Chicken Dip Recipe

Ginger, garlic, and cashews folded into shredded chicken over a bed of cream cheese — the cold party dip nobody else brings, and the plate that goes empty first.

Alright friends, this might blow your mind, but this chicken dip recipe is not the buffalo chicken dip recipe that we all know and love. I love that one too.

This is a different kind of chicken dip. But I can promise you’ll love this one just as much!

One that brings together the unique flavors of ginger, garlic, cashews, shredded chicken, sweet and sour sauce and cream cheese.

I can swear to you that you’ll love this and so will everyone else!

This is the one I bring when I want the appetizer table to have something nobody has seen before. It sits next to the buffalo dip and the veggie tray, and it’s the plate that goes empty first.

Oriental Chicken Dip Recipe

Heading to the party but have no idea what to bring?

Here’s the problem: everyone brings the same darn thing. It’s buffalo chicken dip, it’s a veggie tray or it’s cheese and crackers.

Little smokies will have their same spot at the table no doubt as well.

But, I have a solution.

I can almost promise you that no one is going to bring this Oriental Chicken Dip recipe but everyone will go crazy for it. And, I have no doubt that you’ll get asked for the recipe (always a huge win in my book!)

In fact I always do whenever we take it somewhere. It’s my husbands favorite appetizer and you’re going to wonder how this can be once you see the ingredient list.

I swear it’s the best and it will solve the boring appetizer table problem that so many of us face.

How I make this chicken dip:

Gather your ingredients:

Cold Asian Chicken Dip Recipe

The ingredient list is weird as heck, but you’re going to love how the ginger, garlic, cashews and chicken come together! And, laid on top of cream cheese, it’s absolutely perfect.

A hearty cold appetizer that everyone goes crazy over!

• 4 cups shredded or finely diced chicken breast
• 1 cup carrots, diced
• 2/3 cup fresh leaf parsley, diced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 2/3 cup cashews, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 T fresh grated ginger (or 1 T dried ginger)
• 2 bars cream cheese to spread under dip
• 1/2 cup sweet & sour sauce to drizzle on top

1. Mix the first 7 ingredients and let it sit in the fridge preferably 24 hours
2. Spread the cream cheese on a flat plate
3. Drizzle sweet & Sour sauce over the chicken mixture
4. Serve with Triscuits (or other crackers of choice)

What I’ve learned making this:

The 24 hours in the fridge is the whole recipe. The garlic, ginger, and green onion need that time to work into the chicken, and a mixture made the same day tastes flat next to one made the night before.

For the drizzle, put the sweet and sour sauce in a baggie and snip off a corner. You get thin, even lines across the whole plate instead of one big puddle in the middle.

 

 

How long is this dip good for?

The chicken mixture will be good for up to four days. Sometimes if it’s just my hubby and I eating this I’ll make the full batch of chicken, but only use one bar of cream cheese and half of the chicken mixture.

And then make the second half the next night.

We’ve split this for dinner many-a-nights.

More chicken recipes:

• Crack Chicken Recipe
• Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas

 

 

How many people does this chicken dip feed?

If you can imagine the quantity of two bars of cream cheese spread thin over two dinner sized plates and topped with the chicken mixture, that’s how much dip you’ll have. This oriental chicken dip is the perfect dip to bring to a party.

Is this a cold chicken dip?

This chicken dip is served cold. The cream cheese is spread on a big plate and then the chicken mixture is piled on top of the cream cheese.

And, a light drizzle of sweet and sour sauce is drizzled on top.

I serve this with Triscuits, but pretzel crackers are good, too.

Can this be made as a Keto Chicken Dip?

If you want to make this an easy Keto appetizer leave off the sweet and sour sauce and serve it with celery – easy peasy!

More Keto recipes:

• Keto Lasagna
• Keto Everything Bagels
• Zuppa Toscana Keto Soup
• Keto Instant Pot Dinner Recipes
• Cajun Shrimp Keto Bites

Would you consider this a hearty chicken appetizer?

Yes! Because this has real chicken and cashews, it’s actually pretty filling.

Like I said earlier, my husband and I will split this as our dinner every once in awhile!

Can this be a hot chicken appetizer?

I would not recommend warming this chicken dip up and serving as a hot appetizer. Only because I haven’t ever tried it.

If you do try it though, let me know how it turns out!

Is this a chicken appetizer that can be made ahead?

I always make the chicken mixture ahead and 100% recommend it! The chicken mixture needs time to let the flavors come together.

Every party table has the same four things on it, and this is how you bring the fifth. One bowl of chicken mixture tonight, two plates of dip tomorrow, and everyone asking who brought it.

