Buffalo ?Chicken? Dip

Before going vegan I used to love buffalo chicken fingers – not the wings, but fried chicken tenders in buffalo sauce.  I never really understood the point of eating a wing (I still don’t), and bones in food always freaked me out.  Obviously, it’s been a while since I’ve eaten real buffalo chicken anything, but instead of having to give it up completely I’ve had my share of tasty tempeh wingz and gardein’s awesome classic style buffalo wings, which both quench the cravings.

I thought I had my vege buffalo “chicken” situation under control, and then my sister had a party and went and served a buffalo chicken DIP.  It sounded amazing – shredded chicken, blue cheese dressing, cream cheese and hot sauce (or something along those lines).  I’ve always wanted to veganize the recipe so that I could actually partake in that creamy buffalo deliciousness, but without the meat and dairy.

I’ve already made this twice and polished it off pretty quickly both times.  It’s not the healthiest dip, although it is much better for you than the traditional buffalo chicken dip.  I think this is pretty spicy, but it’s not going to burn your mouth off.  I’m not sure how much of a spice wimp I am though, so you can always adjust the heat to your liking.

Vegan Buffalo “Chicken” Dip

1 package gardein classic style buffalo wings (see Notes)

1/3 cup Vegenaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 ounces crumbled soy bleu cheeze

pinch sea salt

small pinch fresh cracked pepper

8 ounces non-dairy cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup Frank’s RedHot Hot Sauce

Prepare the gardein according to package directions, and set aside.  Set the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

While the “chicken” is cooling whisk together the Vegenaise, lemon juice, crumbled bleu cheese and salt and pepper in a medium sized bowl.  Stir in the cream cheese and hot sauce.

Once the “chicken” is cool enough to handle, dice it into small pieces and fold it into the Vegenaise mixture. Transfer the dip to a casserole or pie dish, and cook it for about 10 minutes or until heated through.

You can store leftovers in the fridge and reheat them before serving.

Notes: If you can’t get the gardein wings, you can use any chicken substitute, but you’ll want to up the amount of hot sauce to taste.  You can also keep this warm in a small crock-pot instead of baking it.  This probably serves about 4 people (or 2 if you’re Ryan and me), so if you’re making this for a crowd you’ll probably want to double the recipe.  You can serve this with celery or carrot sticks, but it’s also yummy with tortilla chips.