Whether you’re partying it up with friends or whipping up a date-night spread at home, this easy cheesy Buffalo Shrimp Dip makes the perfect appetizer! Hot melty cheese with shrimp, veggies, and a kiss of hot sauce? Perfection!
THIS DIP! It’s an all-caps affair, really.
One rainy afternoon, when the pilot and I were feeling extra peckish, I set off to make us a little snack. Something quick and easy that we could enjoy while playing rainy day board games with our toddler, easy enough right? Since it was Sunday, Paul quickly declared it beer-thirty and cracked open a cold one. I followed suit (peer pressure!) and started tossing things together in the kitchen.
I swear some of the absolute best recipes on this blog are the result of just goofing off in the kitchen for the heck of it.
I try to be all official, meal planning and making lists of recipes I’d like to test, then purposefully buying the ingredients I need to make them. But the ones that seem to just organically leap from my kitchen? Those are always the ones y’all seem to go bonkers over.
To name a few, my Bell Pepper Pizzas, Buffalo Chicken Taco Salads, holiday-favorite Honey Roasted Butternut Squash, and Thai Veggie Noodle Salad were all random kitchen concoctions that I made on a whim. No rhyme, no reason, just a hungry blogger and a crisper full of possibilities.
The veggies. They speak to me.
Ok I promise I’m not crazy!!! Pinky-swear!
Buffalo Shrimp Dip
So there I was, folding tender shrimp and spinach into the most amazingly cheesy queso when the beer just leaps out of my hand and into the dip. Really! I didn’t even register what I was doing until I saw the bubble of the beer hitting the cheese. I quickly tipped my glass back gave the dip a taste, and then proceeded to swirl nearly half a cup of beer into that dip. It was DELICIOUS!
Of course you can 110% make this sans booze. It will be just as marvelous and full of easy, cheesy deliciousness; however, if you like beer — you simply must add it!
After that beer jumped into the dip, all bets were off! I grabbed the red pepper flakes, another handful of spinach, and a bottle of hot sauce. The result was truly swoon-worthy! I taunted the besties with a few snaps of the completed dip and proceeded to faceplant into it with the hubs. It. Was. Glorious.
Cheesy Buffalo Shrimp Dip FTW!
My friends have actually demanded I make it for them, so I’ll now be hosting an adult game night just so we have a legit excuse to shovel this easy cheesy dip into our face. I suggest you follow suit!
Now that we’ve gotten my fancy staged photos out of the way with, let’s get up close and personal with this bad boy!
SAY CHEESE!!!!!
special diets and swaps
Not a fan of (or drinker of beer) Skip it! The dip will be extra thick and cheesy (YES!) and may be thinned with warm milk if desired.
No spinach? No problem! You can 110% make the dip without it but man I love me some green goodness so adding it was a total perk! Plus spinach in a cheese dip basically makes the whole dish a veggie right? Humor me.
No Jalapeños? Try chopped bell pepper and spice it up with a little extra hot sauce or red pepper flakes if you’d like!
get cheesy!
This delicious dip will taste great with a bevvy of cheeses. My rule of thumb is usually to add one super soft easy-melt cheese and one more flavorful sharp cheese. Havarti, Gruyere, Gouda, Pepper Jack, Cheddar, etc… Go nuts!
Buffalo Shrimp Dip
Ingredients
- 12-14 oz raw shrimp (cleaned + peeled + thawed if frozen)
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 jalapeños
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 1/2-1 tsp oil or butter for sautéing
- 4 oz softened cream cheese
- ¼ cup beer plus extra 1/2 cup as needed
- 1 TBSP melted butter
- 3 TBSP Frank’s Red Hot sauce extra to taste
- 3 oz grated pepper jack cheese
- 2 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese
- garnish with chopped spinach and red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Chop your shrimp into small pieces.
- Prep your veggies by dicing/mincing the onion + jalapeño (seeds and stem removed) and chopping your spinach.
- Heat a pan or skillet to medium-high heat with a little olive oil and sauté your onion and jalapeños.
- You may add the spinach now, or toss it in at the end to ensure it stays bright green and vibrant.
- Add your shrimp and and cook for 1-3 minutes until opaque.
- Add cream cheese and beer and stir to combine, reducing burner to medium heat.
- Add your butter, hot sauce, and grated cheeses.
- Stir well until hot and melty, adding extra beer as desired to thin the sauce.
- I’ll admit my husband and I wound up adding an entire extra 1/2 cup of beer to ours, (cheers!) but it’s still great with less.
- Optional: Garnish with a little extra chopped spinach for a pop of green or some fiery red pepper flakes for an extra kick. You can even add an extra drizzle or two of hot sauce on top. Keep it simple or get fancy, but whatever you do, dive in while it’s nice and HOT!
