Hot Dog Chili
This Southern Style Hot Dog Chili is made with ground beef, garlic, beef broth, tomato sauce and seasonings (no beans!) So much flavor!
SOUTHERN STYLE HOT DOG CHILI RECIPE
For me, the key is to a great homemade Hot Dog Chili recipe is that it won’t overtake the taste of the hot dog (cause I wanna taste that too). Plus, there are so many topping options for everybody to choose from when assembling their own Chili Dog, it makes it super easy to customize exactly how you like it. Serving Hot Dog Chili is a great idea at potlucks, parties, get togethers, backyard BBQ’s or just because. Just keep it on the warm setting in the slow cooker and let everyone serve themselves!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S)
Hot dog chili is much thicker than soup chili. It also usually doesn’t contain beans. The meat in hot dog chili is also very finely ground whereas in soup chili, it is chunkier. Also, hot dog chili is usually made with tomato paste rather than tomatoes. Now obviously, this can vary by region and people’s personal preferences.
It’s made of beef, onion, garlic, and a bunch of herbs and spices. Again, this can vary by region but this is how we do it.
This chili wonderful served on tater tots and french fries. Throw some melted cheddar cheese on top and it’s over-the-top delicious. I also really love this chili on baked potatoes! Note: if you want the full Appalachian chili dog experience, you must add some Cole Slaw and a little Chow Chow on top of the chili!
I don’t recommend it. It only takes a few minutes to make on the stovetop, so what’s the point in dragging out the slow cooker. Besides, either way you make it, you’ll have to brown the beef first, so adding the slow cooker step just means more dishes. However, you can certainly add it to the slow cooker to keep warm if serving for guests.
Yup. If you like spicy Hot Dog Chili, feel free to add some diced jalapenos or diced green chiles to the mix.
Sure, if you think this Hot Dog Chili is a little too thick for you, you can add a bit more water, chicken broth, or beef broth to thin it out. Just add a little at a time until you get it to your desired thinness.
Sure. Make your chili for the hot dogs and keep it warm in a slow cooker. When ready to serve, you can do so from there. Or make it, then pop it in a covered container in the refrigerator and re-heat when ready.
This acts a thickener. You can leave it out if you want a thinner chili.
Put it in a covered container in the refrigerator and it will keep up to 5 days. You can also freeze leftover chili. Put it in a freezer-safe ziploc bag. Remove as much air as possible. Chili will keep in the freezer up to 3 months.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
HOW TO MAKE HOT DOG CHILI
Put a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil in medium sauce pan. On medium-high heat, saute onion until translucent, then add garlic.
Stir for about a minute, then add ground beef. As beef begins to brown, use a potato masher to grind up the beef into small bits. Once brown, add in the rest of the ingredients (if your beef produced a lot of grease, you may want to strain some of that out first before adding the rest of the ingredients.)
Give it all a good stir to combine then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Do a taste test at this point to see if it has enough salt. If you want, you can transfer the chili over to a Crock Pot and put it on the keep warm setting.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
- Crock Pot Chili Cheese Dogs
- Quick Sauerkraut
- Grilled Hot Dog and Potato Packets
- Hot Dog Corn Casserole
- The Best Crock Pot Chili
- Copycat Wendy’s Chili
- 100 Ground Beef Recipes
Originally published: March 2011
Updated photos and Republished: March 2024
Homemade Hot Dog Chili
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 ½ Tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup beef broth (or water)
- 3 Tablespoons corn meal
- ½ Tablespoon kosher salt (or to taste)
Instructions
- Put 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil in medium sauce pan.
- On medium-high heat, saute 1/2 onion, finely chopped, then add 1-2 cloves garlic, minced.
- Stir for about a minute, then add 1 pound lean ground beef.
- As beef begins to brown, use a potato masher to grind up the beef into small bits. If your beef produces a lot of grease, be sure to strain it before proceeding to the next step.
- Once brown, add in 2 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 3 Tablespoons tomato paste, 1 cup beef broth, 3 Tablespoons corn meal, and 1/2 Tablespoon kosher salt.
- Give it all a good stir to combine then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Do a taste test at this point to see if it has enough salt.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Oh my, hotdogs reminds me of summer. My husband would want a regular beer to go with it.
I live in Chicagoland, so the hot dog is near and dear to me – just don't put ketchup on it!
I can just imagine that chili with fries – yum!!
In the summertime we have hot dogs so often on the open fire! It seems so long ago, I know at the first almost warm evening, Mr. Rosemary will be asking if we have any dogs. (I'll surprise him with the chili!)
I was just over at a friends this morning who said she had a chili dog last night. I'm really picky about my dogs but needless so say this looks delish!
I think my brother would love these….goonna make these for him when he visits chicago and i hope it's soon…hehe.
yum! That looks good! You should come link it up to my What's Cooking Wednesday linky tomorrow!Diane
I think I have a few boys in the house that would enjoy this recipe!
Nothing like a good chili dog! I'm going to have to try that brand..and I'll be sure to pick up some Stewart's Rut Beer :o)
I have never had chilli on a hot dog before. Sounds interesting.
🙂 Mandy
We are a chili dog family here, Brandie. Love them so much. Your chili recipe sounds wonderful! I'm with you on the split top hot dog buns. I could never find them in Louisiana. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
My husband and boys would love this too! 🙂
Wow this looks amazing! Tater tots sound wonderful too. Soo ready for summer and this is the perfect dish!
Brandie, I love your sense of humour. Must be tough keeping a couple of hot dog connoisseurs happy! Great job.
Can't wait for summer! Your dog looks so good piled high with chili like that, yum! Like the split-top bun, too, less messy if that were possible with a chili dog.
Lizzy, I know WAY more about hot dogs than I probably should…hee hee.
Don't even get me started on pizza!! ;o)
LOL, Brandie, you know a lot about hot dogs 🙂 I've never even had a chili dog, but that may change soon! Yours look awfully good~
I along with Becky grew up on the Chicago dog, lots of veggies (might as well be a burger with a whole pickle and slices of tomato on it) and love it to this day. Then I grew up and moved away and discovered chili dogs… AMAZING!!! Oh and chili fries… Ok I'm hungry!
I just got done telling a colleague how much I love hot dogs as a guilty pleasure. Thanks for bringing these to me while I have hot dogs on the brain!!
This is one super beautiful hot dog!!! My mouth is all watery now, yum yum yum! Thank you for sharing 🙂
I'm going to give this chili recipe a try. We love chili dogs here! I've never seen those split top buns before. Thanks for mentioning those. I'll be on the lookout for them. And those Hebrew National dogs are the only ones that are eaten in this house!
Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer
Yum..that looks good!
My hubby LOVES chili dogs…or just hot dogs period!! He's from Indiana also..maybe that explain it! The kids always hated it when I needed him to cook for me..guess what they'd always have?? 🙂
Wow that looks wonderful. My daughter would dig right in!
Mmmmmmmmm Chili Dogs… *drool*
Mmmmmmmmm Chili Tots ..*drool* : )
Tasty hot dog..You did an amazing job! I'm totally drooling :))
Oh No! If you have an authentic Chicago Hot dog, no ketchup. That's the rule;) we eat Portillos Hot dogs! Your chili dogs look good though. Every region has their own version of the hot dog.