Hot Dog Chili Recipe with Fine Beef Crumbles

Hot Dog Chili

Hot dog chili needs to be thick enough to stay on the dog but moist enough to spoon along the bun. This bean-free version has small beef crumbles in a reddish-brown sauce made with tomato paste, chili powder, and water. Break up the beef as it browns with onion, then simmer the sauce uncovered until a spoonful holds together without a watery rim. Serve it on warm hot dogs with different finishes of cheddar, mustard, and raw onion.

Time: 10 minutes prep, about 35 minutes cook; about 45 minutes total. Yield: About 8 chili dogs.

Ingredients for Hot Dog Chili

For the chili

• 1 lb ground beef, preferably 85–90% lean (about 450g)
• 1/2 cup finely minced onion (75g)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste (about 50g)
• 3/4 cup water, plus more as needed
• Optional: a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, for a hotter chili

For serving

• 8 hot dogs
• 8 hot dog buns
• 1/2 cup shredded yellow cheddar cheese (55g)
• 1/4 cup finely diced white onion (40g)
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard, or as needed

The minced onion cooks in the chili. Keep the diced white onion raw for topping the finished dogs.

How to Make Hot Dog Chili

1. Prepare the onions: Finely mince the onion for the chili. Dice the separate white onion for serving and set it aside.
2. Cook and crumble the beef: Warm a 10- to 12-inch skillet or medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the beef and minced onion. Cook for 7 to 9 minutes, breaking up the beef immediately and repeatedly pressing apart larger pieces, until the onion softens and the beef is lightly browned and cooked through. Ground beef should reach 160°F (70°C) if checked with a food thermometer. Drain excess fat before making the sauce.
3. Build the sauce: Stir in the chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and optional cayenne. Add the tomato paste and 3/4 cup water; stir until the paste is evenly distributed.
4. Simmer uncovered: Reduce the heat to medium-low and keep the chili at a gentle simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and more often as it thickens. Start checking after about 20 minutes. A spoonful should hold together without watery liquid collecting around it, while the beef stays moist and coated. Simmer a little longer if loose; if dry or pasty, stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time. Taste and adjust the salt.
5. Warm and assemble: Near the end of the simmer, heat the hot dogs according to their package directions and warm the buns if desired. Place each hot dog in a split bun and spoon chili along its length.
6. Add the toppings: For a row of four differently finished dogs, top one with cheddar, leave one with chili alone, add mustard and diced white onion to the third, and add diced onion to the fourth. Offer the remaining toppings separately. Serve while warm.

How to Get Fine Beef Crumbles

Break up the beef while it is still soft in the pan; once large pieces brown, they are harder to separate. Keep pressing and stirring as it cooks. The finished chili should have small, distinct crumbles, not a smooth texture. Draining the excess rendered fat before adding the sauce also helps it coat the beef rather than separate.

How Thick Should Hot Dog Chili Be?

Lift a spoonful from the pan. It should hold together with no watery rim, yet still look moist enough to spread along a hot dog. A wide skillet may reduce the sauce faster than a narrower saucepan, so use the texture rather than the clock as the final guide. Keep simmering uncovered if the chili is runny, or add water a tablespoon at a time if it becomes pasty.

If you want a bean-filled chili for a bowl instead, try Wendy’s copycat chili.

Storage and Reheating

Let leftover chili sauce cool, then refrigerate it in a covered container for up to 3 to 4 days, separate from the hot dogs, buns, and raw toppings. Reheat it thoroughly in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring in a splash of water if it has thickened. Heat the hot dogs and assemble just before serving so the buns do not become soggy.

For longer storage, freeze the cooled chili sauce alone in an airtight container for up to 2 months for best quality. Thaw it in the refrigerator before reheating.

Nutrition

Approximate nutrition per assembled chili dog, based on 8 servings with the listed cheese, mustard, and onion divided across the batch: 420 calories, 23g protein, 24g fat, and 28g carbohydrates. Per 100g: approximately 215 calories, 12g protein, 12g fat, and 14g carbohydrates. Values vary with the hot dogs, buns, beef leanness, drained fat, and toppings used.