Cheese Stuffed Buffalo Chicken with Ranch

Buffalo chicken is fantastic as it is, so imagine how incredible it would be to combine Buffalo sauce, mozzarella cheese and ranch, all together in one happy chicken breast. No need to imagine, it's here. First, I nestled a mozzarella cheese stick down the center of four chicken breasts (cheese sticks are great because they hold their shape when baking, melting just enough without bubbling up and out of the chicken). Then I seasoned the chicken with powdered ranch dressing/dip mix; powdered mix gives intense flavor, more than you would get with bottled dressing. The Buffalo sauce is a creamy, dreamy blend of hot sauce and mayonnaise (if you haven't tried brushing chicken with mayo before roasting, that alone will knock your socks off - now I've added hot sauce!).

This super simple dish has so many flavors going on, you'll be making it again and again.

Cheese Stuffed Buffalo Chicken with Ranch

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, about 4-5 ounces each
Salt and ground black pepper
4 mozzarella cheese sticks
4 teaspoons powdered ranch dressing or dip mix (I used Hidden Valley)
4 tablespoons hot sauce (I used Frank's)
4 tablespoons mayonnaise

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil (for easy clean up).
Arrange the chicken on the prepared pan and season with salt and pepper. Using a sharp paring knife, slice a straight line from one end of each chicken breast to the other, about the length of the cheese stick (don't cut all the way through to the bottom of the chicken). Insert the cheese sticks into the slices. Sprinkle the ranch over the chicken and cheese.
In a small bowl, whisk together the hot sauce and mayonnaise. Spoon the mixture all over the chicken.
Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Serves 4