Football season is upon us! And we all know that one of the best reasons to watch football on Sundays is so that we can have an excuse to stuff our faces with delicious finger foods. That’s where this vegan jackfruit buffalo dip comes in.
There’s nothing like sitting down to watch the game with an ice cold beer and a variety of appetizers. Some might think that being vegan will prevent them from enjoying such snacks like dips, wings, and pizzas but they couldn’t be more wrong.
Buffalo cauliflower bites, mozzarella sticks, potato skins, and more can all easily be made plant-based. That’s where our buffalo jackfruit dip recipe comes in – it’s the perfect substitute for a good spicy, creamy, buffalo dip.
Every year since I can remember, September has been one of my favorite months because it’s the start of football season. Most Sundays, my friends and I get together to watch the game.
Everybody brings appetizers and drinks. For many years, my specialty was buffalo dip and, not going to lie, it was always a total hit. I would get requests for the recipe wherever I brought it.
Naturally, I decided it would be a great idea to make a vegan version of this sought after snack!
The components of this vegan jackfruit buffalo dip:
This recipe for vegan jackfruit buffalo dip uses natural plant-based ingredients. We didn’t want to use processed dressing, cream cheese, sour cream, bleu cheese, or anything like that.
This recipe contains a delicious homemade cashew cream sauce with nutritional yeast for the cheesy flavor and a few spices for a ranch-like zesty, tangy flavor.
Then, of course, we added lots of buffalo sauce to give it an amazing spicy kick. We mixed in diced celery for some crunch AND a can of pulled young JACKFRUIT to add texture and nutrients.
Layered on top of our homemade stretchy, gooey vegan mozzarella and baked to perfection, you’ve got a classic vegan appetizer to bring to whatever party that awaits – sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Here are some ideas for how to serve this vegan jackfruit buffalo dip recipe:
- Use tortilla chips, pretzels, or crackers for dip
- Spread it on toast or bread
- Dip with your favorite fresh vegetables like celery, peppers, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers and more…
- Warm pita bread!
- Wrap into small tortillas and bake to make taquitos (a classic favorite for us!)
- Bake it in a bread bowl
- Eat it straight up with a spoon or fork (no shame)
Do you have any other ideas? We’d love to hear them. Also, leftovers can be stored for several days in the fridge, and baking it again does not alter the quality or taste. Enjoy!
P.S. I would 100% bring this to any party or event and I know for a fact that nobody would even know it is vegan.
Not that we are hiding our veganism, rather spreading that vegan food is delicious and simultaneously breaking stigmas!
If you are looking for more appetizers like this to show off with, here’s plenty more options!
Vegan Jalapeño Poppers: A perfect finger food to bring to any party. The sausage, onion and ricotta filling balances perfectly with the spicy jalapeños!
Vegan Spinach Pinwheels: Fluffy dough with cheesy spinach layered throughout these pinwheels. Grab one and dip in warm marinara sauce!
This recipe for vegan buffalo dip contains a homemade cashew ranch-style sauce, lots of buffalo sauce for a spicy kick, diced celery for crunch, and a can of pulled young JACKFRUIT. Layered on top of our homemade stretchy, gooey vegan mozzarella and baked to perfection, you’ve got a classic vegan appetizer to bring to whatever party that awaits – sure to be a crowd pleaser!
- 14 ounces organic young jackfruit in a can or fresh – drained and pulled
- 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella cheese** (or more… your choice)
- 2 celery sticks chopped
- 3/4 – 1 cup Frank’s Redhot Buffalo Sauce* (or other vegan mild buffalo sauce – check the ingredients to make sure it’s vegan)
- 2 cups soaked cashews (*try our quick soak method!)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other plant milk)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp salt + pepper (each)
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Preheat your oven to 375°F.
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Drain and rinse a can of organic young jackfruit. OR use fresh jackfruit. With your hands, shred and break up the jackfruit into pieces over a large bowl.
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In a food processor, add Vegan Ranch ingredients (soaked cashews, almond milk, water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill, dried parsley, salt and pepper). Blend on high until combined and creamy.
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Add blended Vegan Ranch to bowl of pulled jackfruit. Add vegan buffalo sauce (*see notes). Add chopped celery and mix until combined.
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Spread vegan cheese (**) on the bottom of an oven-safe baking dish. Pour jackfruit mixture on top. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Serve warm.
*We used Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Sauce which is vegan and classified as milder than their Original sauce. Use 3/4 cup if you don’t want it as spicy OR 1 cup if you like it hot! Check the ingredients to make sure you are getting a vegan sauce.
**For cheese, we used our easy, homemade vegan mozzarella recipe. If you don’t have pre-soaked cashews, you can use the quick soak method and boil raw cashews for 15 minutes.
Michelle
I’m so excited to try this. I’ve been wanting a buffalo dip for a long time. Sadly my daughter is allergic to jackfruit so I will be using a mock chicken.
pasta-based
I’m sure it will be just as good! Please let us know how it comes out.
Xandria Sutton
Sooooo I misread the quantity for buffalo sauce and added 1 & 3/4 cups of it. Spiiiiicy! But delightful! My husband tried to say that this wasn’t a suitable dinner, but fruit, grains and nuts definitely qualify as a meal! Right?! ???
pasta-based
Wow that must’ve been intense! And of course it qualifies in our book as well ?
Brody
Absolutely delicious. We like to add extra garlic and use frank’s hot sauce instead of the Buffalo.
Christine
This sounds really yummy. Since the directions suggest serving warm I’m wondering if you think it would be good for a potluck where it won’t really be warm but probably end up room temp?
Thanks
pasta-based
It should be fine at room temperature, if you’re okay with the cheese not being as melty.
Holly
I made this today and it’s pretty tasty! The 3/4 cup of buffalo sauce was a tad spicy for me so I’d probably use a 1/2 cup next time.
Kadence
This is the best recipe ever!! Thank you so much!!???????
Sarah
Do you have nutrition info for this?
Christina Zaron
this was amazing!! I had to make more because it was inhaled!
Sarah
Hi do you have nutrition facts for this yummy, spicy recipe? Thx!
Doug
This was an awesome recipe. We recently had a holiday party and invited our non-vegan friends and many loved it. I did cut down on the Franks to 1/2 cup. There were no left-overs.
Sarah
If I were using a store-bought vegan ranch dressing, what would the quantity be?