BBQ Chicken Salad Dip (Guilt-free and Gluten-free)

From Thindulge

Serving suggestions

An excerpt from Thindulge"s Blog :
Every time I go to California Pizza Kitchen, I get the BBQ Chicken Salad. I’m Italian and we are a bit picky about the authenticity of our pizzas, so we tend to have a hard time eating the pizza at CPK, but this salad is amazing! I came across a BBQ chicken dip recipe and it inspired me to create a dip that had all the ingredients of the salad but in a dip instead. I don’t put the lettuce or tomatoes on top, as I love the look of the melted cheese. You eat with your eyes first, right? You can always add shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes on top if you want to go whole hog. Remember, when you’re in the kitchen, the recipe becomes yours, so change what you want. You may be reading my words, but yours are the hands putting it on the plate.

Tags

appetizer, thindulge, gf, chicken, iacp ebook

2/3 cups dried black beans
1 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 of a 1-oz package ranch salad dressing mix (recommended: Hidden Valley)
1 1/2 cups hickory flavored barbeque sauce
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 cups chopped cooked chicken (about 2 rotisserie chickens, skin and bones removed)
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
1 cup Pepper Jack cheese, divided
1 cup Cheddar cheese, divided
1 (11-oz) can no salt added corn, drained
Chives, for garnish
Baked tortilla chips, for serving

DIRECTIONS
The night before, prepare the beans. Check the beans for any misshapen beans, dirt or stones. Then soak the beans in a bowl and cover with cold water, removing any floaters. Use about 3 times as much water than beans.
The next day, rinse the beans in cold water three times. Then place in a saucepot and cover with cold water to about one inch higher than the beans. DO NOT SALT! Bring water to a boil. Skim the foam off the beans until most of the foam is gone and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 50-60 minutes or until beans are tender. Test 3 beans separately to make sure the entire pot is finished cooking. Drain beans and set aside until you are ready, refrigerating if more than 2 hours.
Combine the sour cream, ranch dressing mix, salt, pepper and cayenne. Add barbeque sauce and stir until combined. Add chicken, corn, beans, onion, 1/2 cup Pepper Jack and 1/2 cup Cheddar and mix until fully incorporated. Spoon mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes or until bubble. You may want to put a cookie sheet under the dish to catch any spillage.
Garnish with chives and serve immediately. Serve with baked tortilla chips.
Here’s the skinny:
First, I cut out a lot of sodium by cooking the beans myself instead of using canned beans. Also, I used a no salt added corn as well to cut out even more sodium.
I used full fat cheeses because others just don’t give a good crust, but I used 40% of what the recipe called for, so you’re saving 60% of the fat, calories, etc., from the cheese.
Also, I used a fat free sour cream and ranch dressing mix to cut out the fat from ranch dressing, but still getting the thicker consistency of sour cream.
Lastly, I served it with baked tortilla chips, which cut out more fat and calories (they aren’t reflected in the totals below either).
CALORIES SAVED: 1370
FAT SAVED: 153g
SATURATED FAT SAVED: 86g
SODIUM SAVED: 4074mg
CHOLESTEROL SAVED: 450mg