If you’re a buffalo sauce fan, this vegetarian buffalo dip recipe is a must try! It’s made with tempeh and has a cream cheese base with plenty of hot sauce, ranch and dill. This spicy dip is delicious with your favourite tortilla chips or veggie sticks.
I love spicy food (especially food with hot sauce). Hubby even more so.
And spicy dip?
Don’t get me started.
Dips are staple in our home, especially for weekend snacking.
Today, instead of a traditional buffalo chicken dip, I’m sharing a buffalo dip without chicken; it’s a vegetarian buffalo dip that’s gonna knock your socks right off!
This veggie dip is made with tempeh instead of chicken and gives off a ‘ground meat’ vibe in texture.
Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans. It’s a great alternative to ground chicken, meat or pork and can often be used as a vegan or vegetarian alternative to any dish that normally calls for an animal protein.
Once you try this veggie buffalo dip, it’s sure to be on your regular snack rotation (I know it is in our home).
Hot to Make Vegetarian Buffalo Dip
Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:
- Steam or boil your tempeh to soften and then pan fry until golden, further breaking up with a masher.
- In a food processor, combine cream cheese with hot sauce, yogurt, ranch, dill, pepper and fresh lime juice. Process until everything is mixed together.
- Stop to add in your cooked tempeh, celery and chives.
- Pulse to combine everything.
- Transfer the dip to a baking dish.
- Cover with plenty of shredded cheese.
- Bake until bubbly and the cheese has melted. Garnish, if you like, and dig in!
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Reheating Dip
Reheating this buffalo dip is easy!
Place in an oven-safe dish in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through. Time may vary, depending on how much dip you are reheating.
More Recipe Tips & Variations
Ensure your cream cheese is softened before adding to your food processor so it blends up nice and creamy.
Instead of an all cream cheese base, a little Skyr yogurt was used to cut some of the richness. You can also make this buffalo dip with Greek yogurt instead of Skyr yogurt.
Half a cup of hot sauce was used here (use your fave). If you want to reduce the spice a bit, for each tablespoon of hot sauce you reduce, replace with an equal amount of yogurt.
Instead of chives, try green onion.
Want to add even more flavour? Mix in a little crumbled blue cheese.
Speaking of cheese, for the melty cheese layer on top, just opt for good melting cheese. Cheddar, mozzarella, provolone and Swiss are all great options. Use one or a combo of your faves.
Steaming or boiling the tempeh softens it up a bit before pan frying so it’s easier to crumble. If you want to skip steaming/boiling, that’s okay. You can break up the block of tempeh, place it into your pan and further break down with a wooden spoon and/or potato masher as it cooks. You’re looking for crumbles here. Alternatively, you can grate your tempeh with a box grater before adding to the pan.
More Vegetarian Dip Recipes
Hope you love this meatless buffalo dip as much as we do!
If you make this vegetarian buffalo dip, please leave a comment below. Love to hear how you enjoyed it!
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Vegetarian Buffalo Dip
Ingredients
- 8 ounces tempeh (approximately a 240 gram or ½ pound package)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup light cream cheese , softened (about half of a 250 gram package)
- ½ cup hot sauce (use your favourite. I enjoy 'Frank's. Plus, more for drizzling over after baked, if you like).
- ⅓ cup Greek or Skyr yogurt
- ⅓ cup ranch dressing
- ½ to 1 teaspoon dried dill , depending on how much you enjoy dill (you can always add ½ teaspoon and add more, if you want. I love dill so I opt for the full teaspoon).
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lime , juiced
- 2 to 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives (plus more for garnish if you like)
- 1 stalk celery , finely chopped
- ½ cup shredded cheese (I used a combo of cheddar and mozzarella. Use a little more if you like it more cheesy).
Instructions
- Place tempeh in a skillet. Add some water or veggie broth (enough to bring up to the sides of the tempeh). Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes to soften the tempeh. Note: If you don't want to pre-soften the tempeh, you can skip this. Just crumble or grate tempeh into your pan and fry (further breaking up, if need be, with a spoon or masher).
- Remove the tempeh from the water and allow to cool enough so that you can handle. Preheat your oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit at this point for later.
- Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet (you can use the same skillet you cooked your tempeh in, just clear out any liquid) over medium heat.
- Crumble tempeh into pan. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often. As you are cooking it, break up with a potato masher or wooden spoon some more.
