Buffalo Chicken Dip isn’t a new concept, but it’s a fun dish for any party or gathering that’s so easy to make and never disappoints! There are lots of ways to make a Buffalo Chicken Dip. Some use ranch, some use blue cheese… There are different cheeses you can use. Some people prefer to dip celery sticks in it. These are all fantastic options, but I thought I’d share my recipe here because I have been making it this way for many years now.
I love Buffalo Chicken Dip pretty much anytime there’s a gathering… Holidays, getting together for a football game or other sports match, birthday parties, girls’ nights at home, a BBQ or garden party and it’s great for potluck as well. Usually if I’m taking this to someone else’s home I assemble it first and pop it into their oven when I arrive if that’s possible so it’s nice and hot, meltingly gooey by the time people are eating it. And because it’s worth mentioning I guess, Buffalo Chicken Dip is Gluten-Free.
The chicken you use is up to you. This works beautifully with some leftover chicken, or even leftover roast chicken after your Sunday lunch. It works just as well with rotisserie chicken or even those packs of cooked, roast chicken pieces you find in the grocery store. Anything will work, but it needs to be cooked first and chopped roughly – nothing too uniform here… The messier the better!
This is the kind of dish where really all you need to do is buy things at the grocery store, throw them together and pop it in the oven. Easy. That said, when it comes to the cheese, you are much better off shredding this yourself as it will melt better and make the whole thing easier to eat. Pre-shredded cheese in a bag will work, but it won’t be as good, so get the cheese grater out. Good news is you can do that a day or two before and seal it up in the fridge until you’re ready to make the dip. Let’s get started!
Serves a crowd as a party food or 6 to 8 as an appetiser
Ingredients
- 280g cream cheese, softened
- 250g cooked chicken, roughly chopped
- 250ml bottle of ranch dressing (I like Newman’s Own Ranch Dressing)
- 148ml bottle of Buffalo sauce (I like Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wings Sauce)
- 250g finely shredded mild cheddar cheese
- A little freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
- Tortilla chips to serve (I like Blanco Niño Tortilla Chips)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180° Fan / 400°F.
- Start by spreading the cream cheese into the bottom of a round casserole or other round oven-proof dish that’s about 22cm in size. Use a rubber spatula to work it around the bottom of the pan like cake icing. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but you want to make it as even across the bottom as possible.
- I like to use the Le Crueset 22cm Cast Iron Shallow Casserole without the lid for this, but any similar sized baking dish will do. Just keep in mind that you will be serving it from oven to table, so choose something you’re happy to show off.
- Now add the chopped cooked chicken and spread it out evenly across the top of the cream cheese.
- Drizzle the ranch dressing over everything as evenly as you can, trying to cover as much of the chicken and cream cheese as possible. Don’t worry if you end up with big blobs or a few blank spaces – it will all melt together in the end, so just do your best.
- Now pour over the buffalo sauce the same way, drizzling it over the top, trying to cover as much as you can with the vibrant, orange sauce.
- Sprinkle the top with the cheddar cheese and finally, grate a little fresh nutmeg across the top.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted on top, the underneath is bubbling and it’s starting to look a bit golden. Serve hot with tortilla chips.
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