My Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip is a lightened up remake of a classic dish and is the perfect addition to your game day menu.
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 made my Lightened Up Buffalo Chicken Dip:
- Swap in Neufchatel cheese instead of traditional cream cheese. It has less calories and ⅓ 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. Read my post about the nutritional benefits of Greek yogurt.
- 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. Sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese or crumbled blue cheese on top instead
So try this quick and easy Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip 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
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 package (8 ounces) Neufchatel cheese (reduced fat cream cheese), softened
- 1 5.3 oz container (about ½ cup) Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup hot sauce (I use Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce) (add more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces (about 2 cups) shredded, cooked chicken breast
- ¼ cup sliced scallions
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Optional toppings:
- crumbled blue cheese, sliced scallions, hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Mix the softened cheese, yogurt, hot sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper together in a large bowl until smooth.
- Stir in the shredded chicken and scallions.
- Transfer the dip to an 8x8-inch square baking dish, oval baking dish or round pie pan. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top.
- Bake 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and dip is bubbly. Remove from oven and garnish with crumbled blue cheese, scallions, and hot sauce, if desired. Serve with crackers, chip, celery and/or carrot sticks.
Anonymous says
This still looks like a lot of sodium --- I wonder if there are lower-sodium alternatives for the Frank's and Neufchatal --- ?
Anonymous says
I made this on the stove today--better than the original! I still used lowfat sour cream. I looked at the ingredients in ranch dressing mix, which most recipes call for. Since that contains buttermilk, I decided to add about 2 tablespoons of powdered instant buttermilk to mine.
ur says
Thank you for the tip on a lighter version of cream cheese and replacing Greek yogurt for bottled dressing. We love Greek yogurt.
Anonymous says
We really enjoyed this, my husband without knowing this was a healthier version said this was the best buffalo chicken dip he ever had!
wendyb964 says
Thank you very much. I've finally "perfected" my homemade Greek yogurt and use it for almost anything with a creamy texture. Not a fan of bottled dressings either, this very well may make an appearance today. Love your recipe resuscitations as they often make me think outside my usual healthier substitutions.
Anonymous says
You say one serving is 70 calories... How much is one serving? 1/4 cup? 1/2 cup? 2 Tbsp?
sonaliruder says
The recipe makes about 3 1/4 cups, so one serving is 3 1/4 tablespoons.
Anonymous says
I would like to make this tomorrow but do not have chicken. Could I skip the chicken? Or maybe use tuna that I have on hand instead? Thanks.
sonaliruder says
The chicken is one of the main ingredients in this dish so I haven't tried the recipe without it. Tuna would probably be a good alternative. You may want to avoid the blue cheese if using tuna, it may not be the best combination of flavors. Let me know how it turns out!
Michela says
very colorful dip! it looks scrumptious!I'm a new follower, I just discovered your blog and read some of your latest recipes, they're all yummy!
ur says
What a perfect timing for a perfect party dip. Looks yummy and easy to create. Thanks Sonali
Beverley says
This is just too good to be true but I know it is...yum yum yum all the way home. You are a genius when it comes to healthy delicious food xoxo
Jenn@slim-shoppin says
I am going to make this over the weekend! Thanks - it sounds wonderful!
From Valeries Kitchen says
Love the idea of lightening this stuff up! I bet it is wonderful. Will have to try. Pinning 🙂