Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip combines the flavors of your favorite classic buffalo dip and turns it into a skinnier version! Spicy, creamy and cheesy–this dip has it all!
What’s a football game without buffalo chicken dip? Better question, what’s a Saturday without buffalo chicken dip? This dip is so tasty, you don’t even need a special occasion to make it! I love making a big batch of this dip on the weekends and eating it over the next few days. It’s so good that I don’t mind leftovers, even if it’s for a couple days in a row.
Is Buffalo Chicken Dip Healthy?
This version of buffalo chicken dip has been modified so that it is a healthier version of the normal buffalo chicken dip. Several ingredients have been swapped out for lower calorie, lower fat alternatives. The dip still tastes just as good!
Low Fat Cream Cheese: Regular cream cheese is substituted with low-fat cream cheese which saves on calories and fat. Either low-fat cream cheese or 1/3 less fat cream cheese can be used. Another option is fat-free cream cheese. I choose not to use the fat-free cream cheese, however, because of the extra long ingredient list on the fat-free version. (Next time you’re at the store, compare the ingredient labels of fat free cream cheese versus low fat cream cheese).
Greek Yogurt: This dip uses non-fat, plain Greek yogurt to add creaminess. The yogurt allows us to cut back the amount of cream cheese used. Another benefit of yogurt is that it adds extra protein to the dip.
Ranch Dressing Mix: The dry ranch dressing mix replaces regular ranch dressing in the recipe. When the dry mix is combined with Greek yogurt, it creates a much healthier product, similar to ranch dressing.
Nutritional Breakdown
Here is a comparison of the healthy buffalo chicken dip to the normal buffalo chicken dip recipe. I consider the “Normal Dip” to be the recipe that is posted on the Frank’s Red Hot website.
LESS CALORIES
This recipe contains 105 calories. Traditional dip contains 175 calories/serving. This saves about 70 calories which means you can totally have seconds 😉 !
HIGHER PROTEIN
The skinny dip has 10 grams of protein. This is 2.5 times the amount as the normal dip. The increased protein comes from the greek yogurt.
LESS FAT
This recipe contains 3 grams total fat and 0 grams fat. Normal dip has 8 grams saturated fat.
OVERALL
The biggest factor in the health of this recipe is dependent on what food items you choose to consume this dip with and how much of the dip is eaten in one serving. Healthy options for dipping are to use carrots, celery, or a serving of a whole grain cracker.
How to Serve Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Serve as a dip. Use cut up veggies such as carrots, celery or cucumbers to dip with.
- Serve with crackers, tortilla chips, pita bread or pretzels
- Have Leftovers? Turn it into a quinoa bowl. Combine quinoa, chicken dip and some carrots for a tasty meal.
- Spread it on tortillas and make some buffalo chicken wraps!
Let’s Make Some Dip!
How to Cook the Chicken
Oven: Bake at 400F for 30-35 minutes or until done. (The temperature should be 165 or higher if measuring with a meat thermometer). Shred with two forks.
Crock Pot: Place in crock pot, cover with water or chicken broth. Cook on low for 2-3 hours. Shred with two forks.
Instant Pot: Place in instant pot, add 1 cup of water. Cook for 10 minutes and then allow natural steam release for 12 minutes. Check out this tutorial on instant pot chicken for more details.
Alternative Cooking Methods for Buffalo Dip
Buffalo chicken dip can be prepared via crockpot, stove top or oven. The preferred method of cooking is largely dependent upon the amount of time you have to prep this recipe.
Crock Pot: This recipe can easily be made in the crockpot! Spray the bottom of the crockpot well to prevent any sticking. Combine all ingredients and place in a small crockpot. Cook over low for 2-3 hours or until cheese is melted. Stir every hour. Do not over cook or it will burn easily!
Stove Top: Combine all ingredients in a medium sized cooking pan. Cook over medium heat stirring every 2-3 minutes to prevent dip from burning. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until all ingredients are combined and cheese is melted. Mixture will start to bubble when done.
Oven: Grease an 8×8 baking dish. Spread buffalo mixture evenly into bottom of pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until dip is melted and starts to bubble.
Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients
- 1 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons ranch dressing dry seasoning mix
- 2.5 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
- 4 oz low-fat cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup Frank's red hot sauce (any brand will work)
- 1/4 cup fat free shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Combine greek yogurt and dry ranch seasoning mix in medium mixing bowl. Mix well.
- Add shredded chicken, cream cheese, hot sauce and cheddar cheese. Mix well.
- Spread mixture evenly into an 8×8 greased pan or casserole dish.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until mixture is melted and bubbly at top.
- Garnish with blue cheese if desired.
- Serve warm. Enjoy!
Notes
Looking for more healthy dishes?
- Creamy Salsa Dip is another healthy dip option!
- Easy Buffalo Chicken Wraps are another healthy option if craving spicy food!
- Grilled Chicken Tostadas are a tasty weeknight dinner option.
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