @cozypeachkitchen so I can see your creations!
Liz says
First time making this version of Buffalo dip, and I loved it! I threw a little bit on ranch in and took the skins off the chick peas.
Cassidy Reeser says
You can't go wrong with adding ranch! Thanks for the review!