Ultimate Chili Cheese Dogs with Homemade Chili

These chili cheese dogs with homemade no-bean chili are the ultimate comfort food! Made with brioche buns that are filled with hot dogs and smothered in a generous amount of homemade beef chili, shredded cheddar cheese, diced onions, and optional jalapeños (if you like a spicy kick), there’s nothing basic about these chili dogs. They’re easy enough for a weeknight dinner and great for late summer potlucks.

Why These Are the Best Chili Cheese Dogs

• Rich, no-bean chili. This beef chili has a deep, rich flavor and is thick enough to stay on a hot dog (although, you’ll have a hard time not loading it on the dogs because it’s so good). 
• Ready in an hour and make-ahead friendly. Most chilis require hours of cooking to develop flavors, but this one takes less than an hour. You can also make the chili ahead of time (it refrigerates well), then heat it up and top the hot dogs when you’re ready to eat. 
• Melty cheese + hot dog chili = best comfort food ever. Is there anything more comforting than melty cheese? How about cheese on top of homemade stick-to-your-ribs chili? Hey, we’re not saying it’s healthy (it’s not), but it IS comforting and delicious!
• Easily customizable. If you don’t like beef, feel free to substitute another ground meat and broth in the chili and use a different kind of hot dog. You can also use meatless crumbles, vegetable broth, and veggie dogs to make this meat-free.
• Perfect for BBQs, family dinners, or movie night. The chili is super easy to scale up for more people, so it’s great for parties and gatherings. It also keeps well in the fridge or freezer (thaw it overnight in the fridge before reheating on the stove), and can be used as a topping for burgers, Frito pie, or fries.

Why This Homemade Chili Works for Hot Dogs

If you’ve only had canned chili on your chili cheese dogs, this homemade no-bean version will blow your mind! 

Many chilis are great in a bowl, eaten with a spoon with cornbread or corn chips on the side. But in this case, soupy chili means a soggy bun and a messier-than-needed dining experience. Our hot dog chili skips the beans because they’re likely to fall off the bun, and it’s thickened up with cornstarch so that every bite of these chili cheese dogs is loaded with flavor and stays in place.

Ingredients in Chili Cheese Dogs

The most involved part of this recipe is the chili itself, but even that is fairly simple. Other than the chili, you’ll need a few things for the loaded hot dogs to complete the dish.

Homemade Chili

• Ground beef – use lean (83-89% lean, 17-11% fat) or extra lean (90-96% lean, 4-10% fat) ground beef for this. Fat is flavor, but we don’t recommend using fattier beef than lean or extra lean because it’ll make the chili too greasy. For more information about ground beef percentages, check out this Simply Recipes article.
• Red bell pepper – for a touch of sweetness and peppery flavor. 
• Onion – yellow, sweet, or red onion all work well. Just use whatever kind you plan to use for topping the chili cheese dogs later. 
• Low-sodium beef broth – using low-sodium allows you to control the salt level of the chili so that you can season it to your liking.
• Crushed tomatoes and tomato paste – for additional volume and rich flavor.
• Spices – you’ll need chili powder, cumin powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. 
• Brown sugar – for a touch of sweetness and balance.
• Cocoa powder – for richness and flavor (don’t worry; it won’t make the chili taste like chocolate).
• Cornstarch – this will help thicken the chili so that it stays on the hot dogs. 

Loaded Chili Dogs

• Buns – for best structure and the lowest chance of falling apart when topped with chili, we recommend brioche buns.
• Hot dogs – we use beef hot dogs, but you can use a different kind of hot dog instead.
• Onion – we like the additional sharpness of raw onions on top of our chili dogs. You can use whatever kind of onion you used for the chili to keep things simple.
• Shredded cheddar cheese – for best melting ability, be sure to shred your own cheese instead of buying pre-shredded. 
• Sliced jalapeños – we like spicy food and love to add these to our chili dogs. If you don’t like spice, you can leave them off.

How to Make These Cheesy, Loaded Hot Dogs (Step-By-Step)

Make the chili first.