Notes
Nutrition
If you get a chance to try this spicy buffalo shrimp dip recipe, let me know! Leave some love in the comment form below or tag your photos with @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creation. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
serving suggestions
- crispy corn tortilla chips
- fluffy warmed/toasted pita bread or torn french bread
- pretzels (soft or crunchy)
- a SPOON!
I also have it on pretty good authority that leftover buffalo shrimp dip makes the most amazing seafood quesadilla EVER! #doit
Really has high hopes, but thebeer taste was overwhelming. It completely cancelled out the buffalo flavor.
Hi Michelle! What type of beer did you use? This way I can make a note of which kind to avoid. We usually use a pretty light beer so the flavor is just a kiss.
Don’t remember specifically, just regular, not flavored or dark. If I make again I would double the buffalo sauce and cut the beer in half
Recipes usually don’t make me laugh but 1/4 cup beer plus extra 1/2 cup as needed is pretty cute!
This recipe was a hit! Will definitely make this again.
Could I leave out the beer? As a Christian, it’s wrong to use alcohol in anything.
Hi Becky! For sure! You may need to tweak the recipe a bit to thin the dip but it can 100% be made without beer. I’d try a little bit of milk first (maybe 2-3 TBSP to start) and then increase as needed to get your desired consistency. xoxo
Can’t wait to make this!! What type of beer do you suggest in using??
Hi Tori! I usually just use whatever my husband or I have cracked open (lol) so I’ve used everything from Coors Light to Dos XX, to Beach Blonde Ale. I’d say whatever beer you like drinking should work as long as it’s not crazy hoppy and overpowering. xoxo
what size shrimp
Hi Dottie! You’ll be able to use any size here! I added around 12-14 ounces of shrimp by weight.
Delicious!!!! Thanks for sharing!
I made it . It was very runny and not thick like a dip. I followed the recipe so I am not sure what I did wrong. Any suggestions?
Happy to help troubleshoot Cheryl! Did you use low-fat or fat-free products at all? How much oil did you sauté the shrimp in and did you pat them dry first? What types of cheeses were used and were they freshly grated or pre-shredded? We’ll get to the bottom of this! xo
To thicken the dip you can create a roux with equal parts flour and butter (I’d say maybe 2-3 TBSP of each?) and add that to the dip. If you need help creating a roux and have never made one before let me know and I’ll talk ya though it!
Sounds wonderful! Do you think it would freeze well, if I made it ahead of time and microwaved it to heat up?
Thank you Sue! I think this particular dip (since we’re not working with processed cheeses like velveeta) would change it’s consistency once frozen and reheated and cheese may separate upon thawing. Luckily it’s pretty quick to make fresh!
What could you replace for the beer?
Hey Angie! 1/4 cup whole milk should work as a swap!
So much YES to this one! 🙂 Beer, melty cheese, hot sause… this looks insanely delicious, Jenn! I’m having a couple of friends over this weekend, and this is happening!
Oh my, all my favorite thing in one dip! Lovely texture and gorgeous color, perfect dip for my next party.
This looks fantastic! Does the shrimp get chewy or rubbery at all if cooked too far? Can I keep this in a crockpot for a party, or should I serve it hot/room temperature? Thanks in advance!
Thank you Kyrie! Shrimp always tends to if you cook it too long but when I follow the recipe I included here it always comes out stellar! I’ve always served it right away in a piping hot skillet or bowl (though my husband says the leftovers I save him are still divine warmed up the next day) so I’m not sure about cooking it in the slow cooker but keeping it on the warm function after making it stove-top may work great since the temp is relatively low and will keep the cheese nice and melty for the shindig! LMK what you try!
Always a little nervous when I bring a new appetizer to the party. This dip was an absolute hit!! So glad I found this on Pinterest.
Just stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest and I’m so excited to make it for my friend’s party this weekend. I know it’ll be best nice and hot but I don’t want to take over the kitchen at the party. Do you think I could make it ahead of time and then heat it up in the oven once I arrive?
Thank you Hannah 🙂 You can totally make it ahead of time and then pop it back in the oven to get hot and bubbly before serving. My husband did this with the leftovers one time and it worked great! He legit downed the entire bowl in a sitting lol
Jenn, this looks ridiculously fantastic!! I love your recipes. Thanks so much for your efforts! 🙂
Sue you’re the sweetest! Thank you!! 🙂
What a beautiful blog! I will be making your other shrimp dip recipe (Cheesy Baked Shrimp and Spinach Dip) for a party tomorrow. I am sure it will be amazing. It looks delicious! So glad I came across your blog and thank your husband for his service!
So excited you’re making the dip Emily, thank you! Can’t wait to hear all about it! And thanks from the pilot too – he sure loves his job! 🙂
Love this. Pinned!!!
Thanks Debbie! 🙂