High-Protein Cottage Cheese Buffalo

My friend Sarah showed up to game night with this dip and I couldn't stop eating it—turns out she'd been meal prepping with cottage cheese and needed a way to make it actually exciting. The first bite hit different: creamy, spicy, packed with protein but tasting nothing like the sad diet food I expected. Within minutes, people were asking for the recipe, and I realized this was the dip that finally made healthy eating feel indulgent.

I made this for a tailgate last October and watched my uncle—the guy who only eats meat and potatoes—come back for thirds. He stood there holding a piece of celery like it was a revelation, asking if this was really cottage cheese. Those moments when something healthy catches people off guard, when they forget they're supposed to be eating "better" and just enjoy it, that's what this dip does.

Ingredients

• Cooked, shredded chicken breast (2 cups): Use a rotisserie chicken if you're short on time—it's juicier than home-cooked and nobody will know the difference.
• Low-fat cottage cheese (1½ cups): This is the secret ingredient that sounds weird until you taste it; blending it smooth means nobody will detect lumps or realize you snuck protein into a party dip.
• Plain Greek yogurt (½ cup): Pick 2% or nonfat to keep calories in check while adding tang that balances the heat from the Buffalo sauce.
• Shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese (½ cup): Go for pre-shredded to save a step, but shred it fresh if you have time—it melts more evenly in the oven.
• Crumbled blue cheese (¼ cup, optional): This is the move if you want authentic Buffalo flavor with that sharp edge that makes people pause and ask what they're tasting.
• Buffalo hot sauce (½ cup): Franks RedHot is the standard because it has the right vinegar-to-heat ratio; cheaper sauces tend to be pure salt.
• Garlic powder (1 teaspoon): Don't skip this—it adds savory depth that makes the dip taste more intentional than just "hot and creamy."
• Onion powder (½ teaspoon): A tiny amount goes a long way; this ties everything together without making it taste like powder.
• Black pepper (¼ teaspoon): Fresh cracked is ideal, though ground works fine here.
• Smoked paprika (¼ teaspoon): This gives a subtle smokiness that makes people wonder what they're missing—it's the ingredient that separates good dips from memorable ones.

Instructions

Heat your oven:

Set it to 375°F and let it preheat while you prep everything else; this temperature is hot enough to make the dip bubble and brown slightly without drying out the chicken.

Blend the base:

Pour cottage cheese and Greek yogurt into a blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth, maybe 2 minutes—any lumps will show up when people eat it, so don't rush this step. Stop and scrape down the sides once or twice.

Mix everything together:

In a large bowl, combine the blended mixture with shredded chicken, Buffalo sauce, both cheeses, and all the spices—use a spatula or wooden spoon and keep stirring until the color is even throughout and no dry streaks remain.

Transfer to your baking dish:

Pour the mixture into an 8-inch square oven-safe dish and smooth the top with your spatula; this is when you can taste a tiny bit to check if you want more spice before it hits the oven.

Bake until it's hot and bubbly:

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes—you're looking for gentle bubbling around the edges and maybe some light browning on top, not a curdled mess, so watch it the last few minutes if your oven runs hot.

Garnish and serve:

Pull it out, sprinkle with sliced green onions and extra blue cheese if you want, and bring it straight to your serving table while it's still steaming.

Save

My roommate made this for a movie night when we were both trying to eat better, and halfway through the bowl, she looked at me and said, "This doesn't feel like we're being healthy, it just feels like we're eating something good." That sentence stuck with me because it's the difference between food that feels like punishment and food that feels like a choice.

Why This Works As a Party Dip

Most Buffalo dips rely on cream cheese or sour cream to get that creamy texture, which means you're basically eating cheese mixed with more cheese. This version uses cottage cheese as a base, which sounds risky until you realize that blending it smooth creates an incredibly silky texture while cutting the calories in half. The Greek yogurt adds protein and a slight tang that keeps the whole thing from tasting like a fat bomb. Buffalo sauce does the heavy lifting flavor-wise, so you don't need extra ingredients to make it taste intentional—it already tastes like a restaurant appetizer, just one that happens to have 19 grams of protein in each spoonful.

Making It Ahead

If you're hosting and want to reduce stress, mix everything up to 24 hours ahead and leave it covered in the fridge. When guests arrive, just pop it in the oven for 20 minutes and you look like you've been working all day when really you just did 10 minutes of prep that morning. I started doing this for parties and it completely changed how much I actually enjoy hosting instead of spending the evening in the kitchen.

Serving Suggestions and Storage

Serve this warm with fresh vegetables or crackers—crisp celery and carrots are the obvious choice, but thinly sliced bell peppers or even apple slices work surprisingly well against the spice. Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for three days, though honestly this dip rarely makes it past the first night.

• If the dip seems too thick when cold, stir in a tablespoon of Greek yogurt to loosen it before reheating.
• For a spicier version, add a pinch of cayenne pepper or a splash more hot sauce during mixing.
• Rotisserie chicken saves you 30 minutes of cooking if you're already short on time.

Save

This dip became a regular in my rotation because it proves that eating well doesn't require you to sacrifice flavor or the feeling of eating something special. Make it once and you'll understand why people keep asking for it.

Kitchen Questions

→ Can I use rotisserie chicken for this dip?

Yes, rotisserie chicken is a convenient substitution that works perfectly with the creamy base and spices.

→ How spicy is this Buffalo dip?

The heat level is moderate, balanced by cottage cheese and Greek yogurt. Adjust the Buffalo sauce or add cayenne pepper to suit your taste.

→ What are good serving options with this dip?

Serve warm with celery sticks, carrot sticks, sliced bell peppers, or whole grain crackers for a satisfying snack.

→ Can the dip be prepared ahead of time?

Yes, you can assemble and refrigerate the dip, then bake it just before serving to save time.

→ Is this dip suitable for a high-protein diet?

Absolutely, with shredded chicken and cottage cheese, the dip is rich in protein, making it ideal for high-protein nutrition plans.