The Magical Slow Cooker » Recipes » Chili » Copycat Wendy’s Chili Recipe
bySarah Olsonon | Updated 49 Comments
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If you love the taste of Wendy’s chili, you can now recreate this masterpiece in the comfort of your own kitchen with this Copycat Wendy’s Chili Recipe. Everything from the beans and veggies to the spices is there, making this one of the best copycat recipes out there.
I have several more copycat recipes too. You should also check out my Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole, Slow Cooker Cafe Rio Sweet Pork, and Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Spaghetti (Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Copycat).
What makes copycat Wendy’s Chili so good?
There’s something about Wendy’s chili that we can all agree is simply irresistibly delicious. All the spices, chunks of bell peppers, green chilies, and chunks of their hamburger patties make this hearty chili a worthwhile purchase every time.
When you’re looking to have this favorite chili on demand, use this easy chili recipe to have Wendy’s chili any day and time. (Yes, even for breakfast.) It’s so good, you’ll want to make a double batch.
Recipe Ingredients
Ground Beef: You’ll notice that Wendy’s chili has actual chunks of their hamburger patties, but for this Wendy’s copycat chili recipe, you’ll use fresh ground beef.
Tomatoes: Canned tomatoes and tomato paste are used to create part of the flavorful base and hearty texture.
Beans: A host of beans are needed to make this a classic copycat of Wendy’s chili recipe. One can each of pinto beans and red kidney beans are drained and rinsed.
Vegetables: Fire roasted green chiles and diced celery, white onion, and chopped green bell pepper encompass both the look and flavor of Wendy’s chili.
Seasonings: Minced garlic, apple cider vinegar, chili powder, salt, and black pepper seal the deal on this easy chili recipe.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Place the fresh ground beef into a nonstick skillet.
Step Two – Cook beef over medium high heat until brown and no longer pink.
Step Three – Drain any excess fat and transfer the cooked ground beef to a 6 quart slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients.
Step Four – Stir, cover, and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours. Serve and enjoy!
How to serve
Imagine all the fixings provided by Wendy’s. They usually serve the chili with saltine crackers, cheese, and hot sauce.
Since you’d be serving this delicious chili at home, you can also add your favorite toppings such as additional shredded cheese, diced onion, sour cream, cooked bacon, and diced green onions.
You can also serve this copycat Wendy’s chili on top of hot dogs to make yummy chili dogs or as a topping for nachos.
Recipe FAQs and Variations
Do I have to brown the ground beef first?
This can be made without browning the meat first. You will also have to skim out the fat after the cooking time is up. You can also use ground turkey.
To store the chili, refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To freeze, let the chili cool completely and store it in a freezer safe airtight container for up to 3 months.
What is the best way to reheat this Wendy’s chili copycat recipe?
To reheat the chili, warm single servings in the microwave, or to reheat a larger batch, reheat on the stove top in a large pot over medium low heat. Allow the frozen chili to defrost in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Can I add other beans to this a thicker chili recipe?
Doing so wouldn’t necessarily keep it a copycat recipe; however, you can add any type of beans you prefer. Black beans or ranch style beans make a great addition.
How can I make this chili spicy?
You can add a few shakes of cayenne pepper, chopped jalapeno peppers (with the seeds), or extra hot sauce should do the trick.
How do I make this a hearty meal?
In addition to adding more to the chili recipe like diced tomatoes, green bell peppers, or stewed tomatoes, serve it alongside tortilla chips or Fritos scoops.
Here are many more Slow Cooker Chili Recipes:
Slow Cooker V8 Chili
Slow Cooker Cincinnati Chili
Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili
Slow Cooker No Bean Texas Chili
Slow Cooker Beef Enchilada Chili
Slow Cooker Venison Chili
Slow Cooker Chipotle Turkey Chili
Slow Cooker Steakhouse Chili
Slow Cooker Poblano White Chicken Chili
Slow Cooker Low Carb Beef and Bacon Chili
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Sour Cream and Shredded Cheddar for Toppingoptional
Instructions:
Heat a medium sized nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and brown until no longer pink. Drain the meat to remove excess fat. Transfer the cooked ground beef to a 6 quart slow cooker.
To the slow cooker, add the rest of the ingredients and stir.
Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
Serve hot, top with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheddar. Enjoy!
How to Video:
Sarah’s Notes:
To Store the chili, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To freeze, let the chili cool completely and store in a freezer safe airtight container for up to 3 months.
