Buffalo Chicken Chowder Blue Cheese Cream
Buffalo Chicken Chowder: Certified wing taste but no wing mess!
I’ve mentioned it before, but we’re about an hour twenty minutes away from Buffalo, New York, which means that we’ve been even more influenced by Buffalo Style Chicken than most. We love the stuff, frankly. You could probably tell that by some of our most popular recipes: Buffalo Chicken Nachos (give them a try, I tell ya!) and Chefs Style Boneless Wings.
Neither recipe is hard, but Buffalo Chicken Chowder is even easier.
It’s easy to make for a crowd too – perfect for Souper Bowl or a Holiday Open House. Make the chowder and pop it into your crock pot (affiliate links follow, see disclaimer for details). Leave it on warm throughout your gathering, and let guests serve themselves. Leave out mugs and soup spoons and you’ve got a party.
The Chowder doesn’t have to be spicy, but it does have to use Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. The original – not that new-fangled wing sauce. If you aren’t using Frank’s, you’re making an imposter. I’m just saying.
There are more ingredients here than I usually write recipes with, but you’re tough – you can do it!
This is an easy Buffalo Chicken Recipe that won’t even get the kitchen dirty. Much.
Start by cutting up the chicken into very small (1/2″ dice) cubes. We are using chicken breasts here, but boneless, skinless thighs would work great too. If you didn’t have any other choice, you could use ground chicken. No Turkey.
Turn the heat on to medium high under your Dutch Oven and add about a tablespoon of oil to the pot. When the oil is hot, add the chicken.
Once the chicken starts to cook, add the onion and continue stirring occasionally until the chicken is cooked through.
Add cold water, the soup base, potatoes, and carrots. Make sure the water is cold – if the water is too warm (or boiling!) when you add the potatoes, they might seize up and never really soften. How do I know? Let’s call it a hunch.
Yeah, that’s it. A hunch.
Cook over medium high heat until the potatoes and carrots soften. Add the ranch seasoning mix, Frank’s Red Hot and corn. Let cook for another ten minutes or so until all the flavors meld.
A note about the heat factor. If you don’t like it too spicy, by all means cut down on the hot sauce. Start with a couple of tablespoons and work your way up – 1/2 a cup seems like a lot, but there is plenty of soup here to mellow it out. Taste and see what you like.
Meanwhile, make a roux. A roux ” is flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces.[1] Roux is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight.[ ” (Wikepedia)
Some soups start with a roux (like gumbo) but Buffalo Chicken Chowder is prone to stick and scorch, so we add it at the end.
Our roux is super simple – equal parts butter and all purpose flour. It gives a nice buttery taste to the soup along with thickening it. Make sure to let the roux cook for at least 4 to 5 minutes on medium heat.
Add the roux to the soup and let it boil for a few minutes before turning down the heat and adding the heavy and sour cream to the soup. Keep warm from this point – but no more boiling. Take care when adding the roux to the hot soup – it can bubble up and splatter.
Now for the stellar topping:
Make the Blue Cheese Cream if your people are Blue Cheese people: Mix 1/2 cup of sour cream with 2 tablespoons of your favorite prepared Blue Cheese Dressing. If your people are Ranch People, add a couple tablespoons of prepared Ranch Dressing to the sour cream.
It’s super mellow but adds a nice tasty flavor to the chowder.
Buffalo Chicken Chowder with Blue Cheese Cream
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Canola or Olive Oil
- 1-1/2 pounds Boneless, skinless Chicken Breast or thigh, cut into 1/2 " dice
- 1 small White Onion, peeled and cut into 1/4" dice
- 6 cups Cold tap water
- 1 tbsp Chicken Soup Base
- 1-1/2 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
- 2 large Carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4" dice
- 1 cup Frozen Corn
- 2 tbsp Dry Ranch Dressing Mix
- 1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot
Roux
- 4 tbsp Butter
- 4 tbsp All purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
Blue Cheese Cream
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 2 tbsp Prepared Blue Cheese Dressing
- 2 Green Onions, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat soup pot or Dutch Oven over medium high heat with oil.
- Add chicken and cook for a few minutes before adding onion. Continue to cook until chicken is cooked through and onion is translucent, 6-8 minutes.
- Add cold water, chicken soup base, potatoes and carrots to pot and return to boil.
- Once potatoes and carrots are softened, after about 12 minutes, add ranch dressing powder, Frank's Red Hot and corn. Continue to cook for another five minutes to meld flavors.
Roux
- Meanwhile, make a roux. Melt butter in small pan and sprinkle in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and slightly tan. Add to soup and mix well. Allow soup to cook for another 5 minutes or so to thicken up. Take care when adding roux to hot soup – it will bubble up and can splatter.
- Add sour cream and heavy cream to soup and turn down heat to low until ready to eat.
Blue Cheese Cream
- Combine sour cream and prepared blue cheese dressing in small bowl. Drizzle over soup and sprinkle on green onions to serve.
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