When you want to bring something other than the same old boring appetizers to the party, this Buffalo Ranch Chicken French Bread Pizza fits the bill! Layers of creamy Ranch, tender chicken, spicy buffalo sauce and crunchy celery are finished off with Mozzarella and blue cheeses. Baked to perfection, this is a delicious appetizer or meal for holiday guests or game day parties!
When I think of holiday food, “buffalo chicken” isn’t exactly what comes to mind. But let me point out two very important things. First, it’s good to be different, and let me tell you, your friends and family will appreciate having something other than grape jelly meatballs to enjoy. Second, it’s festive! I mean, just look at the bright green and red colors!
I stopped at Walmart to get my weekly shopping done, and picked up everything I needed for this recipe. I also grabbed some Glad Press’n Seal®,, which I’ve never used before. (I’ve never had much luck with plastic wrap!) This stuff was super easy to use though, and it made a great cover for my phone. Why? Well when I plan out the recipes to share on this blog, I start by typing them out on the computer. Then I pull them up on my phone when I’m ready to start cooking. Problem is, I have to be super careful not to get food on my phone – I’ve already used my insurance once this year and don’t want to have to use it again! So I tried this trick of placing the Glad Press’n Seal over my phone to keep it clean, and it totally worked! It provided a custom fit that sealed and protected me phone! Kept my phone clean and didn’t move around like when I’ve used a plastic bag.
We all know Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dips Mix is the best when it comes to dips and dressings, but it’s great to use in tons of other recipes! I started with a cream cheese Ranch layer for my Buffalo Chicken French Bread Pizza. I combined the cream cheese with about half of the Ranch dip mix and some hot sauce.
Once that was all combined and creamy, I spread it over the French bread halves. The next layer was shredded chicken mixed with celery, blue cheese and more buffalo hot sauce.
The creamy ranch helps to cut the heat of the buffalo, and the blue cheese adds a nice tang. Finally the pizza is topped with a generous heap of Mozzarella cheese and baked until the cheesy is melted and bubbly.
I added some parsley for color, but you can skip that step if you prefer. Finally, drizzle on some more buffalo sauce until you have the amount of heat you want. You could serve this as is or with a ranch or blue cheese dip. Don’t forget the celery sticks on the side!
Buffalo Ranch Chicken French Bread Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 loaf french bread
- 2 tablespoons Hidden Valley® Ranch dip mix ½ a packet
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup Buffalo Sauce divided, plus some for drizzling
- 2 cups shredded or diced chicken
- 1/2 cup diced celery 2-4 stalks
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles
- Fresh chopped parsley for garnish (if desired)
Instructions
- Cover a large baking sheet with foil and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Slice French bread in half lengthwise. Scoop out a little of the soft center of the bread to make a shallow “well” length-wise in each half. Lay cut side up on prepared baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, stir together softened cream cheese with Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix and 2-3 tablespoons of buffalo sauce until well combined. Spread evenly over each half of the French bread.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine shredded chicken with remaining buffalo sauce and diced celery. Spread the chicken mixture evenly over each half of the bread and press down slightly.
- Top with blue cheese crumbles and shredded Mozzarella cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted and bubbly.
- Cool for 5 minutes before slicing into 2” pieces. Drizzle with more buffalo sauce and garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired, before serving.
For more holiday entertaining tips and recipes, be sure to check out www.walmart.com/holidayfavorites
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Glad & Hidden Valley Ranch. The opinions and text are all mine.
For more delicious appetizer, try these:
Cranberry & Rosemary Cream Cheese
For all dips go HERE, for all appetizers go HERE and for the recipe index, go HERE.
Yum! What wonderful comfort food!
This would great to bring to a party. Everyone would be so impressed!