To reheat the chili, warm single servings in the microwave, or to reheat a larger batch, reheat on the stove top over medium low heat.
Allow the frozen chili to defrost in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
This can be made without browning the meat first. You will also have to skim out the fat after the cooking time is up. You can also use ground turkey.
Stir some puréed pumpkin into your chili just after sautéing your aromatics (onions, garlic, etc...) and before adding any liquid. This will deepen and sweeten its flavor, making it a great balance for all the chile peppers and heat.
He even asked himself, “what do you do with the leftover hamburger?” The answer was simple: combine the beef we use for our hamburgers with a hearty helping of vegetables, chili beans and a dash of spice.
Interestingly enough, Wendy's canned chili, which costs $4.99 for a 15-oz.can, is much more packed full of the substantial stuff. Each spoonful is overflowing with beans, visible chunks of green pepper, and an amount of ground beef that feels proportional to the rest of the ingredients.
We prep from scratch every day—slicing our tomatoes by hand, preparing our house-made chili and cooking our bacon to ensure quality and freshness in every order.
Butter smooths out the bitterness and adds its unique richness, making you take another bite without quite knowing why. A dash of sugar and vinegar gives a sweet-sour flavor that also makes the sauce rounder and more satisfying.
Although canned chili will already have some seasonings, fresh herbs and spices will add bolder flavor. You can upgrade your chili using ingredients you likely already have on your spice rack, such as chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper.
For refrigerator storage, use an airtight container. The chili should be good for up to four days. To reheat, simply cook on the stovetop over medium heat. This recipe stores exceptionally well, so your leftovers will be just as good—or better—the next day.
Instead of adding water to your chili, add some more flavor with chicken or beef broth, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, or even beet or wine. Each one of these options brings out different notes and levels of sweetness that will enhance your culinary creation.
Spices: Freshly ground cumin is a must. If it's not fresh, then don't bother. Secret Ingredients & Technique: I like extra hot chili, so I round up all spicy ingredients. I cool it down by piling on lots of fresh fixins' including scallions, cilantro, and sour cream.
Accordingly, Wendy's developed an off-putting solution: Incorporate old, unsold burger patties into the restaurant's chili. Find this fact a little too disgusting to be true? As reported by Entrepreneur, the practice for making Wendy's chili was demonstrated by a staff member at the chain.
Are Wendy's hamburgers really fresh and never frozen? Yes, Wendy's uses fresh, never frozen beef on every hamburger, every day. * We go the extra mile to ensure we are sourcing only the highest quality beef, and we transport fresh beef in refrigerated trucks to Wendy's restaurants thousands of times every week.
Wendy's chili is made with beef, beans, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and a blend of spices. Although the beans do contain some carbohydrates, the high content of fiber and resistant starch means this meal will have little impact on blood sugar.
Wendy's chili dates back to the very beginning of the franchise. When Wendy's opened in 1969, there were only five items on the menu: signature burgers, fries, soft drinks, chili, and the famous Frosty. Dave Thomas didn't go into the restaurant business dying to have chili on the menu, it just sort of happened.
If you're in the mood for something hearty and filling, the chili is low points and high in protein. A small chili is 5 points, and since it's low you could combine it with a full-size 10-point salad for a filling meal.
There's nothing quite like a hearty bowl of soup to warm and fill you up on a cold day, and when it comes to healthy Wendy's food, chili's tough to beat. A large chili has just 340 calories per serving and 15 grams of fat.
Wendy's confirmed to TODAY.com that it has discontinued the Grilled Chicken Sandwich to make way for the new Grilled Chicken Ranch Wrap, which seems to be a dupe of McDonald's discontinued Chicken Wrap Snack Wrap.
Chili: According to Wendy's representatives, their Chili does NOT contain milk in the ingredients. They label it as “contains milk” due to the potential cross-contamination of the burger patties on the grill. Cheese is also used on the grill, and the patties are chopped and added to the chili.
Where there's chipotle smoke, there's chili fire. Bush's® Chili Magic® Campfire Style brings tender pintos together with smoky chipotle and green bell peppers for quick, unforgettable chili any night of the week. Available in: 15.5 oz.
This special sauce is a blend of savory, tangy, and slightly sweet flavors that elevate the burger to a whole new level of deliciousness. While the exact ingredients of the secret sauce are closely guarded by Chili's, it's believed to contain a combination of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and select spices.
Introduction: My name is Mr. See Jast, I am a open, jolly, gorgeous, courageous, inexpensive, friendly, homely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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