Spicy Buffalo Chicken Dip
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours, 55 minutes | Serves: 16
Let me start out by saying this is not for the faint of heart, not in flavor nor in preparing this AH-mazing dip. Sometimes things just take time to make it awesome. Sure, you could open a can of diced, precooked chicken, but whyyyyyyy when over-the-top just takes some planning. You can bake the chicken the day before if that fits into your schedule. So, yes, there’s a lot to this… cooking real chicken breasts, cooking real bacon slices, shredding your OWN cheese. (Yes, I do grab a bag of pre-shredded cheese for salads or quick wraps, but my heart is bound to the shreds of real cheese gently falling….ok, totally food-geeking here…)
I will also add that this recipe makes enough to feed a lot of people. You can certainly halve the recipe.
Baking the bacon…. This changed my world! Easy-peasy clean up made me more motivated to make bacon. Grease splatters alone caused me to not want to make bacon, not to mention cleaning the pans. (Can I hear an “Amen!”?) Here’s the basics on baking your bacon –
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, big enough to cover over the edges of your pan. Lay the bacon in a single layer, as many as you can fit without overcrowding. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Check for the level of doneness you would prefer. Some people like their bacon very crispy. Some like their bacon a little “floppy.” Cook a little longer if desired, checking every few minutes, as not to cook to charred (unless that is your preference).
I have this tip in the notes below, but I will mention here since some people may not read the notes. If you bake your chicken according to this recipe, it will yield some liquid left in the pan. When you remove the chicken breasts to cool, carefully pour this liquid into a small saucepan. Set the pan over medium-high to high heat and allow the liquid to reduce to about 3 tablespoons and add this concentrated yumminess to your slow cooker along with the cream cheese, chicken, etc. It is SO flavorful and adds a some extra mmm… to this Spicy Buffalo Chicken Dip.
ENJOY!
Spicy Buffalo Chicken Dip
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker 5 - 6 quart
Ingredients
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 -ounce package dry ranch seasoning, such as Hidden Valley
- 1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2-3 hot peppers, seeded and sliced (serranos, jalapenos, etc.)
- 1 1/2-2 cups Frank's Buffalo Sauce, to taste
- 12 ounces Colby-Jack cheese, shredded and divided
- 16 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup ranch dressing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the chicken breasts in a pan large enough to hold all 6 breasts. That could be a lasagna pan or 9×13”. Evenly sprinkle dry ranch seasoning over both sides of the chicken. Cover with foil and bake until chicken is cooked through, approximately 35 to 45 minutes, depending on your oven and thickness of the breasts. Keep an eye on it and use a thermometer (see notes) so you do not overcook and dry out your chicken.
- Once the chicken is cooked to 165 degrees internally, remove from the oven and transfer the hot chicken to another large pan and allow the chicken to cool while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Put the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl and heat (to soften), about 1 and a half minutes.
- Shred the somewhat cooled chicken with two forks (or your hands) and place into your slow cooker.
- Add bacon, peppers, buffalo sauce (to taste), 12 ounces of the shredded cheese, cream cheese, and ranch dressing. Combine all ingredients together thoroughly.
- Sprinkle the remaining 4 ounces of cheese on top. Place the slow cooker on low for about 2 hours, then lower the heat to warm. If you like the cheese to “crust” around the edges of your slow cooker, keep on low longer.
- Serve warm with tortilla chips or pita chips.
Notes
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