The Best Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

There are so many recipes for Buffalo chicken dip and today you are about to get the best one! How do I know it's the best? Because I have been told over and over and over again. So let's stop wasting time and get right down to it.

Before we do, though, always remember: Never, ever, ever, use canned chicken.

Recipe Rating

Ingredients

• 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts, or approx 2-3 large chicken breasts
• 1 cup of ranch dressing, Hidden Valley, Kraft, or Wishbone
• 1 cup of Frank's Original Red Hot, do not substitute this please
• 1 8 oz. block of cream cheese, do not use fat free, but reduced-fat is okay
• 1 package of fancy shredded sharp cheddar cheese, or 2 cups
• A pinch or so of green onions, optional

Cook Time

Instructions

1. Boil your chicken breasts on the stove in a medium to large saucepan on medium heat for about 30 to 45 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. While the chicken is boiling, cut the cold cream cheese into cubes and place them into an 11.5"x8"x2" Pyrex-style baking dish lightly misted with butter-flavor Pam.
3. You will also need the following items to dip into it: bite-size tortilla chips, celery, Wheat Thins, Triscuits, or a combination of all of them.

4. Evenly sprinkle the fancy shredded cheese on top of the cream cheese cubes.

5. Pour the 1 cup of ranch and the 1 cup of Frank's Red Hot on top of the cheesy mixture and place the dish into the oven uncovered for 7 to 10 minutes.

6. You will want to stir the mixture after about 7 to 10 minutes. Put it back in the oven and bake an additional 7 to 10 minutes and stir until mixture and cream cheese are well mixed together.

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7. While the mixture is baking and your chicken is done boiling you will want to shred your chicken. The best way to do this is by putting the pan into the sink and running cold water over the chicken to speed up the process, once cooled you may hand shred the chicken into a bowl.

8. After the cheesy mixture is done baking and mixed together well you may now add the chicken. Simply pour the chicken on top of the mixture, carefully stir the mixture well and cover with aluminum foil and bake an additional 20 to 30 minutes.

9. Once baked you can carefully pour into your serving bowl, garnish with green onion and celery and enjoy!

Serving Tips

Now that you have finished your masterpiece let's talk about what you have just created.

• This recipe is for a single batch and it will fill the baking dish pretty full. It will be enough for about 4 to 8 people if there is other food around. I usually make a double batch! At minimum, I make a batch and a half, just be sure to use a bigger baking dish.
• Why not use canned chicken? Simply put, it is just plain icky. Don't get me wrong, if you are using it for cold chicken salad then it's not too bad but the canned flavor can overpower the buffalo taste. If you are in a crunch and don't have time to boil the chicken then just don't make it! I'm kidding. You can still make it but I suggest using the pre-grilled chicken strips from your grocery store refrigerator section, I think they are made by Tyson. Crumble them up and voila!

Now some tips and advice...

• Want to make it meatless? Pour the sauce over homemade macaroni and cheese, topping with diced potatoes or spreading on toasted sliced asiago cheese bread or bagels. Or just make the dip without chicken and a little less Frank's Red Hot sauce.
• Do you love blue cheese? There is one simple reason why this recipe calls for ranch instead of blue cheese and that's because not everybody likes blue cheese but almost everybody loves ranch, simple as that. If you love it, you can use it instead or you can add blue cheese crumbles.
• If you don't like your dip too spicy you can add less Frank's Red Hot. If you do not care for Frank's then you should try a mixture of Hooters Hot and Mild wing sauce. Even though I said not to substitute, it's your dip, so do what you want with it.

And finally, and I tell you this for your own benefit, be ready to email this recipe to everyone you know or print or handwrite it. I have been making this dip for years and taking it to parties and gatherings of all sizes. I just assumed everyone would know how to make it by now, but they don't. So now you do and I can stop handwriting it on an envelope for people . . . not that I minded. Enjoy!

Estimated Weight Watchers Points Plus per batch: 70

Estimated Weight Watchers Points Plus per serving: 4.4