CREAMY CHICKEN MARINARA Dip Recipe
The best place to get inspiration for a truly delicious dip is from the foods that we already love. Chicken marinara (aka Chicken parmesan) is a dish that we go back to over and over again. It’s a comfort dish that so satisfying…especially in dip form.
Now let’s get right to the good stuff…
how to make CREAMY CHICKEN MARINARA dip
INGREDIENTS:
Gather your ingredients and get ready to make this amazing dip, good enough to eat as a meal. This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
- 2 cups shredded chicken
- 1 8oz package cream cheese-softened
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- ½ cup toasted breadcrumbs
- salt & pepper to taste
creamy chicken marinara dip instructions:
Stick around to the end, and I’ll tell you how I made simple homemade bread crumbs.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a bowl, place the shredded chicken, soften cream cheese cut into cubes, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, ½ c mozzarella cheese and salt & pepper to taste. Mix together well.
- Then add in the marinara sauce and mix thoroughly.
- Grease or spray the inside of a 1 qt. baking dish and then spread the chicken mixture in the bottom.
- Spread on top the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
- Place in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle on toasted breadcrumbs (optional).
- Best paired with toasty garlic bread pieces for dipping.
a few tips…
Choose your favorite brand of marinara sauce. We used Rayo’s traditional. Each brand of sauce may vary in how thick it is. So, even though the recipe calls for 1 cup of marinara, when using the Rayo’s I ended up adding an additional 1/4 cup of sauce to get it to the creamy consistency that I wanted. You don’t want your dip to be too dry or too watery. You can see the consistency that we ended up with in the images above, and it turned out perfect. Use your judgement.
how to serve your yummy chicken dip
There are lots of things that you can dip into this delicious chicken dip, but our favorite is some toasted crusty garlic bread. I have the perfect recipe that you can check out HERE. You can also just use chunks of rustic bread, crackers, store made toasties, bagel chips or even tortilla chips. If you want a healthier version, use celery sticks or baby carrots.
how to make homemade bread crumbs
To make the perfect homemade bread crumbs, grab a few scraps of some crusty bread or even sandwich bread bread if that’s what you have on hand. You should have approximately 1 1/2 cups of bread. Break it into pieces and toss it in a food processor or blender (we used a mini food processor). Pulse until the bread is the size of the crumbs you want. Then drizzle a bit of olive oil onto the crumbs and pulse again. Spread in a pie plate and bake on 400 for 10 minutes, mixing half way through.
the best and easiest shredded chicken
We use a lot of shredded chicken in our house for various recipes throughout the week. So, I cook it all in one batch in the crockpot. Just trim the fat and cartilage off boneless and skinless chicken breasts and toss them in the crockpot. Add a pinch of salt and cook on high for approximately 6 hours. The chicken practically falls apart. Just use a couple of forks to shred it. Place in a covered container in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
P.S. I’m told by friends that this also works well with an Instapot. Of course, the cook time would be less.
P.P.S. If you’re a person who loves their gadgets, check out this gizmo that shreds the chicken for you. It makes the process even faster.
