Summer is here and for us, that means we use the grill a lot. There’s just something about hamburgers and hot dogs in the middle of summer that is oh so perfect. While Carrigan loves her hot dog with ketchup and nothing more, I’m a fan of just a little extra something. This hot dog chili recipe is so perfect for making your favorite chili dogs!
This is a sponsored post on behalf of Wonder.
Hot Dog Chili Recipe
Hot dogs are one of Carrigan’s favorite food and her love for them means we’ve started eating them more often. Summer is the perfect time for hot dogs!
Justin mans the grill and we all enjoy the time we spend together in our backyard on warm summer evenings. But when it comes to hot dogs, I want chili cheese dogs every single time. Every single time.
We love to use Wonder Hot Dog and Hamburger buns for our summer meals. There’s just something about them that feels like summer. They’re just summer essentials and have to be part of our summer memories.
This summer Wonder has partnered with the United Services Organization (USO) to honor military men and women. The hot dog and hamburger packages feature stars, stripes, and camo in honor of our heroes!
Wonder is celebrating our nation’s heroes with the “Camo for the Cause” initiative. Wonder will be making a donation of $250,000 by its parent company (Flowers Bakeries, LLC) to support the USO and its efforts!
The “Camo for a Cause” packaging is only available through the end of July, so be sure to pick up some Wonder Classic hot dog and hamburger buns for your next cookout, picnic and other get-togethers!
Then think about trying your hand at making your own hot dog chili!
For the longest time, I just bought hot dog chili at the store and used that to make chili dogs. But most things are better when you make it yourself and homemade hot dog chili is no different! It’s so versatile!
If you didn’t know we’re huge fans of chili in our house! Carrigan also loves Instant Pot Chili Mac so I whip that up pretty often too! But there’s a difference between the chili I make for meals and for chili mac and the type of chili I make for our chili dog recipe.
The main difference is in the beans. In this hot dog chili recipe, there are no beans. Instead, you get a super simple ingredients list that turns into a tasty hot dog sauce you can actually use on hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, and tater tots (it’s delicious over tater tots with some cheese)!
Hot Dog Chili Recipe Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup minced onion
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
You’ll also need:
- 8 hot dogs
- 1 package Wonder Hot Dog Buns
- Toppings as desired
- Minced onions
- Mustard
- Corn chips
- French friend onions
How to Make Hot Dog Chili
The key to making really great hot dog sauce is getting your meat really smooth. You don’t want big chunks of ground beef in your chili dog sauce. By putting your meat in some water and then breaking it up until it’s smooth, it will brown up with the consistency that makes for great hot dog chili.
1. Place ground beef in a bowl and cover with water. Allow to sit for a few minutes and then use a spatula to break up the meat.
2. Add ground beef, water, onion, and garlic in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are soft.
3. Add in ketchup, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and stir well.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and allow to simmer over low heat.
5. Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until the hot dog chili sauce is your desired consistency.
6. Cook or grill hot dogs and place each hot dog in a Wonder Hot Dog bun.
7. Serve the homemade hot dog chili over hot dogs and top with your favorite toppings.
Printable Hot Dog Chili Sauce Recipe
Hot Dog Chili Sauce
Ingredients
For Hot Dog Chili Sauce
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup minced onion
- 1-2 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
You Also Need
- 8 hot dogs
- 1 pkg Wonder Hot Dog Buns
- minced onions
- shredded cheese
- corn chips
- mustard
Instructions
- Place ground beef in a bowl and cover with water. Allow to sit for a few minutes and then use a spatula to break up the meat.
- Add ground beef, water, onion, and garlic in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are soft.
- Add in ketchup, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and stir well.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and allow to simmer over low heat.
- Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until the hot dog chili sauce is your desired consistency.
- Cook or grill hot dogs and place each hot dog in a Wonder Hot Dog bun.
- Serve the homemade hot dog chili over hot dogs and top with your favorite toppings.
Remember to look for the exclusive Wonder and USO “Camo for a Cause” packaging through the end of July at your local grocery store. They’re great for making chili dogs! Actually, I think they might be some of the best hot dog buns for making chili dogs! My family agrees!
Karyn Deshazo says
This was awful! Too sweet to go on hot dogs. Very disappointed! Never use ketchup to make chili!
Diane says
I agree about ketchup…made mine with tomato paste…much better…
Michelle says
Made this for my family. They love it! Use it for sloppy joes as well as for hot dogs!
Martha Brown says
Agree with others that this is too sweet for hot dog chili. I could see it for Sloppy Joes. Three stars because even though it’s not to my taste, I suspect kids would like it, and it’s quick & easy to make, with not too many ingredients. I doctored it with additional chili powder & Worcestershire, and added a bit of cumin.
Dana says
This is a delicious hot dog chilli recipe! Don’t listen to the bad reviews until you try it!
Alice Osullivan says
This recipe is just so awesome, this is the first chili sauce I’ve found to work for us, thank you for this. Oh by the way I just happen to buy Wonder buns.
Allis says
It’s a good recipe. Too sweet for me. So, I changed it up a bit.
I sauteed the onions in a saucepan, before I browned the meat, with some avocado oil until they were just starting brown, then added in the garlic and sauteed it until I could smell it.
No water! Water gave it a texture that I didn’t care for. I used a potato masher to break up the meat while it browned.
No Ketchup. Instead, I used an 8oz can of tomato sauce, the no salt added variety.
Added 1/2 a tsp of ground black pepper.
And increased the chili powder to 1 Tbsp.
Everything else I left the same. Turned out beautifully delicious.
So good base recipe though. Thank you.
Dazey says
Tasted like manwich sloppy joe filling! Gross and disappointing that I wasted ingredients for this mess.
Yvette O says
I am confused about the water. Do you suggest breaking the ground beef down in water, then adding a cup more to the meat mixture while cooking?
I will only use1/2 cup ketchup an add more chili power
Please get back to me concerning the water, I really want to try your recipe
Thank you so much for the information
Yvette
Diane says
Don’t put in extra water…use the water you put the meat in into the pan…
Jennifer Warren says
I just made this and I loved it! It’s exactly what I wanted for my chili dog…fast and yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
Sarah says
My husband and I love your hot dog chili recipe! Hotdogs are very salty, and this sweet chili was a wonderful accompaniment. Thank you so much for your recipe!
Elizabeth says
This sauce is very similar to our hotdog/ spaghetti sauce. It’s better on salter hotdogs and soft bread. Although ours is more of a thick meat sauce. But it’s also sweet and good if you have other things to balance it out.
Ken says
Just made this and what a great base recipe that you can easily modify to suit your personal preferences. I had an open box of beef broth to use up so I swapped that for the water. Was running low on ketchup so supplemented with a few squirts of tomato paste to get to one cup. I typically only keep chipotle chili powder in my pantry so that is what I used. And finally, I grated the onion so it would melt into the sauce. Very flavorful. Not sure why everyone is complaining about it being too sweet! Thank you for sharing.
Julie says
I thought it was pretty good, just needed to tweak it a little to suit our taste, and I used a 1/2 cup water instead of 1 cup, one would have been too much!