I love this smoked buffalo chicken dip recipe. It has the perfect amount of flavor, and if you make this for your friends or family, they'll beg you to make more.
This smoked buffalo chicken dip recipe is one of my favorite appetizers. It's easy to make and perfect for a family get-together or a party for the big game.
I prefer to make this smoked buffalo chicken dip in a cast-iron skillet. You can use bread, chips, carrots, celery, or whatever you like to dip in it.
Table of Contents
Recipe Rundown
| Prep Time: | 15 minutes |
| Smoke Time: | 45 minutes |
| Smoker Temperature: | 225° & 375° |
| Wood Pellets: | Mesquite, Oak Blend, other |
| Servings: | 8 |
What You Need to Make This Smoked Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe
This is what you need to make this dip (full amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of this post):
- Shredded Chicken - I like to smoke and shred chicken quarters first. If you're short on time, you can buy a whole rotisserie chicken at the store and shred that instead.
- Cream Cheese- regular full fat cream cheese is best.
- Cheddar Cheese- mild, sharp, or even white cheddar works great.
- Mozzarella Cheese- this melts nicely and compliments the other cheeses.
- Crumbled Bacon- I used fresh cooked bacon but you can smoke it before hand or if you are short on time, grab some bacon bits.
- Mayonnaise- this condiment makes a great base in dips.
- BBQ Rub- an all purpose rub, poultry, or spicy bend works great in this recipe.
- Frank's Red Hot-grab straight hot sauce (not wing sauce although that works, too).
- Green Onions (if desired)- these sliced onions make a great topping for a little extra flavor, color, and crunch.
- Bread, veggies, or chips for dipping
How to Make Smoked Buffalo Chicken Dip
One of the reasons I like making this dip is because it's very easy to make. Once you have all of your ingredients, it just takes a few minutes to prepare and throw on the smoker.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients. I like to combine the wet ingredients and the BBQ rub first, then add drier ingredients like shredded chicken and cheese. Mix the ingredients with your mixer, by hand, or with a spoon until well combined.
Once the mixture is combined, pour it into the cast iron skillet or dish you will use.
Transfer the skillet out to your pre-heated smoker.
Smoking Buffalo Chicken Dip
Set up your smoker to smoke at 225 degrees. I like a stronger wood flavor for this recipe, like mesquite. I use a Traeger and have also found good success using Oak pellets for this recipe.
Place the skillet on the grill grates, close the lid, and let it smoke for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, give everything a stir and turn up the temperature in the smoker to either 375 or 400 degrees F.
Add some crumbled blue cheese and more bacon pieces if you would like at this point. Then close the lid and cook for 10-15 minutes until hot throughout.
Top with some chopped green onions if desired, and serve hot. I like to eat this smoked buffalo chicken dip recipe with carrots and celery, but it's great with other veggies, too, and of course, it's fantastic with bread.
Make it a Bread Bowl!
I have made this before by serving it in a bread bowl, too!
If your loaf of bread has already been picked out, great! If not, pick out chunks of bread from the center of the loaf of bread until a nice bowl has been formed. Be sure to keep the bowl's walls at least 1" thick. I like to try to keep the chunks that I'm tearing out a little bit larger than a golf ball.
Set the pieces of bread in a bag to save for when the bowl is done cooking. Follow the steps of the recipe, then pour the mixture into 2 bread bowls. Place the bread bowl in a large cast-iron skillet or on a sheet pan and then place in your smoker and smoke at 225 degrees for 30 minutes.
Smoked Buffalo Chicken Dip
Equipment
- Thermapen Mk4 Instant-read Thermometer for meat & more
- Disposable Gloves
- 1 8 in. Cast iron Skillet or similar
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups shredded chicken
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp BBQ Rub
- ⅓ cup Franks Red Hot a little more if you like spicy
- ¾ cup cheddar cheese shredded
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 6 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon divided
- ¼ cup blue cheese crumbles
- 2 green onions chopped optional
Instructions
- Combine all of the wet ingredients (mayo, sour cream, cream cheese, Frank's) and the BBQ rub, and then mix.
- Fold in the mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, shredded chicken, and half of the bacon crumbles.
- Pour the mixture into your cast iron skillet or dish of choice.
- Place in your smoker and smoke at 225 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Stir everything and add blue cheese crumbs and more bacon.
- Adjust heat up to either 375 or 400 degrees F and continue cooking until the cheese is bubbling (about 10-15 minutes longer).
- Top with chopped green onions if desired.
- Serve hot with sliced bread, veggies, chips, or crackers.
Bread Bowl Instructions
- Pour the mixture into 2 bread bowls. Place the bread bowl in a large cast-iron skillet or on a sheet pan and then place in your smoker and smoke at 225 degrees for 30 minutes.
This sounds great but I am not at all familiar with Frank's Red Hot. What is it and is there something else that may be more universally acceptable?