Football season is back, and this is the pan that never makes it to the second half. Ten minutes of work, twenty-five in the oven, and it comes out of the skillet bubbling at the edges with browned cheese on top.
The trick is where the seasoning goes. Most buffalo dips are hot sauce and cream cheese and nothing else, so the chicken ends up tasting like texture. Here a tablespoon of Anything With Wings goes on the shredded chicken first — it is built for poultry, so the meat gets its own savory backbone before it ever meets the sauce — and the last teaspoon goes into the cream cheese.
Set it out with what is actually good right now. Carolina carrots and celery are coming into their best weeks, the last red bell peppers are still at the market, and cut into wide planks they carry a scoop better than any chip. Put the chips out too. Nobody will complain.
If this one goes over, the Cast Iron Chicken Thighs use the same jar and feed the same crowd on a Tuesday.
Full recipe card below. New here? We’ll send you a free jar to cook with.
Game Day Buffalo Chicken Dip with Anything With Wings
Creamy baked buffalo chicken dip built on organic Anything With Wings poultry seasoning, with sharp cheddar and a browned top. One skillet, thirty-five minutes.
Ingredients
For the dip
- 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded (one rotisserie chicken, or about 1½ lb cooked breast)
- 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp Anything With Wings organic poultry seasoning
- 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup cayenne pepper hot sauce
- 1½ cups shredded sharp cheddar, divided
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese (optional)
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced, for serving
For dipping
- Celery sticks, carrot sticks, red bell pepper strips, tortilla chips or toasted baguette rounds, for dipping
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Set out a 9-inch cast iron skillet or a 1½-quart baking dish.
- Toss the shredded chicken with 1 Tbsp of the Anything With Wings in a large bowl until every strand is coated. Let it sit two minutes while you make the sauce.
- In a second bowl, beat the room-temperature cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the sour cream, mayonnaise, hot sauce and the remaining 1 tsp Anything With Wings. Keep going until it is one even pale-orange sauce with no white streaks.
- Fold the seasoned chicken into the sauce, then fold in 1 cup of the cheddar and all of the blue cheese, if you are using it.
- Spread the mixture into the skillet and smooth the top. Scatter the remaining ½ cup cheddar over it.
- Bake 22–25 minutes, until the edges bubble hard and the cheese on top has golden-brown spots. For more color, run it under the broiler 60–90 seconds and do not walk away.
- Let it rest 5 minutes so it sets up enough to scoop. Scatter the green onion over the top and serve warm with the vegetables and chips.
Season the chicken, not just the sauce
Most buffalo dips are hot sauce and dairy and nothing else, which is why the chicken in them tastes like texture instead of food. Anything With Wings is built for poultry, so coating the meat first gives it a savory backbone that reads through the tang.
Room-temperature cream cheese is not optional
Cold cream cheese never fully blends in. You get a grainy dip that weeps oil as it cools. Leave the block on the counter an hour, or unwrap it and microwave it 20 seconds.
What to dip in October
Carolina carrots and celery are at their best right now, and the last of the red bell peppers are still coming in. Cut them into wide planks so they can carry a real scoop. Chips are fine, but the peppers disappear first.
Ahead of the game
Mix the whole thing a day early and keep it covered in the fridge. Add 8–10 minutes to the bake time straight from cold. It also holds beautifully in a small slow cooker on warm.
Seasoning
Add salt only if it needs it — a little kosher or sea salt at the end is plenty. Crushed red pepper goes a long way if your crowd wants more heat.