Buffalo Cauliflower Dip
Every now and then I get a huge craving for Buffalo Chicken Dip. The thing of it is, those cravings happen frequently.
Buffalo Chicken Dip and I met in January of 2010. Yes, I even remember when. It was love at first bite. My neighbor at the time made it for me when I was pregnant with those adorable twins of mine when I had a food aversion to chicken. I know you must be thinking, if I didn’t eat chicken, how could I fall for chicken dip? How could I not? That was the only chicken I could eat for the first 20 weeks of my pregnancy. I couldn’t get enough of it. Some people crave ice cream and pickles when they are pregnant, I craved Buffalo dip.
Over the weekend the craving hit me hard when I was driving. I could not stop thinking about inhaling a big bowl of this amazing dip. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted it. That is when it hit me, why not make a healthy, guilt free version of this dip. And with an half a head of cauliflower left after making the Caprese Pizza with Cauliflower Crust I thought I would substitute the chicken with cauliflower rice and use low fat or fat free cream cheese, plain Greek yogurt and some spices.Â
My mother was visiting when I made this dip and I told her of the concoction I was thinking of whipping up and hoping it would turn out as planned. As the kiddos napped, she watched in anticipation as I created this dip. We were both eager to try this.
The result? This dip is absolutely amazing! I think I may prefer this version more. I could not stop eating it.Â
The funny thing is I left the dip out while my mom and I did some shopping therapy. When I got home it was gone. I never told Mr. Mother Thyme what it was. So I asked him if he liked the dip. He said he loved it. When I told him it was made with cauliflower was surprised and he said he couldn’t even tell. He also mentioned my little guy was eating a bunch of it too. I guess you can say was a hit.Â
This is a great dip to serve if you are hosting a football party or even the Super Bowl.  Give it a try and see if people can tell that it is cauliflower instead of chicken.  I’m sure they will have a hard time figuring it out. And even if they do, I’m certain they will still enjoy it.
Coarsely grate 2 1/2 cups cauliflower “rice” from 1/2 a head of cauliflower.Â
Add cauliflower “rice” to a large skillet with pepper sauce and cook over medium heat until heated through.Â
Stir in cream cheese and stir until melted.Â
Add in Greek yogurt and spices and stir until heated through. Serve warm with tortilla chips or celery sticks.Â
PrintBuffalo Cauliflower Dip
Ingredients
- 1/2 head cauliflower
- 3/4 cup cayenne pepper sauce (like Frank’s Red Hot)
- 2 (8 ounce each) low fat or fat free cream cheese, softened
- 6 ounces plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dill weed
- 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
- tortilla chips for serving
- celery sticks for serving
Instructions
- Remove stems and leaves from cauliflower and coarsely grate cauliflower florets to resemble rice to make 2 1/2 cups.
- Place grated cauliflower and pepper sauce in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and cook until heated through.
- Stir in cream cheese and cook, stirring until melted then add in Greek yogurt, parsley flakes, garlic powder, dill weed and onion powder. Cook until heated through.
- Place dip in bowls and serve warm with tortilla chips or celery sticks.
Linking to:Â Tidy Mom
I just OH MY GOD more than 3 times while reading this post. My husband will LOVE you. He has been meat free for about 4-5 months now… the only thing he misses is buffalo chicken. I made him a tip using tempeh recently but it wasn’t fabulous. This looks 100x better!
a dip… not tip 😉
I love using cauliflower in unique ways–this is awfully intriguing!!
You just made the biggest football party food healthy. You are amazing.
Oh my gosh I LOVE this idea! I cannot wait to make it for the Golden Globe viewing on Sunday!
Brilliant idea! I totally want to try this and see if my friends notice. 🙂
I love that you used cauliflower and Greek yogurt to lighten this dip up, such a good idea!
I would never have thought to put cauliflower in a dip. Brilliant!!
I am so in love with this idea!! I need to find a way to make this when hubby is not around, so he won’t know! Then I can prove he doesn’t hate cauliflower!!
This sounds SO stinking good. I can’t believe you were able to sneak cauliflower in there. What a great idea to lighten this normally heavy side dish up. Yum!
Oh i think you’ve sold me on this healthier version of a fattening classic! This dip looks fab!
What an amazing lightened up version! Can’t wait to try this!
Totally dying here, Jennifer! What a great way to make this stuff healthier!
Oh, you’re gonna convert me to a cauliflower lover for sure. I want to make this!!
to dip or not to dip… i’m totally dipping. this recipe is being made tomorrow
What a neat idea! My husband and I are on a cauliflower kick, and obviously looove buffalo chicken dip (or buffalo shrimp dip!). We’ll definitely have to give this a go.
Great recipe! Everyone loved it. We have 3 vegetarians in our family of 5 so this was a big hit. The one addition I made was green onions as a garnish–delicious!
So happy to hear everyone enjoyed it! Love your idea of adding green onions as garnish.
There are no words to describe the urge I have to face plant into this bowl. Anndd pinned.