1. Cook the beef. Heat oil in a pot over medium heat and add the ground beef. Season with salt and a couple turns of black pepper. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking the meat into small pieces. Unlike regular chili, you don’t want large chunks of meat in hot dog chili as they’re more likely to fall off of the hot dog. Once cooked, remove the beef from the pot and set aside.
2. Add the vegetables. Add the onions and peppers to the pot, season them with salt, and cook them for 6 to 8 minutes. 
3. Add the cooked beef and tomato paste. Return the ground beef to the pot, then move the beef away from the center to create a well, or space in the middle of the pot. Add the tomato paste to that empty space and cook for about 1 minute to get rid of the raw tomato flavor, then mix it in with the meat and veggies. 
4. Add the spices, sugar, and liquids. Add all of the spices, brown sugar, and cocoa powder and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then mix in the crushed tomatoes and broth. Bring the mixture to a low boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pot with a lid, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes. 
5. Thicken the chili. Remove the lid and skim off any fat from the top of the chili with a spoon (totally optional, but recommended if not using lean beef). Increase the heat to medium. Whisk together the cornstarch and water to create a slurry, then stir it into the chili to thicken it.  

Assemble the chili cheese dogs.

1. Cook the hot dogs and toast the buns. Heat up the hot dogs on the grill or in a pan, oven, or microwave (we prefer grilling or pan toasting them), and warm up the buns in the oven or toaster oven. 
2. Top the dogs. Place the hot dogs in the buns, then top each hot dog with a couple spoonfuls of chili, some shredded cheese, onions, and optional jalapeños.

Ultimate Chili Cheese Dogs with Homemade Chili

These ultimate chili cheese dogs are made with brioche buns that are filled with hot dogs and smothered in a generous amount of homemade beef chili, shredded cheddar cheese, diced onions, and optional jalapeños.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time:15 minutes mins

Cook Time:50 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Meat & Seafood

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Easy, summer

Servings: 8

Ingredients

Homemade Chili

• 1 pound lean or extra lean ground beef
• 1/2 red bell pepper diced
• 1/2 onion diced (can use yellow, sweet, or red)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes canned
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp water
• 3/4 tsp sea salt, divided plus more, if needed
• Cracked black pepper to taste

Chili Dogs

• 8 hot dogs
• 8 brioche hot dog buns
• 1/4 onion diced (can use yellow, sweet, or red)
• Cheddar cheese shredded
• Jalapeños sliced (optional)

Instructions

Make the Homemade Chili

• Heat oil in a pot over medium heat and add the beef. Season with ½ tsp salt and a couple turns of black pepper. Cook the beef for 8-10 minutes, breaking into small pieces. Remove the beef from the pot and set aside.
  1 pound lean or extra lean ground beef, 1 tbsp olive oil, 3/4 tsp sea salt, divided, Cracked black pepper
• Add onions and peppers to the pot and season with ¼ tsp salt and cracked black pepper. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until slightly softened.
  1/2 red bell pepper, 1/2 onion, 3/4 tsp sea salt, divided
• Add the cooked ground beef back to the pot.
• Make a well in the center of the pot and add tomato paste. Cook for about 1 minute and mix in with the meat and veggies.
  1 tbsp tomato paste
• Mix in the spices, brown sugar, and cocoa powder and cook 1-2 minutes.
  2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tbsp brown sugar
• Add in crushed tomatoes and broth, then bring the chili to a low boil.
  1 cup low-sodium beef broth, 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• Reduce heat, cover with a lid, and cook for 30-40 minutes.
• Remove lid, skim off any fat from the top of the chili (optional but recommended if not using lean beef), and increase the heat to medium.
• Whisk together cornstarch and 1 tbsp water and stir into the chili to thicken.
  1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tbsp water

Assemble the Chili Cheese Dogs

• Heat up the hot dogs in a pan, oven, or on the grill, and warm up the buns in the oven or toaster oven. Then place the hot dogs in the buns.
  8 hot dogs, 8 brioche hot dog buns
• Top each hot dog with a couple spoonfuls of chili, some shredded cheese, onions, and jalapeños, if using.
  1/4 onion, Cheddar cheese, Jalapeños