Campfire Buffalo Chicken Dip

We’ve long been fans of chicken wings, making all kinds of different sauces at home. Honey Jeow Glazed Wings, Hoppy Citrus IPA Glazed Wings, and Whiskey Honey Mustard Wings are some of our favourites.

Sometimes, though... we want to scratch that itch, without all the effort - and delivery isn’t usually an option when we’re camping.

Thankfully, buffalo chicken dip is a THING - and a thing that easily translates to being a campfire snack!

This dip has long been a party favorite, always being met with rave reviews as a game day food in football season. Many people will do a version of this delicious dip up in their crock pot, so it can be kept warm while being served.

That part is key, by the way.

You’ll note that our dip looks VERY different from the photos taken during the making of, and the “beauty shots” we took at Katherine Cove in Lake Superior Provincial Park this spring.

Despite all our efforts to keep the pot warm between the fire and the shoot location... the whole thing cooled down enough to completely change the texture.

So, to keep this easy buffalo chicken dip as a hot and creamy dip, you’ll want to keep it on the heat source. We use a really low fire to serve the function of a slow cooker, on that front.

Somewhat awkward logistics, sure... but a really great excuse to camp out in front of a fire and relax! Just stir it every once in a while, and it’s all good!

Anyway, let’s look at what you’ll need:

Ingredients

This recipe uses only 5 simple ingredients - you won’t have any trouble finding everything you need in any grocery store.

That said, I still have a few ingredient notes for you:

Chicken

For the sake of each, we tend to use a can of chunk or flaked chicken - about 10 oz.

That said, this recipe would work really well with a fresher chicken option - you’ll just want to cook the chicken ahead of time.

We often buy a rotisserie chicken for use in sandwiches, and some of that meat chopped up- the chicken breasts, dark meat, or a bit of both - would be fantastic, and really elevate this recipe.

Shredded chicken breast would also work well - try my Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken.

If using something other than an actual can of chicken, I’d add about 1 cup of it, packed.

Wing Sauce

I use Frank’s Redhot Sauce, which I see as basically being the default hot pepper sauce for chicken wings. Red hot sauce is basically a requirement for buffalo sauce, after all.

That said, there’s no reason you can’t use other hot sauce options in this. If you’d dip it in ranch - or blue cheese dressing - I can’t see why it wouldn’t work here.

Also, as a note: One of Porter’s favourite wing sauces was the Buffalo Wild Wings “Spicy Garlic” sauce. You can get an approximation of this by adding 1 ½ -2 teaspoon of garlic powder to the Frank’s.

Sometimes I’ll add a little onion powder for good measure, if I’m adding garlic powder. No need, though!

Ranch Dressing

I’m not a fan of bleu cheese dressing, so I use ranch. If you prefer bleu dressing with your wings, you can definitely use it in this dip recipe!

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Cream Cheese

Super easy.

Anyway, beyond the actual ingredients for the dip itself, you’re going to want dippers. You’ve got all kinds of options here, it’s just a matter of preference, availability, and possible dietary restrictions.

If gluten isn’t an issue, baguette slices would be amazing in this, as would naan dippers or pita bread wedges.

Beyond that, tortilla chips/corn chips, celery sticks, and carrot sticks are all great options.

How to Make Campfire Buffalo Chicken Dip

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through:

Get a medium fire going, aiming for a medium-high heat. You can cook your buffalo chicken dip on a camp stove, over hot coals, or even over the open flame of a fire pit.

You’ll want it relatively long-lasting - this dip is best served hot, and it’s convenient to just keep it over a low fire when it’s being served!

In a medium pot, break up the drained can of chicken with a fork. Aim for small flakes of chicken, rather than chunks.

Add the cream cheese, set aside.

Measure out your ranch dressing, hot sauce, and cheddar. I’ll usually keep the ranch and hot sauce in the same vessel, for fewer things to carry to the fire.

When your fire is ready, heat the chicken and cream cheese together, using a spatula to break up the cream cheese.

As the cream cheese softens, stir it into the chicken flakes, until smooth.

Add the shredded cheese to the pot, stirring to combine.

Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the cheese is fully melted into a smooth dip.

Serve hot, with a large bowl of corn chips, and/or celery sticks, carrot sticks, baguette slices, etc - as desired!

Note: This dip thickens FAST as it cools. We find it best to serve it over low heat - usually keeping the pot on the grate over the embers of the fire.

Leftovers

Once cooled to almost room temperature, leftover dip can be transferred to an airtight container and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Best served slowly reheated - stirring frequently. We’ll cover it loosely with plastic wrap and microwave it for 30 or 45 second bursts, stirring between each, until it’s hot and smooth again.

More Camping Snack Recipes

Looking for great ideas to cook on a campfire, bring on a road trip, enjoy while RVing? Here's a few simple recipes to start with!

Apple Fritter Bread Pudding
Basic Ground Beef Jerky
Best Marshmallows for Camping
Campfire Cheddar Queso
Campfire Walking Tacos
Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread
Fire Roasted Spiced Nuts
Homemade Mushroom Jerky
Hot Chocolate Mix [Protein Powder Mix]
Jalapeno Cheddar Bannock
Jalapeno Chicken Jerky
Maple Cinnamon Apple Chips
Maple Snow Taffy
No Bake Cornflake Cookies
No Bake S'Mores Bars
Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
Pepperoni Jerky
Roast Chestnuts on an Open Fire
Rosemary & Blueberry Beef Jerky
S'Mores Board
S'Mores Trail Mix
Tofu Jerky, 2 Ways
Traditional Bannock

Be sure to check out our other Camping Recipes, including Camping Desserts, Camping Snacks, Make-Ahead Camping Mix Recipes, and a ton of delicious Camping Main Dish Recipes.

Also, we had SO much fun designing gourmet jerky recipes for our camping trips, we started a whole new blog for them! Check out Dried & Tasty for all kinds of fun recipes to make in your food dehydrator!