Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe
My Buffalo Chicken Dip is a hot, creamy, cheesy appetizer loaded with shredded chicken, Buffalo sauce, ranch, and a mix of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, then baked until golden on top. It's ready for the oven in just 15 minutes, and I serve mine with celery, carrots, crackers, and tortilla chips.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1 ½ pounds total
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 yellow onion, peeled small diced about ½ cup
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese, cut into 1” cubes
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- 3/4 cup buffalo sauce
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Shredded chicken:
- Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a medium sized sauce pan over medium high heat. Once it begins to smoke lightly, add in the seasoned chicken breasts and cook untouched for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Flip the chicken over, add in the chicken stock, cover it, and cook over low to medium heat or until it will easily shred with two forks. Remove the chicken and shred. This cook time is not included in the final cook time.
Make the Dip
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to medium sized sauce pan over low to medium heat. Add in the onions, gently season with salt and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Then stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Next, add in the shredded chicken along with the cream cheese, buffalo sauce, and ranch dressing. Cook over low heat for 1 to minutes or until the cream cheese is completely melted.
- Then, fold in 1 ½ cups of the sharp and Monterey jack cheese while keeping a half cup to the side.
- Transfer the mixture to a 5x9 or like sized baking dish. Evenly sprinkle on the remaining half cup of shredded cheese. Bake in the oven at 350° on a middle rack for 30 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and maybe gently browned.
- Serve with carrots, celery, crackers, or tortilla chips.
Notes
This is a classic appetizer for football Sundays, so I've made it many times already. Taste and season the base right before it goes into the baking dish, while you can still adjust it. Buffalo sauce, ranch, and cheese all bring their own salt, so I add my kosher salt in stages. Once on the chicken, once on the onions, and then a final check at the end. I also add freshly cracked pepper at the finish. When people say food tastes bland, 99.9% of the time it is under-seasoned, not under-sauced.
Cook the chicken yourself: Shred your own chicken instead of using canned chunk chicken. The sear and braise add a savory flavor canned chicken cannot match, and a rotisserie bird is the fast version that still tastes real.
Brown the aromatics: Take the extra 6 to 8 minutes to brown the onion and cook the garlic. Fresh browned aromatics beat onion powder every time in my opinion.
Get the buffalo sauce right: Use an actual buffalo sauce, not plain hot sauce. Buffalo sauce is cut with butter and cornstarch to add body and balance the heat, so it flavors the dip rather than scorching it.
Chase the browned top: Bake until the cheese on top browns at the edges. That color is your visual cue that the center is fully hot, and the cheese has melted the way it should.
Make-Ahead: I can make this up to 30 minutes ahead and hold it warm, covered, at a very low oven temperature on a middle rack so the cheese stays melty.
How to Store: I cover it and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
How to Reheat: I cover it with foil and warm it in a 350°F oven on a middle rack for about 12 to 15 minutes, then take the foil off and give it another 5 to 7 minutes to brown the cheese back up.
How to Freeze: I freeze it for up to 3 months, then thaw it in the fridge for a day. Some of the cheese may separate, so I give it a good stir before reheating.
Nutrition
Calories: 588kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 22gFat: 52gSaturated Fat: 19gPolyunsaturated Fat: 12gMonounsaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 111mgSodium: 1794mgPotassium: 339mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 870IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 329mgIron: 1mg