Ellen’s Lightened Up Buffalo Chicken Cheese Dip

This buffalo chicken cheese dip is a crowd-pleaser and no one will miss the extra calories from the original.

Today’s post came about from a kitchen renovation — one which you’ll be able to see later this week on Facebook LIVE! (Thursday, April 12 at 12:30 pm ET.)

I’ve known Ellen since our kids were babies – there was a baby boom in our neighborhood with several kids born within weeks of each other (her son is one week younger than my daughter.) She’s a great cook and social connector – she’s one of those people you want to hang out at a party – and she’s got the best laugh! Not to mention, she makes a killer Buffalo Chicken Cheese Dip that my husband now requests for our St. Patty’s Day party.

After many years of living in her home, Ellen finally got the updated kitchen she so deserves and while I was touring it last month, I thought it would be the perfect set up for a Facebook Live. So I asked her if she wanted to do one and she jumped at the chance. I then learned that her secret dream is to be a cooking show hostess – she’s in finance for the record (sounds like how the Barefoot Contessa started!)

So, I took a crack at lightened up her famous dip – which we’ll be showing (along with the new kitchen) on our LIVE.

Lightened Up Buffalo Chicken Cheese Dip

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• Author: Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD

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Description

This buffalo chicken cheese dip is a crowd-pleaser and no one will miss the extra calories from the original.

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Ingredients

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• 2 (5-ounce) cans chicken breast meat, drained
• 4 ounces Neufchatel cheese
• 6 ounces Greek yogurt
• 1/4 – 1/3 cups Frank’s hot sauce
• 3 ounces blue cheese crumbles
• 3 ounces Monterey Jack or Colby Jack cheese, shredded
• Raw vegetables for dipping like baby carrots, celery sticks, pepper strips, broccoli florets, snow peas

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, mix chicken, cream cheese, yogurt, hot sauce, blue cheese and 2 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese. Mix thoroughly.
3. Spread in a 1-quart baking dish and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through and cheese on top is melted.
4. Serve warm with raw vegetables for dipping.

What I love about this recipe, is it uses basic ingredients but turns into something divine. And I was able to lighten it without anyone noticing. I tested it out while watching Villanova during March Madness with friends – both adults and kids loved it.

How I lightened it up:

* Swapped in Greek yogurt for some of the cream cheese
* Used Neufchatel cream cheese instead of regular
* Cut out the blue cheese dressing and replaced with less blue cheese
* Cut back on the amount of  Monterey Jack cheese
* Served with a variety of raw veggies

This dip also gave me a new appreciation for canned chicken – check out Serena’s post on How To Make Canned Chicken Healthier + recipe for Creamy Basil Chicken Salad.

Would you make this dip? What are some of your go-to dip recipes?