The start of college and NFL football games means one thing…it’s time for some good game eats!  I made this Hella Spicy Cheesy Chicken Dip to munch on while my beloved alma mater, University of Tennessee, played their first game this past Saturday (GO VOLS!!!).  This dip is everything and more in the freakin’ hot-as-heck department.  It ain’t for the faint of tongue; however, if you can’t stand the heat you can still partake in this dip by substituting mild peppers for the spicy ones.

I make a lot of oven baked cheese dips during the football season and they all are made with the same base:  cream cheese, shredded Monterey Jack, and a touch of garlic and onion powders.  This recipe came about when I was getting ready to make my typical Buffalo chicken dip for the UT game.  All the ingredients were laid out on the table, ready for me to start mixing, when I suddenly became uninspired with my dip decision.  The game day noshing season just started and I’m already in a major dip rut.  This was pretty serious, as the game was starting in an hour, so I dug around in the refrigerator to see what other stuff I could add to my base mixture.

Most of the time spicy cheese dips don’t quite do it for me, so I decided to go full on hella spicy with this one.  My inspiration for this recipe was the handful of organic Hungarian hot wax peppers I had just picked up from my CSA.  Gorgeous, greenish-yellow peppers that look deceptively similar to the extremely mild banana pepper but have the heat level of a badass jalapeño.  Yeah, these babies need to make it into my recipe.  I quickly sautéed a couple of minced peppers and added them to my dip base, along with a few chipotle peppers, shredded pepper jack cheese, and a bit of the fresh super spicy salsa I had made earlier.  This new hella spicy dip is my new BFF and freakin’ fantastic (if I may say so myself).  Me and J ate the whole thing in one sitting and I’m actually surprised I even shared it with him.  There are two foods in this world that I never share with others:  cheese dips and french fries.  I will cut you if you try to take either one of these away from me without my permission or invitation.  Consider yourself warned.

Tonight’s NFL football game is the first regular season game of my favorite team, New England Patriots,  (woooohoooo!) and I’m making this dip again to snack on.  I’m actually going to try two new things with the dip when I make it:  1) I’m going to use habanero jack cheese and 2)  I’m grilling the Hungarian hot wax peppers whole, then cutting them up.  I’ll let you know how it goes and if I have any taste buds left after eating it.

Try this Hella Spicy Cheesy Chicken Dip recipe next time you need some good game day eats or you want to snack on a spicy cheesy dip!

4.9 from 8 reviews

Hella Spicy Cheesy Chicken Dip

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: Tasty Ever After

Serves: 2½ cups

Ingredients

• 2 medium-sized fresh hot chili peppers (about ¼ cup of jalapeño, habanero, Hungarian hot wax peppers, etc.), minced
• 1 Tb olive oil
• 8 oz regular cream cheese, softened
• 1¾ cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
• 1½ cup cooked chicken breast, finely chopped
• â…“ cup spicy salsa
• 3 Tb chipotle in adobo sauce, finely chopped
• ¾ tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• tortilla chips, crackers, toasted baguette slices, or assorted fresh vegetables for dipping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
2. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the minced hot peppers to the pan and sauté until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. In an oven proof glass casserole dish, add the softened cream cheese, Pepper Jack cheese, cooked chicken, salsa, chipotles, chili powder, garlic powder, and the cooled cooked hot peppers. Mix well with a spatula and evenly smooth top of dip mixture. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes, or until dip is bubbling and lightly browned on top and edges.
4. Serve hot with tortilla chips, crackers, toasted baguette slices, or assorted fresh vegetables.

3.3.3077

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