This Buffalo Cauliflower Dip is a delicious vegetarian spin on a classic game day snack. Made with roasted cauliflower, Frank’s hot sauce, Greek yogurt, and ranch, it’s perfect served with tortilla chips or celery sticks. Easy to make in the oven, slow cooker, or Instant Pot!

Buffalo Cauliflower Dip in baking dish garnished with sliced scallions and crumbled blue cheese with tortilla chip on topWhy I Love This Recipe

This dip is deliciously cheesy, rich, and spicy, and can definitely compete with a buffalo chicken wing dip.

That’s right I have a vegetarian chicken wing dip recipe made with cauliflower that’s going to knock your socks off.

Don’t believe me? Ask my carnivore Buffalo-born husband and he’ll tell you how he almost finished the dip off in one sitting :).

This dip swaps the chicken for cauliflower, adds Greek yogurt as well as cream cheese, uses mozzarella and blue cheese, and can be made with ranch dressing or seasoning.

Not only is it deliciously spicy, cheesy and indulgent-tasting, it’s vegetarian, gluten-free, has more fiber, and is super satisfying.

It only requires 7 simple ingredients and comes together quickly, though maybe not as fast as it’ll get eaten!

It’s also customizable so you can switch up the type(s) of shredded cheese based on what you have on hand or add more or less hot sauce depending on your spice preferences.

You can also easily make it in the slow cooker or Instant Pot if your oven isn’t available (instructions for all three methods below!).

Ingredients You’ll Need

graphic of ingredients for buffalo cauliflower dip on marble surface with black text overlay

Notes on Ingredients

cauliflower: I like to roast the cauliflower in the oven first because I love roasted veggies and think it brings out more flavor but if you’d rather microwave or steam your cauliflower as a time saver, go for it! Use a small head or a bag of pre-cut cauliflower florets.

Frank’s hot sauce: I highly recommend trying to find Frank’s hot sauce for this recipe but don’t sweat it if you need to use another type of Buffalo sauce. You can add a little more or less depending on your desired spice level!

cream cheese: acts as the base of the dip. I recommend using a regular full-fat block of cream cheese and letting it soften before you get started.

Greek yogurt: contributes to the creamy texture and adds a boost of protein.

ranch dressing: helps combat the spice of the hot sauce along with the cream cheese. If you’d like your dip to have a thicker consistency you can use 1 tablespoon of ranch seasoning instead.

mozzarella cheese: I like using shredded mozzarella cheese in this recipe but feel free to swap it out with other cheeses like cheddar, Colby, pepper jack, or some combination of different cheeses. 

blue cheese: blue cheese is often paired with buffalo sauce to combat the heat but you can omit if blue cheese isn’t your thing!

Equipment You’ll Need (affiliate links – if you make a purchase I receive a small commission):

Baking Dish

How to Make Buffalo Cauliflower Dip

step by step graphic of how to make buffalo cauliflower dip

  1. Roast the cauliflower. On a parchment lined baking sheet, toss the cauliflower with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake until tender and slightly browned, about 20-25 minutes.
  2. Combine ingredients. To a large mixing bowl add roasted cauliflower, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, Frank’s hot sauce, ranch dressing (or seasoning), 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and blue cheese. Stir until cream cheese is mostly incorporated.
  3. Transfer and bake. Transfer to a baking dish and top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and optional extra blue cheese. Bake until mixture is bubbling and the sides are just starting to brown, about 25-30 minutes.
  4. Serve! Top with optional sliced green onion and serve warm with tortilla chips, carrot and celery sticks, for dipping.

Expert Tips

  1. You can prep this dip in advance by preparing it up until it needs to be baked in the oven. If you’re making it in advance, cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge (no longer than 24 hours) until you’re ready. Before baking, let the dip come to room temperature while the oven preheats.
  2. If you don’t like small cauliflower chunks in your dip, you can pulse the roasted cauliflower in a food processor or dice the florets before combining with the other ingredients.

How to make this dip in the Instant Pot

If you want to save oven space or just don’t want to turn on your oven, you can easily make this dip in the Instant Pot!

  1. In Instant Pot, add cauliflower, Frank’s, ranch dressing or seasoning, salt and pepper, and stir to coat.
  2. Secure lid onto Instant Pot and set to pressure cook/manual for 2 minutes.
  3. Use quick release valve to release steam.
  4. Once pressure is released, open lid and add cream cheese, yogurt, mozzarella, and blue cheese.
  5. Using an immersion blender or hand mixer on low, blend ingredients until smooth and creamy, or your desired texture (I like some little chunks of cauliflower in mine!).
  6. Pour out into a serving bowl and garnish with green onion.

