This recipe for Ultimate Buffalo Chicken Dip is perfect for your next gameday gathering or party! A combination of dry-rubbed chicken, homemade buffalo sauce, and a mountain of different cheeses make this dippable appetizer absolutely irresistible.
As with most of my recipes, you can make as much of this as you want from scratch, or you can opt to shave off a few minutes and go with store-bought ingredients!
Ingredients
Dry-Rubbed Chicken
This recipe starts with searing some dry-rubbed chicken breasts in some oil until done. Feel free to substitute your favorite store-bought rotisserie chicken here. Making your own chicken for this recipe lets you decide which seasonings and flavors to choose. I typically go with the basic dry-rub below:
- Two Chicken Breasts
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Chili Powder
- Paprika
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
Buffalo Sauce
The next part of this recipe is the homemade buffalo sauce. I opted to go with my recipe for Carolina Red Wing Sauce. It has the perfect balance of heat, sweetness, and just the right amount of tang. It's a North Carolina-inspired twist on traditional buffalo sauce and is one of my favorites!
Before you go rushing to the store to pickup some store-bought stuff, this recipe only uses a few ingredients and comes together in less than 10 minutes! As always, feel free to use your favorite bottled wing sauce, but I really encourage you to try making your own.
You only need the following ingredients and a few minutes to put this sauce together:
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Unsalted Butter
- Ketchup
- Granulated Garlic
- Tabasco (or other hot sauce to your liking - Tabasco adds an extra vinegar-y punch that I recommend!)
- Granulated Sugar
- Cayenne
- Kosher Salt
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
Cheeses
Like they (probably) said in the 1975 Steven Spielberg summer blockbuster hit Jaws, "You're gonna need a bigger cheese." Ok, I'll be honest.......it's been a while since I've seen the movie, but they said something like that, I'm sure of it.
To transform this into a dip, you need to add some cheese-and LOTS of it! A combination of blue cheese, low-moisture mozzarella, yellow cheddar, and cream cheese is what I use.
As I understand it (or at least pretend to), some people are iffy when it comes to blue cheese. With all of the other flavors from the other cheeses, the spice mix on the chicken, the buffalo sauce, etc., the blue cheese is really a "background" flavor and is there to provide a little bit of balance. It does a great job and is pretty subtle, so I really hope you try it! If you're really not a fan, you can omit it....but don't say I didn't try to talk you into using it!
Reserve some of the mozzarella and cheddar to top the whole dish off right before throwing it into the oven to make a deliciously bubbly top layer! Once it comes out of the oven, top it with a little more blue cheese, and you're all set for a trip to Flavorsville (it's the town right next to Guy Fiere's Flavortown, but with less property tax....you can't miss it).
Serving Suggestions
Tortilla chips, crackers, or any other dip-delivery device are pretty much all you need to serve this up at your next entertaining shindig. Just try to resist the urge to eat half of this yourself before your guests arrive!
Hosting a party? Check out all of my other Entertaining or Gameday recipes for more crowd-pleasing ideas. You're bound to find something for everyone to enjoy!
Did you make this this recipe for
Ultimate Buffalo Chicken Dip?
Let me know in the comments below how yours turned out, and don't forget to leave a rating!
Recipe
Ultimate Buffalo Chicken Dip
Equipment
- Large Cast Iron or Stainless Steel Skillet
- Medium Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
Carolina Red Wing Sauce
- ¾ Cup Cider Vinegar
- ½ Cup Ketchup
- 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 2 Teaspoons Tabasco
- ½ Teaspoon Granulated Garlic
- 2 Teaspoons Granulated Sugar
- ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Pepper to Taste
Dry-Rubbed Chicken
- 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts Approximately 1 ½ lbs.
- ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt Per Pound of Meat
- ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Paprika
- ½ Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 ½ Cup Buffalo Sauce
Cheeses and Toppings
- ¾ Cup Blue Cheese (x1 4 oz package) Crumbled, Divided
- ½ Cup Sour Cream
- 1 8 oz Package Cream Cheese Softened
- 1 Cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese Shredded - Divided
- 1 Cup Low-Moisture Mozzarella Shredded - Divided
- 3 Green Onions Thinly Sliced, Divided
- Kosher Salt To Taste
- Black Pepper To Taste
Instructions
Buffalo Sauce
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until boiling.
- Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for several minutes.
Dry Rubbed Chicken
- While the sauce is cooling, preheat oven to 350°F and prepare the chicken.
- Cover the chicken breasts with plastic wrap or parchment paper and flatten them until they are approximately ½-inch thick. Apply ½ teaspoon kosher salt per pound of meat on all sides.
- Combine the remaining rub ingredients in a small bowl, and apply evenly over the chicken.
- Heat a large, cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium high heat, and add 2 to 3 tablespoons of neutral cooking oil.
- Add the chicken, and cook chicken breasts until done, flipping frequently. Cook for approximately 15 to 18 minutes until done, or an instant read thermometer registers 165°F in the thickest part of the chicken.
- Transfer the chicken to a medium sized bowl and allow to cool several minutes. Use two forks to shred the chicken into bite sized pieces, and toss in the prepared buffalo sauce.
Assembly and Topping
- Add ½ cup blue cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, ¾ cup of the cheddar, ¾ cup of mozzarella, and two of the of the sliced green onions to a large skillet. Stir to combine.
- Top with remaining cheddar, and low-moisture mozzarella and bake for 25 minutes until bubbly.
- Garnish with remaining blue cheese, sliced green onion, and serve warm with tortilla chips, crackers, or any other dip-delivery device!
Greg says
So good! Keeping this on hand for football season!