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Ted Berg
2024-02-07T21:55:01Z
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I often consider making Buffalo-chicken dip when I need a perfect party appetizer.
So, I tried Buffalo-chicken dips from celebrity chefs Trisha Yearwood, Pat Neely, and Claire Robinson to see which famous figure had the tastiest appetizer.
Here's how each dip stacked up.
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Yearwood’s dip called for several fresh ingredients.
Yearwood's recipe called for more fresh ingredients than the others, which I appreciated.
However, this also meant the recipe was more labor-intensive, as it required dicing a whole onion and simmering chicken breasts in hot sauce for about an hour.
The recipe also called for vegetable oil, garlic, hot sauce, sour cream, olive-oil mayonnaise, shredded cheddar, green onions, and blue-cheese crumbles.
Yearwood also suggested cutting up celery and carrots to dip into the finished dish.
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Yearwood's dip took a surprisingly long time to make.
Per Yearwood's instructions, I cooked the onions in a pan and added the thinly sliced chicken breasts, garlic, a cup of water, and half a cup of hot sauce.
I simmered the chicken in hot sauce for about an hour, but after trying a piece, I didn't think this gave the meat that much flavor. All the work seemed a little redundant when the recipe called for adding more hot sauce to the mayo mixture anyway.
Once the chicken had simmered, I combined this mixture with the sour cream, mayo, cheddar, and a quarter cup of blue cheese.
I thought the directions took an odd turn when they said to serve the dip "with the chicken" in step four. I followed the comments-section consensus and mixed the chicken into the dip before topping it with the remaining blue cheese and green onions.
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Yearwood's dip looked good, but it was a little chunky.
The mix of freshly cooked chicken and cold ingredients created a room-temperature dip.
The familiar flavor combo of Frank's RedHot sauce and blue cheese was present, but the dip wasn't spicy. I could see it working in a Buffalo-chicken-salad sandwich if it were a little less chunky.
Given all the demands of hosting a party, I think spending more than an hour on a dip that's supposed to be served immediately — but isn't even hot — would be inefficient.
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Pat Neely’s Buffalo-chicken dip seemed easy enough.
Neely's recipe was the simplest of the three, relying on dried seasonings and canned chicken breast.
The recipe called for cream cheese, sour cream, dried parsley, Cajun seasoning, onion powder, hot sauce, canned chicken, and shredded cheddar cheese.
Neely's recipe also notes that the dip can be made ahead of time and stashed in the fridge, which seemed pretty convenient.
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When I combined the ingredients, it smelled like an onion dip.
I started by adding the cream cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, and seasonings to my mixer. I used a stand mixer because Neely used one, though you could probably make the dip without this equipment.
When I was done mixing, I was hit with the unmistakable smell of onion dip.
Nevertheless, I continued to fold in the chicken and shredded cheese and spooned the mixture into casserole dishes. I sprinkled the rest of the cheese on top and baked the dip in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
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Neely's finished Buffalo chicken dip didn't taste how I expected it to.
Flavor-wise, this dip was the boldest of the three, but it strayed from the familiar Buffalo-wing taste I'm used to. The Cajun seasoning and hot sauce also made this the spiciest dip by a wide margin.
It was intense enough to risk numbing my guests' mouths before the main course, so I'd go lighter on the seasoning next time.
Neely's dip was also the loosest and least chicken-heavy of the three recipes, so it seemed like it would be best served alongside heartier dishes.
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Robinson’s Buffalo-chicken dip required only five ingredients.
Robinson's recipe called for the fewest ingredients of the three, requiring only a rotisserie chicken, cream cheese, crumbled blue cheese, chopped celery, and hot sauce.
Preparing the chicken for this recipe was hardly the neatest. Outside the greasy process of pulling apart the chicken, though, it was a very straightforward recipe.
Like Neely's, the recipe said the dip could be prepared ahead of time.
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Once the rotisserie chicken was shredded, Robinson's recipe was super easy.
Robinson's recipe called for softening the cream cheese on the stove over medium heat, but the cold block scalded at that temperature. I lowered the temperature so it could slowly melt, and from there, the process was easy.
I mixed in the chicken pieces, chopped celery, and hot sauce, transferred the dip to a casserole dish, covered it with crumbled blue cheese, and baked it at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.
The recipe made enough to fill a 9-inch pie pan, but I separated mine into smaller portions.
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Robinson's Buffalo-chicken dip was delicious.
Robinson's chicken-heavy recipe was true to the classic flavor of Buffalo dip, with just enough spice to keep everyone happy.
The chopped celery, which I figured would get lost, provided a surprising amount of texture and a bit of color, and the moist, dark-chicken meat didn't dry out while baking.
This dip was so meaty that I think it could be served as an alternative to chicken wings.
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Robinson's dip was the clear winner.
Robinson's was the clear winner among the three dips. Though I could see myself dipping a crusty piece of bread into it, it was also hearty enough that it felt like a main dish.
Plus, there's something very football-friendly about being able to advertise a whole-chicken Buffalo dip to your guests.
Click to check out the other celebrity-chef recipes we've put head-to-head so far.
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