How to make this dip using the slow cooker

  1. Roast cauliflower in the oven.
  2. Spray slow cooker bowl with cooking spray. Add all ingredients to slow cooker, stir to combine, and cook on high for 1.5 to 2 hours or on low for 3-4 hours, or until cheeses have melted and dip is heated through.
  3. Stir dip again before transferring to a serving bowl and topping with green onion garnish.

Recipe FAQs

What goes good with buffalo cauliflower?

Think tortilla chips, crackers, sliced baguette, carrots and celery sticks. If you’re planning on making this in part of a game day menu, you can serve it alongside nachos, chicken wings, fries, coleslaw, etc. 

Can I use blue cheese dressing instead of ranch dressing?

I haven’t made this dip with blue cheese dressing but I’m sure this would be delicious! You can try using my vegan blue cheese dressing or any store bought dressing should work.

Can this dip be made without blue cheese?

Absolutely! Feel free to omit the blue cheese completely or even swap it out with goat cheese or feta cheese for that salty, crumbly effect. 

What is the best hot sauce for buffalo cauliflower dip?

Hand’s down use Frank’s hot sauce. Frank’s hot sauce is by far my favorite Buffalo sauce (and I’m from Buffalo, NY so I know a good wing sauce!). 

How long is buffalo cauliflower dip good for in the fridge?

Dip will stay good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To store, you can wrap the entire baking dish tightly in plastic wrap or transfer the dip to an airtight container before putting it in the fridge. Buffalo Cauliflower Dip in white baking dish topped with sliced green onions and crumbled blue cheese.

Storage and Preparation

This dip can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking. Let dish come to room temperature before baking while the oven preheats.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. You can freeze this dip for up to three months but the texture and consistency will change (although the flavor will still be good!).

Recipes That Pair Well

Vegetarian Nachos

Healthy Sweet Potato Skins

Mexican Street Corn Dip

Vegan Chickpea Burgers

Kohlrabi Fries (Baked or Air Fryer)

Sheet Pan Potato Nachos

Buffalo Cauliflower Dip in white baking dish beside kitchen towel and a few tortilla chips

For more buffalo cauliflower inspiration, check out my other recipes below!

Buffalo Cauliflower Wings – Air Fryer or Oven

Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza

Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos with Ranch Slaw

Instant Pot Vegetarian Buffalo Cauliflower Wing Dip

If you like this recipe, please be sure to comment and give it a 5 star rating below. If you make it, share it on Instagram and tag me @karalydonrd and I’ll re-share it with my followers! If you want to save this recipe for later, be sure to pin it on Pinterest!

Don’t miss a recipe! Sign up to receive my monthly newsletter with a round-up of recipes from the previous month and get my FREE guide when you sign upRediscover the Joy in Eating: 5 Simple Steps to Stop Stressing Over Food + Enjoy Every Bite.

This recipe was retested, reshot and revamped to bring you the most delicious (and most beautiful) dish! The original post was published February 2017.

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Buffalo Cauliflower Dip


1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (41 votes, average: 3.73 out of 5)
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  • Author: Kara Lydon
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 8-12 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

This Buffalo Cauliflower Dip is a delicious vegetarian spin on a classic game day snack. Made with roasted cauliflower, Frank’s hot sauce, Greek yogurt, and ranch, it’s perfect served with tortilla chips or celery sticks. Easy to make in the oven, slow cooker, or Instant Pot!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 small head cauliflower, chopped into small, bite-sized florets (about 56 cups florets)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temp and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup Frank’s hot sauce (or Buffalo wing sauce)
  • 1/2 cup ranch dressing (or 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning)
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (plus extra for topping, if desired)
  • Optional: sliced green onion, for garnish
  • Tortilla chips, carrot and celery sticks, for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. On the baking sheet, toss cauliflower with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake until tender and slightly browned, about 20-25 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
  3. Add roasted cauliflower to a large mixing bowl. Add cream cheese, Greek yogurt, Frank’s hot sauce, ranch dressing (or seasoning), 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, blue cheese, and stir until  ingredients are combined and cream cheese is mostly incorporated.
  4. Transfer to a 9×9 or 10×7 baking dish and top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and optional extra blue cheese.
  5. Bake until mixture is bubbling and the sides are just starting to brown, about 25-30 minutes.
  6. Top with optional sliced green onion and serve warm with tortilla chips, carrot and celery sticks, for dipping.
  7. Instant Pot:  Add cauliflower, Frank’s, ranch dressing or seasoning, salt and pepper to Instant Pot and stir to coat. Secure lid onto Instant Pot and set to pressure cook/manual for 2 minutes. Use quick release valve to release steam. Once pressure is released, open lid and add cream cheese, yogurt, mozzarella, and blue cheese. Using an immersion blender or hand mixer on low, blend ingredients until smooth and creamy, or your desired texture (I like some little chunks of cauliflower in mine!). Pour out into a serving bowl and garnish with green onion.
  8. Slow Cooker: Spray the bowl of the slow cooker with cooking spray. Roast your cauliflower first and then add all ingredients to a slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on high for 1.5 to 2 hours or on low for 3-4 hours, or until cheeses have melted and dip is warm throughout. Give it another stir and transfer to a serving dish with your desired garnishes.

