If you love a good copycat recipe, then you absolutely cannot pass up this Wendy’s Chili. Super flavorful, easy, and absolutely filling, the best dinnertime meal.
I’m a sucker for a nice pot of chili on a cool winter’s day. This Wendy’s Chili is absolutely one of my all-time favorites, the flavors work so well together, and it is pretty much spot on.
Whenever I went to Wendy’s, this is something I would get every single time, but I got sick of wasting money, so why not make it at home?
Once you make this chili, you will never go back to the drive-thru again. You will make this over and over again, and you will not get sick of it.
Top with all your favorite toppings, and you have yourself a weeknight meal that the whole family will enjoy. Trust me, it is asked to be made more often than not in our house.
If you are looking for a new chili recipe and one that is well known, then you absolutely have to make my copycat Wendy’s Chili!
Some of my other favorite cold-weather meals that we have on our site include: Chicken Pot Pie Soup, Easy White Chicken Chili and Stuffed Pepper Soup.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Readily available ingredients help this come together in no time.
- Top with any of your favorite toppings.
- Makes a large batch but can double to serve more or freeze for later.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE BELOW):
Ground beef
Celery
Sweet onion
Green bell pepper
Chili seasoning
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Kosher salt
Pepper
Water
Dark red kidney beans
Pinto beans
Tomato sauce
Stewed tomatoes
Diced tomatoes with green chiles
Granulated sugar
White vinegar
HOW TO MAKE WENDY’S CHILI:
- In a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef, breaking it up into crumbles, 8-10 minutes. Drain any excess grease.
- Add the celery, onion, and bell pepper to the pan, stir it in to mix with the beef, and cook until the veggies have softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chili seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the water to the pot and scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Add the kidney beans, pinto beans, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, diced tomatoes with green chiles, and sugar, stir until combined. Try to break up any large pieces of stewed tomatoes if you can.
- Bring the chili up to a simmer, cover it and simmer for one hour, occasionally stirring to make sure nothing burns on the bottom of the pan.
- Before serving, take off the heat and stir in the white vinegar.
CAN I SERVE THIS CHILI OVER OR WITH ANYTHING?
Yes! That is what I love about pretty much any chili recipe, you can serve it with or on plenty of things! Some of my favorites include:
- Hot dogs
- Brats
- Sausages
- Burgers
- Baked potatoes
- Noodles
CAN I MAKE MY OWN CHILI SEASONING?
Yes, if you are not a fan of packaged chili seasoning, you can make your own homemade. This will change the flavor of the chili slightly depending on how you make yours.
Keep that in mind when you are wanting to keep to the theme of the copycat version.
WHAT TOPPINGS ARE BEST?
This is a recipe that you can literally top with anything. We like to top it with shredded cheese and sour cream like they do at Wendy’s, but others can be used.
Some of our other favorites that we have tried include: crushed crackers, tortilla chips, jalapeños, diced tomatoes, pico de Gallo, and cilantro.
HOW TO STORE:
This recipe can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze this chili, place it in a freezer container, and it will keep for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove to the refrigerator overnight until thawed. Reheat in the microwave until heated through.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Toasting the spices is really what amps up the flavor in this.
- Multiple toppings can be used, see some ideas above.
- You can serve this over other things, see above on what we like to serve with.
- This makes a large batch, but you can easily double to make more.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Love a good copycat recipe and want to save time and money? Then you absolutely have to make my Wendy’s Chili, it is spot on, if not better!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this WENDY’S CHILI let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Wendy's Chili
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef 80/20
- 2 stalks celery small diced
- 1 small sweet onion small diced
- 1 green bell pepper small diced
- 2 1.25 ounce packages chili seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup water
- 16 ounce can dark red kidney beans undrained
- 16 ounce can pinto beans undrained
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 3 14.5 ounce cans stewed tomatoes
- 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef, breaking it up into crumbles, 8-10 minutes. Drain any excess grease.
- Add the celery, onion, and bell pepper to the pan, stir it in to mix with the beef, and cook until the veggies have softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chili seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the water to the pot and scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Add the kidney beans, pinto beans, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, diced tomatoes with green chiles, and sugar, stir until combined. Try to break up any large pieces of stewed tomatoes if you can.
- Bring the chili up to a simmer, cover it and simmer for one hour, occasionally stirring to make sure nothing burns on the bottom of the pan.
- Before serving, take off the heat and stir in the white vinegar.
Notes
- Toasting the spices is really what amps up the flavor in this.
- Multiple toppings can be used, see some ideas above.
- You can serve this over other things, see above on what we like to serve with.
- This makes a large batch but you can easily double to make more.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
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