Buffalo Chicken Dip Wonton Cups Appetizer Recipe
When it comes to entertaining, appetizers are one of my all time favorite things to make. They let me get creative and give your guests a chance to try a variety of options. If you have had buffalo chicken dip and love it as much as I do, you will love this recipe! It tastes just like the dip but in convenient handheld wonton cups. This easy appetizer recipe only uses six simple ingredients so any one can do this! These spicy buffalo chicken cups are the perfect finger food for football season and everyone will be asking you for the recipe and you will not have any left at the end of the night. Let me show you how to make the best buffalo chicken wontons that will become a the new family favorite appetizer! Full recipe card below.
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What is Buffalo Chicken Dip?
To answer that question I think I first need to answer the question what is buffalo chicken? In short, buffalo chicken is an American staple! Often considered bar food and the food of choice during football season, buffalo wings are said to have been invented sometime in the 1960s in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo chicken is traditionally made by deep frying un-breaded chicken wings and tossing them in a spicy vinegar based hot sauce made from cayenne pepper, butter, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder. Buffalo chicken wings are often served with ranch dressing, bleu cheese, and or celery sticks. Buffalo chicken recipes have gained in popularity and now have many iterations including boneless chicken wings, buffalo chicken pizza, buffalo chicken nuggets, buffalo chicken salad, buffalo chicken bites, and of course buffalo chicken dip.
So what is buffalo chicken dip? Aside from a must have Super Bowl appetizer, buffalo chicken dip combines cream cheese, ranch dressing, and buffalo sauce to make a creamy dip frequently made in a crock pot or slow cooker.
In this recipe I am transforming the beloved buffalo chicken dip into a single serving using wonton wrappers and a mini muffin pan.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
I love buffalo chicken dip just as much as everyone else! There is just something incredible about the combination of ingredients that is simply SO good and highly addicting! This recipe is just another take on it and makes the dip a bit more portable! Aside from being the perfect combination of comfort food, this is an easy recipe with basic ingredients that doesn’t take long to make.
Ingredients
This easy hors d’oeuvre recipe uses simple ingredients you probably already have stocked in your kitchen.
Softened Cream Cheese – Like buffalo chicken dip, this recipe uses cream cheese. It works best if the cream cheese is a little soft, but don’t microwave it. Just take it out 15 minutes or so before you start cooking. You can use any version or brand you want. I used the reduced fat version so I could justify eating more of the finished wonton appetizers, haha!
Wonton Wrappers – If you have never used wonton wrappers they are about to be your new best friend in the kitchen! Once you find them at the grocery store that is. They can be tricky to locate but they are usually in the refrigerated produce section at my local Kroger store and they are in the freezer section at my international food market. And FYI these do need to be refrigerated before opening and after for any leftover wontons. But they are very versatile for appetizers and bite sized snacks!
Ranch Dressing – AKA America sauce! It’s true. Many European countries refer to ranch dressing as America sauce and as a proud American, I love my ranch dressing. And would it really be football food (not soccer) without ranch dressing in the recipe? I rest my case. For this recipe I used the OG Hidden Valley bottled ranch dressing but you could also make it with a ranch seasoning packet and sour cream if needed.
Canned Chicken – A key ingredient in this recipe is the chicken. To make it easy, I usually use canned chicken that I buy in bulk at Costco. But you can use shredded chicken breast, shredded rotisserie chicken, or even leftover chicken from last night’s dinner. Just make sure the chicken is already cooked and isn’t more than a day or two old as chicken only lasts 3-4 days in the fridge before it starts to grow bacteria.
Frank’s Red hot Sauce – Technically you can use any buffalo wing sauce you want. I usually keep a bottle of Franks on hand, but you can use a mild sauce or a hotter sauce if you like. I have also used the medium version of the Buffalo Wild Wings sauce which is also good. But it’s really your personal preference here. Just make sure it’s buffalo wing sauce and not just hot sauce.