Notes

  1. This recipe was updated and improved October 2023. If you loved the original recipe, here are the key ingredient differences: 4 ounces cream cheese, 1 cup Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning, blue cheese is an optional topping. The main instruction difference is to pulse all the ingredients in the food processor to combine before transferring to the baking dish to bake.
  2. This recipe has bite-sized cauliflower chunks. If you prefer more of a smooth consistency, pulse ingredients in the food processor before transferring to the baking dish.
  3. I used ranch dressing because it was more accessible in stores I shop at than ranch seasoning but if you’d like your dip to have a thicker consistency, use seasoning instead.
  4. Frank’s hot sauce is my favorite Buffalo sauce (and I’m from Buffalo, NY so I know a good wing sauce!) and I highly recommend trying to find it for this recipe but don’t sweat it if you need to use another type of Buffalo sauce.
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Dip
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: buffalo cauliflower dip, vegetarian buffalo cauliflower dip, vegetarian buffalo dip

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65 Comments

  1. Megan

    Would vanilla yogurt just bring the eat down a little? Just want to use what I have.

    • Hi Megan, do you mean bring the heat down? You could definitely use less Frank’s if you’d like less spice. As for vanilla yogurt, I do think that would change the flavor of the overall recipe, which is not meant to be sweet. Let me know if you try it, but I’d recommend sticking with plain yogurt!

    • Megan

      Tried the vanilla yogurt. Didn’t used the whole 1 cup, more like a very heavy 1/2 cup and added a bit more cream cheese to make up for the missing half. It still came out good, a bit different and the vanilla did reduced the heat of the final product a little bit but it worked and still tasted good. LOVE this recipe either way!

    • Thank you so much for updating me (and the other readers)! This is super helpful to know for anyone else who wants a little less spice and has vanilla yogurt on hand. So happy to hear it turned out well 🙂

  2. Karen smith

    Looks great! Any ideas for Vegan version of this, ie, sans cheese? Thanks

    • Hi, Karen! This recipe is definitely a bit dairy-heavy, but you could swap for vegan cheeses. You could also experiment with nutritional yeast and/or cashews, but I haven’t tested those options. Let me know if you try something new!

  3. Rachel Smith

    Thanks so much for the great vegetarian recipe! I made it tonight for the Bills playoff game

  4. Megan

    Can you use ranch dressing instead of ranch seasoning? Or will it make the dip have too liquid?

  5. Ashley

    Just wondering if I could get the nutritional information for this? Thank you.

  6. Lindsey Twist

    Just here to say BUFFALOVEEEE. Thank you for this recipe! Trying it out now!

  7. Bernadette

    I have made this recipe 1,000 times and I’ve had to double it because it is a family favorite and disappears so fast!! After making it so many times, I have made some adjustments. It requires getting your hands a little dirty but it’s worth it. While the cauliflower is roasting I put all of the other ingredients in a large bowl and let it sit out on the counter until the cauliflower is done. After roasting the cauliflower, I take it out of the oven and chop it up manually. Then, I add the chopped roasted cauliflower to the bowl with the other ingredients and mix it by hand! I do this instead of using a food processor because the dip ends up with nice little chunks of roasted cauliflower and more texture. Placing the hot cauliflower fresh out of the oven onto the other ingredients helps to break up the colder ingredients easily. Then of course I transfer it to a pan and bake it as the rest of the recipe says. I swear by this method! It’s totally messier and requires more work as well as being careful around steaming cauliflower, haha. But, it’s so much better! I would know I’ve made it both ways and this is always a winner!! I also leave out the blue cheese.

    Enjoy!

    • That’s awesome, Bernadette! Thanks for sharing your own version of this dip. 🙂 It’s seriously the BEST!

    • Melissa

      I made this for a thanksgiving app and it was SO good!! The meat eaters said there’s no way anyone would know that there was no meat in it. Will most definitely be making again!! (I substituted 1/2 sharp cheddar with 1/2 mozz and it was delish!)

