Buffalo Chicken Dip (aka Chicken Lip Dip)

...But Chickens Don’t Have Lips

Chicken lip dip wasn’t something I grew up eating as a child, the moment I had it in high school I was addicted.  I remember the moment of my first taste fondly… I was at a friend’s house swimming in her pond and another friend brought a dish of chicken lip dip.  Wrapped in a towel after coming out of the water, I grabbed a chip and took a big scoop of this “lip dip”.  My mind. Was. Blown.  It was cheesy, salty, spicy, savory - it was everything all at once that I desperately needed more of. That night, I hopped on our family computer and started googling for recipes, finding a few options to try out the next week.  My first attempt was honestly not that great, but it started my passion of perfecting the chicken lip dip.

Speaking of chicken lip dip, what is a chicken lip anyways? I grew up in southeast iowa, home of the “chicken lip” - a thin chicken strip covered in buffalo sauce.  It’s one of those phrases that was such a nomenclature growing up that I didn’t realize it was local until I went to college.  Over the years, I’ve stuck with the term since it feels reminiscent of my upbringing and honestly is much more fun to say than “buffalo chicken dip”. Since that first attempt, I've made countless dishes of chicken lip dip. It’s my go-to for parties, I’ll make it for snacking on during football games, and after moving to Chicago made it for office potlucks. With all that practice, this is essentially my signature dish. I can make it in my sleep at this point!

The Chicken Lip Dip Recipe Details

When it comes to chicken lip dip, it's all about the balance of creaminess, spiciness, and chickeniness. This recipe has been years in the making of me adjusting values to get to the perfect amount of each.  It’s rich and creamy, a tad spicy, and full of chicken! As far as the chicken goes, I have strong thoughts on what you should use. A lot of recipes I’ve found in the past recommend using canned chicken, which in my opinion gives the entire dip a more processed taste. Instead, I always use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  You’re guaranteed to have a perfectly moist chicken breast to use, it’s well seasoned, and more economical - you can use the rest of the chicken for your next meal and have a carcass to make chicken stock with too!

‍ Once you’ve shredded your chicken breast, the rest of this app comes together in a snap. All you need to do is mix everything really well until the chicken is evenly distributed and the entire dip has that familiar orange hue we’ve all come to expect from buffalo dip. For me this dip isn’t complete without some scoops tortilla chips, but feel free to use any tortilla chip you love (or carrots and celery sticks if you’re craving some veggies). I would love to know if you make this recipe and what you think! Tag me in your photos or leave a comment below.  Enjoy!