Big Game Must: Buffalo Chicken Dip
Super Sunday is just around the corner, and, for me, the game is only half the draw. While the gridiron action is great, game day also gives me the excuse to eat all that salty, sticky, greasy grub that I (and my girlish figure) normally have to avoid. Salads, begone! Steamed veggies, so long! See you on Monday!
Like everyone, I look forward to the usual heavy hitters: piled-high nachos, thick ‘n’ meaty chili, greasy potato skins. These are all great dishes to switch up and try new versions of — basically, I want to wow my friends even more than the year before. But there is one do-or-die app in my repertoire that I’m not allowed to even think about tinkering with: Buffalo Chicken Dip. This uber-popular dip scores big with my crew (and loads of Food.com fans, too — it’s our second most popular dip recipe on the whole site!). Wing-loving men, of course, adore it, but I’ve also seen my girlfriends — tiny, fit women who consider their bodies their temples — devour this dip to the point of picking up the casserole bowl and licking it clean.
Why is it so doggone good? This dip tastes exactly like everyone’s favorite football food: tangy Buffalo chicken wings! BUT it comes without the hassle and mess of having to gnaw the meat off the bone. That and the fact that corn scoops (not corn chips, but corn SCOOPS) are part of the equation. I mean, when’s the last time you let yourself buy a bag of those?
Another bonus: It’s incredibly easy to make. Go dip!
THE INGREDIENTS
Cream Cheese (light or full-fat, you decide!)
Ranch Dressing
Hot Sauce (Frank’s brand is essential)
Chicken
Cheddar Cheese
Frito Scoops
COOKING THE CHICKEN
If a recipe calls for canned chicken, I always sub fresh chicken and cook it up myself. Tuna in a can = good. Chicken in a can = freaks me out. For those who love canned chicken, go for it — this recipe will be even faster! But for me, I like to take the hard way. It’s an unfortunate theme in my life, actually, but we don’t have to get all self help-y now.
Anyway, I saute up my two chicken breasts in a little olive oil so they brown on each side and then splash them with about a half cup of water, put the lid on the pan and let them cook through (about 10 minutes more). Then, I let ‘em cool and shred.
THROWING IT ALL TOGETHER
Now that the chicken is out of the way, all you have left to do it toss all the ingredients together in a bowl. In goes the cream cheese, ranch dressing, shredded chicken, half the shredded cheese and the hot sauce. (I know 3/4 cup seems like a lot, but Frank’s hot sauce is a different animal. It’s vinegar based and not screaming-caliente hot.) Mix it all up, drop into a casserole and pop into the oven. You’ll add the other half of the cheese halfway through the cooking, and the final result will be bubbly, browned and swooned over by anyone you serve it to.
GET THE RECIPE: Buffalo Chicken Dip »
PLUS: Get our top recipes for wings, nachos, skins, sliders, chili and more game day grub »