Buffalo Chicken Dip, Trail Version
Foil-packet chicken and powdered cheese sauce, scooped with corn chips out of the pot.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 7 min
- water
- 180 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Snack
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Foil-packet chicken | 5 oz | drain-free, unlike a can |
|---|---|---|
| Cheddar cheese powder | 1/4 cup | |
| Powdered whole milk | 2 tbsp | stands in for the cream cheese |
| Potato flakes | 1 tbsp | thickener, keeps it scoopable |
| Cayenne hot sauce | 2 tbsp | packets, or a small squeeze bottle |
| Garlic powder and onion powder | 1/2 tsp each | |
| Ranch seasoning | 1 tsp | |
| Corn chips or tortilla chips | 2 oz | packed in a rigid container or they become dust |
Method
- Boil 180 ml of water. Take the pot off the flame.
- Whisk in the cheese powder, milk powder, potato flakes, and both seasonings until there are no dry pockets.
- Tear open the chicken packet and stir it in, shredding it against the side of the pot with your spoon.
- Add the hot sauce. Warm it back over a low flame for a minute, stirring, until it tightens up.
- Eat straight from the pot with chips. Scrape the sides while it is still hot.
Party dip is a chafing dish full of cream cheese and shredded rotisserie chicken. Neither of those travels. Cheese powder and powdered whole milk do the same job dry, and a spoonful of potato flakes replaces the body the cream cheese was providing. The result is thick enough to hold on a chip instead of running off it.
Water is the variable that ruins this. Start at 180 ml and add more only if it seizes, because you cannot take water back out. The hot sauce goes in last and off the heat: it thins the mix, and boiling it flattens the vinegar that makes the whole thing taste like buffalo anything.
Packing
All the powders go in one small bag at home so camp is two pours and a packet. Chips ride on top of the pack, never inside it.
Variations
- Skip the chips and pour it over a bagel or a tortilla to make it a real dinner.
- Half a packet of instant refried beans stretches it to two servings.
- Swap the chicken for a foil packet of salmon if you want the fat.
https://mealswithmaria.site/35-football-party-foods-that-score-big-on-game-day