Blue Cheese Crumbles – You either love blue cheese or you hate it. I personally love blue cheese and think it makes a great topper on these buffalo cups. But if you are not a fan of the moldy looking cheese, feel free to skip it.
Garnish – If you are looking for a pretty presentation, garnish with green onions, chives, celery or blue cheese.
Dipping – I personally do not think these need any extra sauce, but you can serve them with a side of ranch, sour cream, homemade blue cheese dressing, or extra buffalo sauce.
How to Make the Cups
Making the cups is actually really simple! First you will need a mini cupcake/muffin pan. Then you need to spray it generously with nonstick cooking spray. This will serve two purposes. It will make sure your wonton cups don’t stick to the pan and it will help the wonton wrappers get a little extra crispy.
If you do not have a mini muffin pan you can use a full size cupcake pan you will just need more filling because the base of the wonton cup will be larger.
To make the cups as even as possible, place the wonton wrapper over the center of one of the cups and gently press it into the pan. You can also use a small shot glass that fits in the cup to help flatten out the bottom.
Cooking Options
I baked my buffalo chicken cups in the oven in a mini muffin pan. You could also air fry them, however you would not be able to make the same cup shape unless you have a small pan that fits in the air fryer. You would need to fold them into triangles or into a pocket like a traditional crab rangoon.
The benefit to baking is you can make more at a time especially if you have a 24 count cupcake pan or more than one. Most air fryers cannot accommodate more than 10 at a time in the air fryer basket and if you are having a party, these will disappear faster than you can make em!
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Buffalo Chicken Dip Wonton Cups Appetizer Recipe
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 32 pieces 1x
Description
A simple combination of wonton wrappers, chicken, buffalo sauce, ranch, and cream cheese, come together to make the best handheld party appetizer! Make these spicy buffalo chicken cups for your next holiday party, football party, or simply as a snack. No game day or party will ever be the same without them and everyone will want the recipe!
Ingredients
- 12 1/2 oz Cooked Chicken
- 8 oz Cream Cheese (softened)
- 1/2 cup Buffalo Sauce
- 1/4 cup Ranch Dressing
- 1 pkg Wonton Wrappers
- Blue Cheese Crumbles (optional for topping)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350.
- In a large mixing bowl mix softened cream cheese, shredded chicken, ranch, and buffalo sauce with an electric mixer until combined. Set aside.
- Spray mini muffin pan generously with non stick cooking spray.
- Place the center of the wonton wrapper over the center of each cup and gently press into pan forming a cup. Be careful not to rip the wonton wrapper.
- Spoon the buffalo chicken mixture into the middle of each cup, about half way full.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until wonton cups are golden brown and become crispy.
- Top with blue cheese crumbles.
- Cool for 3-5 minutes before serving.
Notes
I do not recommend freezing these. If you are running short on time, make the spicy chicken filling a day or two in advance and store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Fill and bake the cups 20 minutes before your guests arrive.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Holiday, Snack
- Cuisine: American
How to Reheat
On the off chance you have leftover buffalo chicken cups you have several options for reheating. You can microwave them but they will not stay crispy. For best results and crispy wontons, reheat in the oven on 325 for 5 minutes or until the center is warm. You can also reheat in the air fryer on 325 for 5 minutes or until the center is warm.
When to Make Buffalo Chicken Dip Wonton Cups
Let me tell you a story. When I was testing this recipe my mom came over and I had her try a few of these buffalo chicken dip cups. She had about four of them and asked, “do you have more of these?” haha! That’s when I knew this recipe was a winner! So I think the better question here is when not to make them?
Here are a few other occasions to make buffalo chicken dip cups. Holiday parties, family reunions, appetizer dinner night, game day, happy hour, pot luck dinners, game night, or just as an easy snack!
Looking for more appetizer recipes for your next big gathering or game day? Check out my Mexican style street taco deviled eggs, crab cream cheese wonton cups, Hidden Valley Ranch veggie pizza, red and green bell pepper green goddess dip, or my old fashioned Polish mistakes.
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This looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it!
They are so good! Let me know how you like then 😉