buffalo chicken dip.

Last night was a ton of fun.  Although I’m not a huge hockey fan, we decided to venture out and watch the Stanley Cup Finals at a bar down the street from our house.  The United Center is less than two miles from where we live, and I see it outside of my window every morning.  Obviously there are a TON of bars in the area that were totally packed hours before the game started, so I made sure I was down the street at least two hours in advance to score us a couple of seats somewhere.  What an awesome game we got to watch – I’m so glad we got to join in on the fun!

I had initially considered staying in and watching the game from the comforts of our home while devouring some fun appetizers for dinner.  (I’ve maybe admitted a few times that I have an unhealthy love for appetizers…)  This buffalo chicken dip always comes to mind when I need to make a quick appetizer for any kind of game-watching event.  It’s like cheesy, amazing buffalo wings in dip form … and it just so happens that I LOVE buffalo wings!  And I love cheese!  It’s so meant to be.  

Even after we decided to go out for the game last night, I went ahead and made this anyway so I could share it with you today.  🙂  [This is definitely not an excuse to have this sitting in my refrigerator for me to eat throughout the week.  Nope.]

I first made buffalo chicken dip a couple of years ago when some friends came over to watch football one Sunday.  Around this time I had started using Pinterest, and a friend had recommended I try to find a buffalo chicken dip recipe.  I was really surprised at how easy it was to make, and how absolutely delicious it turned out.  I’ve continued to troll Pinterest for new and exciting additions to this recipe, but I have only tweaked it slightly since my first attempt.  It is just THAT good.

pour hot sauce directly onto chicken and stir until it coats all of the chicken.

coat chicken with hot sauce.

stir in ranch + cream cheese.

grate in sharp cheddar cheese.

stir in sour cream.

grate in more sharp cheddar.

serve hot!

sprinkle on some chopped green onion – it’s delicious!

add blue cheese crumbles.

My recipe has a few “optional” ingredients that can be added at the end for some extra flavor.  It doesn’t necessarily need it, but I think it’s always fun to step it up a notch.  The basic recipe is seriously delicious just the way it is, so only add the extras if they appeal to you!

[my additional tips!]:

Actual Prep / cook time:  20 minutes

Clean-up difficulty:  1 [this is a one pan job if you use canned chicken or rotisserie chicken!]

Overall difficulty to make:  1 

Overall satisfaction:  9

Price range?  This dish is under $5 for two people.

What I would change next time?  I’ve got this one down.  I LOVE blue cheese, bacon and green onion on here – but I know some people are totally against blue cheese.  I would probably always use the green onion as a topping; it just adds that perfect pop of flavor.

For your own version, I recommend:

• Feel free to serve the blue cheese crumbles, bacon crumbles and chopped green onion in separate little dishes next to the buffalo dip.  I think giving people the option to add their own toppings is a lot of fun!  And really, this is seriously SO delicious with just the original version – you don’t have to get fancy if you don’t want to!

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© 2015 : a flavor journal : by sara alvord

Recipe Card

4.88 from 8 votes

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buffalo chicken dip.

Author sara rose : aflavorjournal.com

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Creamy, gooey buffalo chicken dip is the perfect crowd-pleasing appetizer. Try this original version, but feel free to add bacon, blue cheese, or green onion as toppings!

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

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Ingredients

 

• ▢ 1 1/2 cups shredded traditional rotisserie chicken
• ▢ pinch of pepper
• ▢ 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• ▢ 1/2 cup buffalo / hot sauce [I love Frank's or Crystal]
• ▢ 1/2 block 4 oz. cream cheese [room temperature]
• ▢ 1/4 cup creamy ranch dressing
• ▢ 1/3 cup sour cream
• ▢ 2 oz. freshly grated sharp cheddar divided
• ▢ bacon crumbles optional
• ▢ blue cheese crumbles optional
• ▢ chopped green onion optional

Instructions

• Place a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add shredded rotisserie chicken, pinch of pepper, and garlic powder. Cook for 5 minutes, or until heated through.
• Pour hot sauce over all shredded chicken, and stir to coat chicken in hot sauce.
• Add cream cheese, and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently until cream cheese is completely melted and creamy. The chicken should be coated in cream cheese and sauce at this point.
• Add creamy ranch dressing, and stir until fully incorporated.
• Add 1 oz. freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese and sour cream. Stir to combine.
• Add final ounce of freshly grated sharp cheese, stir a final time.
• Serve hot!

Notes

Serving the crumbled bacon, crumbled blue cheese and chopped green onion each in a separate dish alongside the buffalo chicken dip is a great way to serve this at a party. It gives people the option to add their own toppings!

Tried this recipe?

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