Recipe Resuscitation: Buffalo Chicken Dip

With Super Bowl Sunday around the corner, you may be starting to plan your game day menu.  Few foods are as commonly associated with this occasion as buffalo wings.  Buffalo chicken dip is a popular variant of this classic dish and incorporates all of the flavors of buffalo wings into a warm, creamy dip that goes perfectly with fresh veggies and chips.  

Traditional buffalo chicken dip is very high in calories and fat from a mixture of cream cheese, bottled Ranch or Blue cheese dressing and loads of shredded cheese.  I decided to perform a recipe resuscitation on this crowd-pleasing dish to shave some calories and fat without sacrificing flavor.  Here’s how I did it:

• Swap in Neufchatel cheese instead of traditional cream cheese.  It has less calories and 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese but still has great flavor and a nice creamy texture.  It melts very well and is a good healthy option for dishes such as hot dips and creamy pasta sauces.
  
• Nonfat Greek yogurt instead of bottled Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing.  Greek yogurt adds a great tangy flavor that complements the spicy hot sauce but with none of the fat and only a fraction of the sodium of bottled dressings.  Plus, Greek yogurt is naturally thick and creamy (even the nonfat variety), packed with protein and low in carbohydrates.  To read more about Greek yogurt, CLICK HERE.
  
• Dried spices to add flavor.  Because I don’t use a prepared salad dressing, I up the flavor by stirring in dried spices like garlic powder and onion powder.  This also cuts down on sodium.  Remember to use garlic and onion powder, not garlic or onion salt.
  
• No shredded cheese in the dip.  Many buffalo chicken dip recipes stir a lot of shredded cheese into the dip.  I found the texture of the dip from the Neuchatel cheese and yogurt to be rich and creamy enough that it didn’t need any extra cheese.  But for you cheese lovers out there, feel free to sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese or crumbled blue cheese on top.
  
  

So try this quick and easy dish on Super Bowl Sunday or for your next party.  You can even prepare the whole thing in advance and simply heat it up when your guests arrive.  It's definitely a crowd pleaser and your guests will love it even more when you tell them that it's healthy!

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip

Makes 16 servings

1 package (8 ounces) Neufchatel cheese, softened

1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1/3 cup Frank’s Hot Sauce (add more to taste)

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

8 ounces shredded, cooked chicken breast (about 2 ½ cups)

½ cup sliced scallions plus extra for garnish

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Optional: shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese or crumbled reduced fat blue cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Mix the softened cheese and yogurt together in a large bowl until smooth.  Stir in the hot sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, chicken, scallions and pepper.

Pour the dip into a baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes until bubbly.  If desired, you can top the dish with cheese.  If using shredded cheese, sprinkle the cheese on top before baking.  If using crumbled blue cheese, sprinkle the blue cheese on top as soon as you remove the dip from the oven.  Garnish with sliced scallions.  Serve with baked pita chips or celery and carrot sticks. 

CLICK HERE to get the recipe for my Spiced Pita Chips.  

One serving (dip alone without cheese garnish): Calories 70; Fat 3.3g; Sat 2g; Protein 7.2g; Carbs 1.5g; Fiber 0.1g