Ok, I am so seriously intrigued by this. I will have to try it out for sure!!! Love that it is a lightened version too!!! It really sounds awesome!!!
How creative! I never would have thought to grate cauliflower…super genius!
Totally making this! So grateful to have found your lovely blog today 🙂
This was fabulous!! I just made this, and a version using chicken that was lighter that I got from another website, put a little of each in a dish and wound up going back for more of this and giving the other to my husband. Thanks!!!
So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Have a great weekend!
Hope it’s okay, I’m featuring this dip on a roundup this week! It was too yummy looking to pass up!
Thanks so much Jen! 🙂
Okay the dip looks amazing, but I am totally eyeing the bowl. Where did you get it??
Thanks! The bowl is actually from Target. 🙂
I found this recipe on Pinteresr and just made this in advance of a friend’s birthday and WOW, I may never go back to the chicken version again! My back of the envelope calculations put this at about 1,200 calories for the entire dish! I added a sprinkle of mozzarella to the top and popped it under the broiler for a couple minutes for added gooeyness. Yum!
So happy to hear you love this recipe! 🙂
I can’t wait to try this!!!!
I just made this last night & both me & my room-mate loved it! Just wondering, do you happen to know the nutritional info for this recipe?
Hi Cheryl! Glad you hear you and your roommate enjoyed this! I’m sorry I don’t have the exact nutritional info on this recipe at this time.
I just had a good laugh..I googled “vegetarian buffalo chicken dip” because I’m also pregnant with twins and have a chicken aversion, but was craving buffalo chicken dip. Small world, lol.
Hi Lindsay, That is so funny! Congrats on the twins! 🙂
How many servings does this make? Also, fresh or dried dill? Looking forward to making this, it looks delicious!
Hi Jennifer, This serves 4-6. I prefer dried dill in this. It’s so good! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I made this for a pre-Oscar party, and I must say, it was HOT HOT!! I used a picante sauce, because I didn’t have time to get Franks. Great idea! Thank you!
I had this on my to-try list for way too long. Finally made it tonight and it’s delicious!! I will definitely use this recipe again. Thanks!
Hi Amy! So glad you liked it! 🙂
This was so flavorful I actually added extra cauliflower “rice” to help cut the heat. Can’t believe how much veggies you can hide in this tasty dip…nom, nom, nom!
Hi Anna! So glad to hear you enjoyed this! Thanks so much for letting me know!
Thanks so much for this recipe!! Made it last night with a few, slight modifications-like only 1 8 oz bar of non fat cream cheese, a handful of low-fat mozzarella, half a cup of pepper sauce and left out the dill weed, and I had to force myself to step away from the bowl. My husband loved it too! Fantastic texture, and taste. So thrilled to be able to eat one of my favorite fall foods on my lowfat diet! Using shredded cauliflower was genius!
Do you think this world be ok in a crock pot? I’m planning on bringing it to a pot luck type of event…
would ***
Hi Angela, I have not tried this in the crock pot, so I don’t know what the result would be like. You could make it as directed and then keep it warm in the crock pot. Enjoy!
This is officially our party dip! SO easy! Thank you so very much! We add a little cayenne pepper on the top to pretty it up for an appetizer table.
Hi Katie, So glad to hear you enjoy this yummy dip! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
This was the biggest hit at my Superbowl party! Everyone loved it! I didn’t have greek yogurt on hand. So I used about a 1/4 cup of olive oil mayo and 1/4 cup of yogurt based ranch dressing, and then I blended in some blue cheese crumbles. Super good! Thanks for the recipe! This will go into my “go to” file.
★★★★★
Hi Tammy! So glad to hear this was a hit at your party! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Hi saw your Dip looks delicious, How many carbs dose this Buffalo Cauliflower Dip have because l’m on the Keto Diet, l would love to make it but l need to know how much carbs dose it have, I would appreciate your help thank you.?
Hi Susan, I’m sorry I don’t have the exact nutritional info for this recipe.
Love this dip! I’ve made it for several parties with lots of compliments each time. My addition is to add crumbled blue cheese. It’s not quite as “light”, but the blue cheese adds a good flavor.
★★★★★
I’ve also heard of using chickpeas instead of cauliflower. Does the cauliflower give enough texure? I’m a vegetarian but my bf is not and hates cauliflower. Just wondering if you think it’s enough texture without the cauliflower flavor?
Hi Cailee, I have never tried this recipe with chickpeas so I don’t know what the results would be or even how much chickpeas you would use, sorry.
Can I freeze smaller portions of this dip?
Made this today, and it’s amazing! I usually buy the premade version from Aldi, but as with all my favorite Aldi products, it’s not around consistently. This is the closest I’ve found to having the same ingredients as the one we buy, so I thought I would try it. I’m so happy I did! I will be making this weekly! I added salt and pepper to taste but it was delicious without as well. I also didn’t have Greek yogurt so I used sour cream and it’s got a great dip consistency.
★★★★★