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Creamy Buffalo Chicken & Sweet Potato Soup |
Is it just me, or does anyone else wish it were socially acceptable to eat party dip with a spoon and skip the chips altogether? Those pesky little things are but a mere vehicle for shoveling delicious, cheesy, but often belly-ache-inducing shmear into my mouth (not to mention how quickly you can go form 0 to 200 on the calorie scale when “picking” at the chip bowl.) And by the way – who can stop at just 2 tablespoons or a 1/4 cup of dip? In other words, what would probably be a “reasonable” serving.
So this year I’m putting the infamous “crack dip” (aka, buffalo chicken dip) in a bowl and handing you a spoon. You could throw some chips or celery sticks on the side, but really, who needs ’em?
And for the record, I’ve never actually made “crack dip.” Nor have I allowed myself too many mouthfuls when I see it at parties, because I know all that cheese is not going to leave much room for me to enjoy anything else. But I know plenty of people love it. Why else would it earn that name?
By now you all know that anything “normal” isn’t going to be my “crack.” Hence the sweet potatoes in this creamy, almost chowder-like soup. Sounds a little weird, I know. But judging by how many pingbacks and pinterest comments I’ve gotten on my recipe for Buffalo Chicken Sweet Tater Skins, I know I’m not the only one who finds this combo deliciously “crack”-like.
And while I won’t go claiming this recipe as “health food” I think we’ll all agree that it’s not nearly as bad as eating a bowl full of dip, with or without chips. And sometimes “not so bad” is just what we need to feel good.
Creamy Buffalo Chicken & Sweet Potato Soup
Yield: 4 servings
Everyone's favorite party dip, served up in a bowl with less-guilt, healthier ingredients.
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
12oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 medium sweet potato, about 10oz, peeled and diced
1/2 cup frozen corn
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
4oz firm silken tofu
2 tablespoons Tobasco sauce (Original Red)
2 tablespoons fat free milk or non-dairy milk of choice
2 oz reduced fat cream cheese
2 oz reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
1oz blue cheese, crumbled
2 scallions, thinly slicedDirections:
Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion and saute for 4-5 minutes, until softened. Add garlic, chicken, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Saute for 2-3 more minutes, stirring often.
Increase heat to high. Add sweet potato, corn and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 12-15 minutes, until sweet potato is tender.
Meanwhile, combine tofu, Tobasco, milk, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, parsely and dill in a food processor and blender, and blend until smooth. Add arrowroot and blend again.
Uncover soup and stir in blended tofu mixture. Increase heat to medium and gently boil for about 5 minutes, until thickened (the creamy mixture might appear to separate at first, but it will come together as the soup heats through and thickens.)
Ladle soup into serving bowls and garnish with crumbled cheese and sliced scallions.
Nutrition Facts:
Calories 385.8
Total Fat 14.8 g
Saturated Fat 7.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 4.2 g
Cholesterol 80.8 mg
Sodium 727.4 mg
Potassium 717.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 29.8 g
Dietary Fiber 3.7 g
Sugars 4.5 g
Protein 34.0 gCara Lyons, www.caraascravings.com
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I'm Cara, lover of creative, clean food and healthy living. Pumpkin, goat cheese, and eggplant make me swoon. I have an insatiable sweet tooth and desire to lift heavy things. 
jennifurla — October 8, 2012 @ 1:29 pm
wowzer, this looks and sounds amazing.
Bonnie K — October 8, 2012 @ 2:14 pm
Looks tasty!
Sues — October 8, 2012 @ 2:51 pm
What an awesome idea! Though I’m totally not opposed to spooning dip into my mouth (when nobody is home to see, of course!). I think soup is more socially acceptable, though, and this one looks delicious!
Abby — October 8, 2012 @ 3:02 pm
Wow, that looks amazing. Is there any substitution for the tofu that you would suggest?
Cara — October 8, 2012 @ 3:25 pm
Hi Abby, the tofu is meant to be a low-fat alternative to cream that will provide the creamy consistency I’m going for. I don’t have another “healthy” substitution.
Abby — October 8, 2012 @ 3:31 pm
Thanks, Cara! I am hypothyroid, so I avoid soy as much as possible. Cream would work, then, if I wanted to get the same kind of creaminess that the tofu provides?
Cara — October 8, 2012 @ 3:34 pm
Yes, cream should work 🙂
Cara — October 30, 2012 @ 10:25 am
Hey Abby! Just wanted to let you know that I made this soup again this weekend for a crowd of people, one of which is avoiding soy. I used light sour cream in place of the tofu and kept everything else the same and it worked great.
Joanne — October 8, 2012 @ 8:44 pm
I’ve gotta be honest with you, I’ve never had crack dip either but back in my meat-eating days, I LOVED me some buffalo chicken. Mostly because I’m a spice fiend. I’m TOTALLY veg-ifying this with some beans instead of chicken!
Cara — October 9, 2012 @ 8:19 am
Yes! I was thinking a buffalo chickpea version would be awesome.
Gwen @ SimplyHealthyFamily — October 8, 2012 @ 11:04 pm
Call it whatever you want it sounds absolutely amazing! You’re killing me w the Blu cheese, YUM! I use almond milk as a low fat sub for cream and in this soup you could also add some nutritional yeast flakes for more creaminess and cheesey flavor.
Cara — October 9, 2012 @ 8:20 am
I haven’t tried almond milk in soups yet, I didn’t think it would thicken enough. Thank you!
Kate — October 9, 2012 @ 1:00 am
I CAN NOT wait to try this!
Kevin @ Closet Cooking — October 9, 2012 @ 10:21 am
Now this is my kind of soup!
Shannon — October 11, 2012 @ 12:19 pm
like what you’ve done here 🙂 definitely adding this to the winter soup repertoire!
Kelly — October 12, 2012 @ 9:51 pm
Yum. This sounds very comforting and perfect now that temperatures have dipped and I know I’ve been craving more warm and comforting food. Definitely pinning this one to save the recipe for later.
Kirsten — October 25, 2012 @ 11:22 am
I made this soup two days ago for my family of two teens and two parents. We love soup and I have very adventurous eaters but this was edgier than usual. The tofu and sweet potato ingredients would have put them off had I not hidden the recipe before tasting. This soup was a smashing success and they are begging me to make it again – NOW! That means the normal soup rotation is on hold with this recipe repeating with leftovers in as big a pot as I can make. It is absolutely delicious – THANK YOU!
Cara — October 25, 2012 @ 11:24 am
Thank you!! I love when I can tell people it’s not just me and my husband who liked a recipe 🙂 I especially love being able to tell people about the great things you can do with tofu without having to taste it! Glad you liked this 🙂