BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

A classic Buffalo Chicken Dip – shredded chicken, hot sauce, cream cheese, ranch dressing, and lots of cheese! Great for parties and game days!

One of my oldest, best friends, Beth, definitely qualifies as a genius.

Five or six years ago, a couple of days before Christmas, she invited a bunch of girlfriends over for a “dip party”. It’s absolutely as awesome as it sounds. Everyone brings their favorite dip along with the recipe to share. Seriously brilliant. A small group of us sat around her kitchen island with bowls and plates of dip in front of us, sampling them all and chit chatting. It was such a great idea and a wonderful, low-key way for a bunch of girls to share some favorite recipes, hang out and, of course, eat. Which leads me to this buffalo chicken dip…

WATCH HOW TO MAKE BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP!

While I love wings, I always lean towards flavors like honey barbecue, teriyaki or garlic parmesan. I’ve never been a big fan of the buffalo/hot sauce flavor so I was never compelled to make (or even try!) this dip. Well, this is one of the dips that Beth contributed to her party and when I tried it for the first time, I loved it! I was sold immediately and had to have the recipe.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room here… this recipe uses ranch dressing and I know all the buffalo wing purists get up in arms about not using blue cheese. You can totally use blue cheese dressing if you’d like; not many people I know actually like blue cheese, and ranch has more of a broad appeal, so I always defer to ranch.

I made this a few weeks ago as an appetizer for Sunday dinner and really wasn’t sure how it would go over, but at the end of the day the pan was empty, and the chip bowl only had crumbs left. I was pleasantly surprised!

An easy buffalo chicken that combines shredded chicken, hot sauce, cream cheese, ranch dressing, and lots of cheese!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boiled and shredded (or 4 12.5-oz cans of chicken breast, shredded)
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle hot sauce
• 16 ounces cream cheese
• 1 (16-ounce) bottle ranch dressing
• 6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1½ cups)
• 6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1½ cups)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the chicken with the bottle of hot sauce and spread in the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream cheese and the ranch dressing over low heat until the cream cheese is completely melted and smooth. Pour the mixture evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the cream cheese/ranch layer.
4. Bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes, or until bubbling and browned on top. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with celery sticks, other vegetables, tortilla chips or crackers.

RECIPE NOTES:

You can substitute four (12.5-ounce) cans of cooked chicken, drained, for the chicken breasts.

Feel free to use whatever hot sauce and ranch dressing you’d like; I used Frank’s Red Hot and Hidden Valley Ranch.

If you’re a buffalo wing purist, feel free to substitute blue cheese dressing for the ranch.

This can be prepared a day in advance, just cover and refrigerate overnight. You may need to add 5 or 10 minutes to the baking time.

Source: https://www.browneyedbaker.com