This is a filling and a vessel, and neither one meets heat. Two cups of already-cooked shredded chicken are bound with cream cheese and Greek yogurt, and six raw celery ribs are cut into twelve boats to hold it.
The blue cheese is on the outside. Crumbled over the top rather than stirred through, it stays visible.
Why This Recipe Works
- Cream cheese and Greek yogurt together bind the chicken without the filling sliding out of the groove.
- A third of a cup of buffalo sauce colours the filling orange without making it wet.
- Drying the celery very well is what stops the filling slipping on a damp surface.
- Keeping the components separate until serving prevents the celery softening in the filling's moisture.
Ingredient Notes
- Fully cooked chicken
- Two cups, finely shredded and already cooked. If you cook it for this recipe, take it to 165 degrees Fahrenheit first.
- Celery ribs
- Six large, each cut into two boats of 3 to 4 inches. Raw, and dried very well before filling.
- Blue cheese crumbles
- A third of a cup, on top rather than mixed in, so it stays visible.
How to Make It
Mix the filling
Stir cooked chicken, cream cheese, yogurt, buffalo sauce, garlic powder and salt until creamy.
Prepare the boats
Wash celery, dry it very well, and cut each rib into two 3- to 4-inch boats.
Fill
Spoon buffalo chicken mixture into the raw celery grooves.
Top
Top with blue cheese crumbles and parsley.
Serve or hold
Serve immediately, or refrigerate the filling and celery separately and assemble just before serving.
What Goes Into One Boat
Six ribs make twelve boats. This is one of them, and nothing in it has been near a stove.
What goes into one celery boat
The celery
Half a large rib, cut to 3 to 4 inches and dried very well. The groove is the vessel, and a damp one will not hold filling.
The buffalo filling
A twelfth of the mixture: 2 cups of finely shredded cooked chicken bound with 4 oz cream cheese and 1/3 cup Greek yogurt, coloured with 1/3 cup buffalo sauce and seasoned with garlic powder and salt.
Blue cheese crumbles
From the 1/3 cup, scattered on top rather than stirred through so it stays white against the orange.
Parsley
Chopped, over the top. Two tablespoons finish all twelve.
Served immediately - or with the filling and the celery kept apart in the fridge and assembled at the last minute, so the ribs stay crisp.
Success Tips
- Dry the celery properly. Filling slides straight off a wet rib.
- Shred the chicken finely — coarse pieces will not sit in a celery groove.
- If you are making these ahead, keep the filling and the celery apart until the last moment.
Serving Ideas
Twelve boats on a platter, each filled with the orange buffalo chicken and topped with blue cheese crumbles and chopped parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is anything cooked in this recipe?
No. The chicken arrives already cooked and the celery stays raw; the whole thing is assembly.
Can I leave out the blue cheese?
It is a visible component of the finished dish and one of the things that defines it.
Can I make them ahead?
Refrigerate the filling and the celery separately and assemble just before serving.
