Buffalo Chicken Soup

Groundhog Day was yesterday. The groundhog saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter, which in Nebraska means nothing because Nebraska does not consult groundhogs for its weather policy. Nebraska has winter until Nebraska decides it is done having winter, and that decision happens in April, sometimes May, occasionally March if Nebraska is feeling generous, which it rarely is. The groundhog is a decoration. The cold is a fact.

Super Bowl Sunday. We watched at home — Dave and I and the kids, chips and dip and the television on and the game happening and nobody in this house caring deeply about either team but everyone caring deeply about the chips. I made buffalo chicken dip — shredded chicken, cream cheese, hot sauce, ranch, shredded cheese, baked until bubbling. The dip was the main event. The game was the background noise. Tyler ate half the dip himself. Justin had opinions about the defensive formations that were surprisingly sophisticated for a twelve-year-old and which he delivered to the television as if the television could hear him and adjust. The television could not. Justin did not care.

Josie fell asleep at halftime, sprawled on the couch like a human comma, and I carried her to bed, which I can still do because she is nine and small and I am five-ten and strong, but the window for carrying your sleeping child to bed is closing, and I know it, and every time I carry her I think: this might be the last time, and the thinking makes the carrying sacred.

Monday morning I hauled to Sioux City. Two days, cold, the routine. The slow cooker had split pea soup — ham bone from Christmas (frozen, saved for exactly this purpose, because a ham bone is a promise to a future soup, and I honor my promises), split peas, carrots, onion. Split pea soup is not beautiful. Split pea soup is the color of something you might see in a swamp. But the taste is deep and smoky and warm, and the taste forgives the appearance, the way people forgive each other — not because the flaw is invisible but because the goodness is bigger.

After Tyler demolished most of that buffalo chicken dip before the second quarter even started, I started thinking there had to be a way to get those same flavors — the hot sauce, the cream cheese, the ranch — into something with a little more staying power, something the slow cooker could hold warm all afternoon while the game played and Justin lectured the television. Buffalo Chicken Soup does exactly that: it’s the dip, grown up into a meal, the kind of thing that sits on the stove during a cold Nebraska February and makes the house smell like something good is happening inside it.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot)
1 packet (1 oz) ranch dressing mix
4 oz cream cheese, softened and cubed
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Sliced green onions and crumbled blue cheese, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Cook the chicken. Place chicken breasts in a medium saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 18—20 minutes until cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board, let rest 5 minutes, then shred with two forks. Set aside.
Sauté the aromatics. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Build the soup base. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in buffalo sauce, ranch mix, and white beans. Simmer 8—10 minutes to allow flavors to develop.
Add the creaminess. Reduce heat to low. Add cubed cream cheese, stirring steadily until fully melted and incorporated into the broth, about 3 minutes. Stir in sour cream and shredded cheddar until smooth.
Finish with chicken. Add shredded chicken to the pot and stir to combine. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and hot sauce to your liking. Heat through over low, 2—3 minutes — do not boil once dairy is added.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with extra shredded cheddar, sliced green onions, and crumbled blue cheese if desired. Serve with tortilla chips, crusty bread, or celery sticks on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Buffalo Chicken Soup — Super Bowl Sunday, Six More Weeks of Winter, and the Dip That Became Dinner