If you're a fan of Buffalo Chicken Dip, you're going to love this version! It's Buffalo Chicken Dip like you've never had it before - full of rich, intense flavor and surprisingly healthy! 

This recipe calls for 2 large chicken breasts for extra protein to help stabilize your blood sugar and boost your metabolism.  I swapped traditional buffalo wing sauce for Wing Time Buffalo Wing Sauce because it's all natural and gluten free.  To add intense flavor and vitamins, I sautéed onion, garlic, celery, green bell pepper and fresh thyme and added that to the mix too. And instead of an entire package of fattening cream cheese, I finished the dip with just a touch of mascarpone cheese (a sweet velvety Italian cream cheese found near the specialty cheeses or the cream cheeses at your local market.)   Serve alongside your favorite veggies like radishes, carrots, green bell pepper, celery, endive and green beans and with all natural gluten free tortilla chips.   I recommend roasting the chicken ahead of time or a day or two before to make prep easier. 

Makes approximately 6 servings

2 large bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (we'll remove the skin later)

Sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 stalk celery plus celery leaves (optional), chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

2 large garlic cloves, finely minced

1 ½ cups Wing Time Buffalo Wing Sauce (I used medium- you can find this at Whole Foods)

¼ heaping cup mascarpone cheese (I like Bel Gioioso which is a common brand you can find at many supermarkets.  But any brand will do.)

Small handful shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

Your favorite veggies, sliced, such as bell peppers, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, endive and celery

Gluten free all natural tortilla chips (I like Late July brand)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cover a sheet pan with foil and place chicken breasts on top.  Season generously with salt and pepper and bake for approximately 35 to 50 minutes (depending on size of chicken breasts) or until skin is crispy and chicken is cooked throughout (don't overcook.) Once chicken is cool, remove the skin and bones and shred meat with your hands. Set meat aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large sauté / frying pan over medium high heat.  Once the pan is hot, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot, sauté onion, green bell pepper, celery and thyme for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until softened.  Season with sea salt and black pepper. Add garlic and shredded chicken to the pan and sauté an additional minute.

Lower heat to medium low, stir in buffalo wing sauce and simmer gently for five minutes.  In the meantime, spray a small casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Stir mascarpone cheese into the chicken and sauce mixture and gently simmering the dip for another minutes or so.

Spread the dip into the casserole dish and top with shredded cheese.

Bake for approximately 8 minutes.  Broil on low for two minutes or until cheese gets lightly golden brown on top. Serve with veggies and tortilla chips and enjoy!

For more healthy and nutritious game day recipes from Chef Valerie, be sure to check out her website. You can also follow her on Instagram and Facebook to see what she's cooking up.