- Place cream cheese, hot sauce, yogurt, ranch, dill, pepper and lime juice in a food processor. Cover and process until everything is combined, stopping to scrape sides of processor, as necessary, with a rubber spatula.
- Stop and uncover processor. Add in cooked tempeh, chives and celery. Pulse until combined. Don't overmix.
- Transfer dip to a baking dish. Top with shredded cheese and bake for about 15 minutes or so until bubbly and the cheese has melted.
- Once done, garnish (if desired) with more chives, dill and a drizzle of hot sauce. Serve with your favourite tortilla chips or veggie sticks. Enjoy!Note: Enjoy immediately or properly store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 3 to 4 days, reheating when ready to enjoy.
Notes
- Ensure your cream cheese is softened before adding to your food processor so it blends up nice and creamy.
- Instead of an all cream cheese base, a little Skyr yogurt was used to cut some of the richness. You can also make this buffalo dip with Greek yogurt instead of Skyr yogurt.
- Half a cup of hot sauce was used here (use your fave). If you want to reduce the spice a bit, for each tablespoon of hot sauce you reduce, replace with an equal amount of yogurt.
- Speaking of cheese, for the melty cheese layer on top, just opt for good melting cheese. Cheddar, mozzarella, provolone and Swiss are all great options. Use one or a combo of your faves.
- Steaming or boiling the tempeh softens it up a bit before pan frying so it’s easier to crumble. If you want to skip steaming/boiling, that’s okay. You can break up the block of tempeh, place it into your pan and further break down with a wooden spoon and/or potato masher as it cooks. You’re looking for crumbles here. Alternatively, you can grate your tempeh with a box grater before adding to the pan.
Nutrition estimate (if provided) is based on 1 Serving.
Nutrition information (if provided) is provided as a courtesy and should be considered an estimate only. Ingredients can vary and Girl Heart Food makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are guidelines only.
Kelly | Foodtasia
Dawn, this buffalo dip is so dreamy! So cool that you’ve used tempeh. I haven’t cooked with it before, but it would definitely fool my into thinking it was chicken!
Shashi
I love spicy foods too- ESPECIALLY spicy dips! And wow- not only is this sure to be a hit with family and friends, it is simply gorgeous! We do a lot of weekend snacking too so I’m going to have to make this soon. Thank you Dawn! XO
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Woo hoo! Thanks Shashi! Hope you love this one as much as we do! Have a great week. XO
Rahul @samosastreet
I have never tried Tempeh. Thank you for introducing me to a new ingredient. I just googled about it, its so healthy and there are so many dishes I can try.
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
I love using it, especially in dips like this.
Valentina
My vegetarian 14-yr-old will LOVE this! It’s right up his alley. 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Yay! So happy to hear it! Thanks Valentina!
Michelle | Sift & Simmer
Oooh I’ve never tried tempeh before but I keep hearing about it. This is making me want to try it! And loving the new website look Dawn!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Yay! Hope you enjoy! Thanks so much, Michelle!
laura
I’ve never cooked with tempeh, but this recipe looks totally amazing – I love love love a good spicy dip! And anything buffalo-flavored! I may have to give this a whirl for my vegetarian friends!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Love buffalo flavoured stuff too! Thanks Laura! Hope you all enjoy!
Marissa
I haven’t eaten much tempeh, but I can tell you that this dip looks wonderful! Definitely want to give this a try!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Happy to hear it! Thank you Marissa! Enjoy!
[email protected]
Can you believe there was once a day that I wanted nothing to do with this dip! Thankfully I’ve come to my senses…or should I say, my tastebuds did! Love this recipe! Happy week, my friend!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Happy you changed your mind. Thanks Annie! Have a great week!
David @ Spiced
So I have to admit that I don’t have any experience with tempeh. However, we do have a lot (!!) of experience with buffalo chicken dip. In fact, we’ve been known to turn that into a meal by itself. What a fun idea to create a vegetarian version of this classic dip! Hope you have a great week ahead, Dawn!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
It can definitely become a whole meal! Thanks David! Have a great week too.
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
I can easily make a meal out of dips! This sounds soooo good–and I’m all about a little spice. Have a great week, Dawn!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Me too! Thank you Kelsie! You too!
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
I love a good dip! I love serving them at parties or having on hand for a snack. This would be perfect with tortilla chips or fresh cut veggies!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Definitely! Thanks so much!