After a crowd-filled morning in Manhattan, my friend's husband decided to make this buffalo chicken dip for part of our late lunch. It blew my mind. The ingredients seem a little weird (to me, at least) and I don't even like buffalo chicken wings. But this dip - I could not stop eating it. I knew Caleb would love it too, especially since the best "crackers" to serve it with are Fritos Scoops. I was not wrong and this recipe has been in heavy rotation whenever we have people over (or go somewhere I can use the oven).
I made a couple of modifications to the original recipe (from Allrecipes), but Caleb wanted to know how far we could carry the modifications - could we make a healthier buffalo chicken dip without losing any of the cheesy, creamy, gooey, spicy goodness of the original dip? It turns out we could. In a blinded trial, no one could tell the difference between any of our healthier options, even though one was almost the same as the original. Once they cooled, there were small differences in consistency, but buffalo chicken dip should be enjoyed while hot (but not scalding) anyway.
I am providing my "original" modified version below, but these are all the healthier buffalo chicken dip variations we tried:
A) 8 oz Neufchâtel (reduced-fat) cream cheese + 8 oz nonfat cream cheese
B) 8 oz Neufchâtel cream cheese + 8 oz nonfat Greek yogurt (plain)
C) 8 oz nonfat cream cheese + 8 oz nonfat Greek yogurt (plain)
D) 16 oz nonfat cream cheese
Caleb recommends B, nonfat Greek yogurt + reduced fat cream cheese (+ reduced fat cheddar cheese and nonfat ranch), as the most proteinaceous of the variations. Because of the Greek yogurt, this will stay a little softer as it cools compared to the cream cheese-only versions.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients
- 20 oz chicken about 3 boneless, skinless breasts, cooked and shredded into bite-sized pieces*
- ¾ cup Frank's RedHot Sauce
- 8 oz (1 package) Neufchâtel cream cheese cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature
- 1 cup (227 grams) nonfat Greek yogurt**
- 1 cup (8 oz bottle) Lite ranch dressing (regular or nonfat will also work)
- 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese regular or reduced fat***, shredded
- for serving: Fritos, celery, bread rolls, or some other serving vehicle
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In a large skillet, gently stir the chicken and hot sauce together over medium heat until warmed through, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the cream cheese pieces, yogurt, and ranch. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, another 3-5 minutes or until cream cheese is pretty well melted in and the sauce is warmed through.
- Stir in half the shredded cheese (¾ cup), then transfer to an oven-proof casserole dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake 20-25 minutes, until bubbly and browned on top.
- Serve. Be warned, this dip is very hot when it first comes out of the oven.
Notes
**This recipes also works with all cream cheese or all Greek yogurt. It holds up best as it cools/is reheated and has the best nutrition counts using a combination of the two.
***Fat free cheese doesn't melt very satisfyingly and it also tastes a little plastic, so recommend against using it. If you're worried about cheese, just don't use any of the top.