    • Yay! So glad you and your Thanksgiving crew enjoyed it as an app!

  8. Mary

    Hey just made this great recipe!! How long would u say it lasts in the fridge? Had it in there for a week now

  9. This looks delicious, and I appreciate all your helpful notes and tips! Bookmarking for this weekend

  10. Anne

    I have some frozen cauliflower rice I’d like to use up. Do you think I could use that? Should I sauté it first, or just throw all of it in a crockpot and let it cook down?

  11. natalie

    hi! can this be made in a crockpot???

    • Hi! Yes, you can make it in a crockpot! Let all the ingredients cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours and then use immersion blender to blend! Let me know how it turns out!

  12. Lisa

    Has anyone tried this with cheddar rather than mozzarella? My typically dip (with chicken) uses cheddar. But i don’t want mess with what seems like a winning recipe.

  13. Alex Baker

    You’re the first Google result for vegetarian buffalo dip! Its an amazing recipe, I enjoyed it as much as the traditional chicken recipe, maybe even more. Go you!!

  14. YUM-O!! I made this for Super Bowl Sunday and it turned out so good! You would never know there is cauliflower in it! Thank you for the recipe!

  15. BBOFTIGER

    Hello, can I use sour cream in substitute for cream cheese?

  16. Alyssa

    Is it possible to make this ahead of time (like the day before) and then pop in the oven to serve later? It would probably need to go in the oven longer after refrigeration, but wanted to see if you had tried it!

    • Hey Alyssa, I haven’t tried it but don’t see why you couldn’t make it ahead of time and then pop it in the oven later! You probably will just need to increase the cooking time slightly.

  17. Jennifer A Fox

    Hi there from Toronto (just north of Buffalo)
    Just looking for clarification. Is the ranch seasoning the dry powder or the liquid salad dressing.
    Thanks

  18. Sarah

    Wow! This dip was unreal good. My husband and I have recently become vegetarians and he requested some chips and dips for the Super Bowl. When I told him this was what I was making he turned his nose up saying there’s no way this could possibly be good. After his first bite he couldn’t stop eating it! Yay, I love trying a new recipe and finding a hit and proving my husband wrong is just a bonus! 🙂

  19. Made this last year for Super Bowl party and loved it. Thanks for the reminder to make it again!

  20. Amy

    I am making this for a Superbowl Party. Bills Fan here, so even though we didn’t make it I am repping the Wing Dip.

    My bf is on keto so we can’t use Greek Yogurt. How much cream cheese should we use all together if we aren’t adding the yogurt?

    Thanks!

    • Hi Amy – love that you still repped the wing dip! If you don’t add yogurt, you’ll want to use 8 ounces of cream cheese.

      Ps. Maybe next year for the Bills?! (fingers crossed).

  21. Carly McGowen

    I totally agree about not calling it Buffalo dip lol. I’m from Lockport just a car ride away, and we LOVE chicken wings. There’s always a dip around. I’m gonna try this one as a healthy option.

  22. GRetchen

    This is one of my favorite recipes. I save some of the cauliflower and don’t puree it so that it reminds me of chunks of chicken like in the real thing. So tasty!!!

  23. Nicole

    I have a question what if you don’t have a food processor?

  24. Krystal

    This looks so delicious! Wondering if I can make it this morning and then just put it in the fridge till tonight to bake nice and fresh? Thanks!

  25. Kathleen

    Made it this weekend…husband approved, co-worker approved! I have never been able to enjoy this b/c of being vegetarian. I loved it and the spice was awesome. My eyelids were perspiring. Ha! Thanks for sharing. Will definitely be making this again!

  26. Made it this weekend and it was sooooo good! My toddler helped me make it and he ate about 1/4 cup of it before he decided it was too “hot hot” for him. Lol. I’ll be eating the leftovers as part of my snack for the next few days! 🙂

  27. Janice Bissex

    Made it. Loved it. 🙂

  28. My BF loves buffalo chicken dip, but I always feel left out when he brings it to a party. This looks like such a tasty vegetarian version!!

  29. Not sure if I should admit this, but I never connected Buffalo wings …with Buffalo. Thanks for enlightening me on food history! (: Now I like Buffalo dip…but pretty sure I’ll LOVE this dip. It’s gonna be on our party table this weekend!

  30. Love this idea! I actually am not a huge hot sauce fan so I will probably cut that in half and add more blue cheese but this sounds likea great substitution!

  31. Sara Haas

    I love the story that goes with this post Kara! So funny! I never knew people from Buffalo don’t call it “Buffalo Chicken Wings!” Now I do! Great recipe as usual, I can’t wait to try it!