A Closer Look at the Ingredients

The chicken

Four cups of shredded or finely diced chicken breast is the base. The finer you cut it, the better it holds together on a cracker, so I dice it small rather than leaving long shreds.

A rotisserie chicken gets you there with no cooking. Two breasts poached and chopped work too, and so does a batch of crock pot shredded chicken from earlier in the week.

Carrots, parsley and green onion

A cup of diced carrot, two thirds of a cup of parsley, and four chopped green onions are the crunch and the color. Dice the carrot small or grate it so it mixes in evenly.

Flat leaf parsley has more flavor than curly. Either works, but chop it fine so you do not get big leaves in a bite.

Cashews

Two thirds of a cup, chopped. Roasted and lightly salted is what I buy. Raw cashews are softer and get lost, and heavily salted ones throw off the whole dip.

Garlic and ginger

Two cloves of minced garlic and three tablespoons of fresh grated ginger are the flavors that make people stop and ask what is in this. Fresh ginger is worth the trip.

If you only have dried ginger, use one tablespoon, as the recipe says. It is sharper than fresh, so do not go heavier than that.

Cream cheese

Two bars of cream cheese, spread flat on plates as the base. Let them sit out for thirty minutes first. Cold cream cheese tears instead of spreading.

Sweet and sour sauce

A half cup of bottled sweet and sour sauce drizzled over the top ties the ginger and cashews together. Duck sauce or plum sauce from the Chinese takeout drawer works the same way.

Step by Step, With the Details

Mix the chicken mixture

Stir the chicken, carrot, parsley, green onion, cashews, garlic, and ginger together in a bowl until the ginger and garlic are spread through everything. Cover it and refrigerate.

Wait a full day

Twenty four hours is the goal. The mixture made the same morning is fine, but the one made the day before tastes like a different recipe.

Spread the cream cheese

Spread one bar of softened cream cheese across a dinner plate in a layer about a half inch thick, all the way to an inch from the edge. Two bars means two plates.

Pile and drizzle

Spoon the chicken mixture over the cream cheese and press it down lightly so it stays put. Drizzle the sweet and sour sauce over the top right before it goes on the table.

Serve

Set a box of Triscuits or your favorite sturdy cracker next to it with a spreader. People scoop through the chicken and the cream cheese together.

Plating It So It Looks Like a Party

This dip is pretty if you take two extra minutes. Leave a clean rim of plate around the cream cheese, mound the chicken higher in the middle than at the edges, and drizzle in thin lines.

A few whole cashews and a little extra green onion scattered on top tell people what is in it before they taste it.

What to Serve It With

• Triscuits, which hold up to a heavy scoop
• Wheat Thins or club crackers
• Pita chips
• Cucumber rounds or celery for the low carb crowd
• Rice crackers if someone at the party is gluten free

Variations I Have Tried

Water chestnuts

A small can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped, adds a second crunch that holds up even after the cashews soften. This is the version my husband asks for.

A little heat

A teaspoon of sriracha stirred into the sweet and sour sauce before you drizzle it. Nobody notices the heat but everyone notices it tastes better.

Smaller batch

Halve the chicken mixture and use one bar of cream cheese for a single plate. The ginger and garlic amounts halve cleanly, and so does the waiting time, which stays at a day.

Taking It to a Party

Carry the chicken mixture in a covered bowl in a cooler, the cream cheese bars in their wrappers, and the sauce in its bottle. Assemble it on a plate once you arrive.

A plate assembled at home slides around in the car and arrives looking like a landslide. Five minutes at the host’s counter and it looks like it was just made, because it was.

Questions I Get About This Dip

Can I use canned chicken?

You can, drained very well and broken up with a fork. The texture is softer, so I would add the water chestnuts for crunch.

What about a nut allergy?

Roasted sunflower seeds or chopped water chestnuts give the crunch without the nuts. The dip is still good, it just loses the cashew flavor.

Can I use dried parsley?

Three tablespoons of dried parsley will do in a pinch, but you lose the fresh green color. Add extra green onion to make up for it.

Why does mine taste flat?

It did not sit long enough, or the ginger was old. Give it the full day, and buy a fresh knob of ginger rather than using one from the back of the crisper.

Can I warm it up?

This one is meant to be served cold, and warm cream cheese turns runny. If you want a hot chicken dip, make my crack chicken appetizer instead.

More Appetizers That Disappear First

• Crack Chicken Crescent Roll Appetizers
• Crockpot Spinach Artichoke Dip
• Real Cheese Queso Blanco Dip
• 8 Cheesy Dip Recipes for Game Day