What do extremely sturdy potato chips, tortilla chips, pita wedges, bagel chips, crackers, carrot sticks, celery sticks, sliced radishes, zucchini chips, sliced bell peppers, mozzarella sticks, your fingers, pizza rolls, sliced sausages, pork rinds, chicken wings and deep-fried anything have in common?
They all taste better when coated with the cheesy, creamy, poultry-y flavor of a Buffalo chicken dip.
If you aren’t familiar, Buffalo chicken dip is essentially hot wings distilled down into a gooey, warm, one-pan snack that pairs well with almost anything you could conceivably dunk into it. Also, like Buffalo wings, it goes quite well with beer and football.
“I think this dish came about as another way to get the great taste of Buffalo chicken in a format that’s shareable and easy to make. The recipe itself is just cooked chicken that’s been shredded, cream cheese, Frank’s RedHot, ranch dressing and bleu cheese crumbles,” explains executive chef Kevan Vetter of McCormick & Company, which now counts Frank’s as a major piece in its fast-growing portfolio of hot sauces. “There are really only five ingredients, so it’s easily customizable as well. People can swap the cheeses and customize this recipe to suit their own flavor preference and make it just the way they like it.”
Spicy, savory and equally as good whether prepped in an oven, slow cooker or an instant pot, Buffalo chicken dip can also be eaten on its own with a spoon or used as a mayonnaise substitute by the brave at heart.
“It really does go in a lot of different ways. You could put it on a sandwich,” Vetter says. “Instead of putting mayonnaise on your sandwich, throw on some Buffalo chicken dip and level it up. If you’ve got some leftovers, it’s awesome as a topper too.”
Somewhat of a hybrid that combines nachos with hot wings, Buffalo chicken dip is a Super Bowl favorite that is starting to make a push to become more of a year-round option.
“I think it’s one of those iconic dishes that, just like Buffalo chicken wings, has really found its place in the home,” Vetter says. “Whether it’s in the summertime at pool parties and cookouts or tailgating during the fall, it seems to be a dish that’s starting to show up at many different occasions just because people love it so much.”
Ready for some gooey, chicken-y love? We’ve got Vetter’s personal recipe below.
Classic Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing
- 1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon into shallow 1-quart baking dish.
- Place in oven and bake 20 minutes or until mixture is heated through. Stir thoroughly.
- Sprinkle with green onions, if desired, and serve with chips, crackers or anything else.
- For a reduced fat recipe containing only 2 grams of fat per serving, substitute 1/2 cup of low-fat ranch dressing and 1 package (8 ounces) of reduced fat cream cheese.
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