Buffalo Chicken Pockets – Homemade pizza dough is stuffed with chicken, buffalo sauce, ranch dressing, and cheese and baked into a delicious pizza pocket.
My husband is major part of the recipe development process. Many times, the creations I have here on the blog are a product of one of Tyson’s requests. However, there has been something he’s been asking for that I haven’t been able to fulfill. But, with today’s recipe, maybe his luck is about to change!
Tyson has been begging me to make buffalo chicken dip for years. I’ve been hesitant to do this for a few reasons:
- Buffalo chicken dip is at almost every party we go to and I’m close to getting sick of it
- Why make it from scratch when I love the version I can buy from our local deli?
- What can I do with buffalo chicken dip that hasn’t been done?
All of the above forced me to think out of the box a little. While working on my recipe for homemade pizza dough, I thought about making calzones (which Tyson also loves). But instead of using traditional pizza ingredients for calzones, I decided to use all the makings of buffalo chicken dip: chicken, wing sauce, ranch dressing, and mozzarella cheese.
And with that, my Buffalo Chicken Pockets were born!
How to make these pockets
Making these pockets is much simpler than you think. First, the dough is made. It’s a simple pizza dough so you can use a store-bought version if you don’t want to take the time to make your own. But I promise it’s worth the effort!
After the dough is made, the filling ingredients are mixed and stuffed into 6 pockets. These pockets are pretty hefty so they’ll be the perfect size to feed one per person.
Once all the pockets are formed, they’re brushed with an egg wash and baked in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. To prevent a horrible burnt tongue situation, wait about 10 minutes until serving. A side of ranch dressing is always a good idea for dipping.
Tips & Tricks
- When proofing the dough, place the dough in your microwave while it’s off and close the door. This is a great environment for keeping cool, drafty air from affecting the rise time of the dough.
- I use rotisserie chicken for this recipe so I don’t have to cook chicken breasts before making these pockets. It saves me the time and effort but with all the same flavor.
- Don’t worry about rolling the dough into perfect shapes before filling – one you seal the pockets, you’ll have the opportunity to make them look symmetrical and pretty.
- The filling may leak out while baking. If this bothers you, feel free to provide an extra seal by tucking the edges. To do this, roll the edges toward the center until tight.
Buffalo Chicken Pockets
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¾ cup warm water
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large egg
For the filling:
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 2 cups chopped chicken
- ¼ cup wing sauce
- ¼ cup ranch dressing
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Add warm water to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the top. Let the yeast mixture activate for 10 minutes. Add in the flour, salt, and olive oil. Mix together until dough forms. Turn dough out onto clean, floured surface. Knead with your hands until soft, smooth dough forms, at least 6 minutes. Add more flour if dough sticks to the surface. Once dough is smooth and elastic, place into a greased bowl to rise for 1 ½ hours or until it has doubled in size.
- While dough is rising, make filling. Place cream cheese in a medium bowl. Microwave for 10 seconds to soften it. Add chicken, wing sauce, ranch dressing, and mozzarella cheese to bowl. Stir together until combined. Set aside for later use.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.
- Once dough has risen, punch it down and remove from bowl. Place onto clean counter and cut into 6 even wedges. Using a rolling pin, roll 1 wedge into a circle. Add ⅓ cup of filling to the center. Pull one edge of the dough over the center to seal the pocket. Using a fork, seal the edges. You can also roll the edges to make the seal extra-tight. Place pocket onto prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the 5 remaining wedges so that you have 6 filled pockets.
- Beat egg with 1 teaspoon of water to make egg wash. Brush egg wash over each pocket. Cut three slits in the center of each pocket to let the steam release while baking. Bake pockets in preheated oven and bake until tops are golden brown, about 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let them cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with ranch dressing for dipping.
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What a fun idea!! Can’t wait to try this for game day! My family will freak out!!
What an absolute genius recipe. This is going to be a game day essential for our household. Cannot wait to make this recipe!
When I was little and we would go to the pizzeria, I always wanted the calzones! They are so much fun to make…yours look so good! I love the idea of buffalo chicken! Yum!
This recipe is like a jazzed up calzone, which I love! It looks super flavorful and a great thing to have frozen for last-minute weekday meals. Thanks for sharing!
I really like how you took a very popular dip and made it your own. These buffalo chicken pockets will be perfect for serving at game day events this season.
Oh yeah! My family LOVES buffalo chicken dip, this is a MUST try for sure! I can guarantee its going to be a hit in this house!
This looks delicious.. I am hungry now xoxox
Nice pockets and stuffing! I’ve heard about this buffalo chicken dip but never actually tasted it. Sounds like something my husband would like! As for the dough, seems crunchy and tender at the same time. Only thing, it is not a regular pizza dough because of the egg in it 😉 .
I am fond of chicken pie but never tried it in buffalo flavor. Your images makes this recipe drool-worthy. I am absolutely making this for my next get together.
These buffalo chicken pockets look outstanding!! I love buffalo chicken anything but to have them in a little turnover? Brilliant. I can see serving this as an appetizer at my next party!
You can do the filling jn so many different way…I like it x
These look perfect in every way. They’d be fun to make for company or for just an evening to kick back at home! Thanks for the awesome recipe. Total buffalo chicken fan right here!
Yummy this looks so tasty! I wish I could still eat gluten.
These look absolutely amazing! I know my son would go crazy over them! I would love to make a bunch of them and freeze them to have them on hand all the time!
I want to go to your parties as I have never seen these delicious appetizers at any of mine!! I’m excited to throw a party and serve them to my friends and family!
Total crowd pleaser especially since you can customize each one per one’s preferences! Delish!
These chicken pockets look so delicious and I bet kids will love it too! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Ohhhh wow this looks SO good!! Like a homemade (healthier and yummier) hot pocket LOL! Gotta try this, many times with various fillings!! My kids will go bonkers!
Wow! This Buffalo Chicken Pockets looks really delicious! I’ve been looking for other recipe for Buffalo Chicken and you came at the right time!
They sound absolutely delicious, I need to give them a try! YUMMY
OMG this are so fun. Perfect for fun meal during the week. Great for entertaining. Awesome as part of a Game Day menu. The perfect finger food.