Baked Chili Cheese Dogs
Baked chili cheese dogs topped with beef chili, a creamy smoked cheddar cheese sauce, and a few choice garnishes are a fun dinner or game day meal. Plus, it’s a great way to use up leftover chili.
A bowl of chili is great on a cold day, but eating the same leftovers for days is not my idea of fun. So here’s an idea: repurpose the leftover chili and make baked chili cheese dogs.
Any chili you like will work (I have some suggestions later in the post), but what makes these special is the creamy smoked cheddar cheese sauce. It’s a breeze to make, and the velvety sauce takes the dogs to a whole new level.
Ingredients
- Chili: I like my slow cooker no-bean chili for chili dogs. It’s easy to make, and the consistency is perfect for spooning over the dogs. That said, any chili you like will work. For other ideas, see my chili recipes round-up.
- All-beef hot dogs
- Top-sliced hot dog buns
- Unsalted butter
- Shredded smoked cheddar cheese: You can swap the smoked cheddar cheese for regular cheddar cheese or try pepper jack cheese.
- Cornstarch
- Half and half
- Kosher salt
- Parsley
- Garnishes: I like finely chopped red onion and parlsey or cilantro.
How to Make Them
☑️ Warm the Hot Dogs
Melt the butter in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the hot dogs and cook them for a few minutes until the skin crisps. Remove them from the pan.
☑️ Make the Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Toss the cornstarch with the shredded cheese in a bowl, so it’s evenly coated.
In the same skillet, warm the heavy cream over medium heat. Add the cheese and salt and stir until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth and creamy.
☑️ Bake the Chili Dogs
Place the buns in a baking dish and a hot dog in each. Spoon chili over the top, and then add the cheese sauce.
Bake the chili dogs for 20 minutes at 350°F or until the chili is warmed.
☑️ Garnish and Serve
Garnish the chili cheese dogs with chopped parsley and diced onion, and sprinkle more shredded cheese on top.
More Recipes to Try
Baked Chili Cheese Dogs
Baked chili cheese dogs topped with beef chili, a creamy smoked cheddar cheese sauce, and a few choice garnishes are a fun dinner or game day meal. Plus, It’s a great way to use up leftover chili.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 6 all-beef hot dogs
- 6 top-sliced hot dog buns
- 1/2 cup no-bean chili, or another chili you like
- 1 cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Optional garnishes: Chopped parsley, finely diced red onion, shredded smoked cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Melt the butter in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the hot dogs and cook them for a few minutes until the skin crisps up. Take them out of the pan.
- In a bowl, toss the cornstarch with the shredded cheese so it’s evenly coated.
- In the same skillet, warm the heavy cream over medium heat. Add the cheese and salt and stir until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Place the buns in a baking dish and place a hot dog in each. Spoon chili over the top and then add the cheese sauce.
- Bake the hot dogs for 20 minutes or until the chili is warmed through.
- Garnish the chili dogs with chopped parsley, diced onion, and a little more shredded cheese.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 chili cheese dog
- Calories: 418
- Sugar: 5.4g
- Sodium: 992.7mg
- Fat: 25.1g
- Saturated Fat: 10.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12.5g
- Trans Fat: 0.4g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 1.2g
- Protein: 10.6g
- Cholesterol: 70.3mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
More Cheesy Recipes
Make these chili cheese dogs for a fun dinner or serve them for your next game-day get-together. I hope you love them!
Happy cooking,
These are outstanding at home, but even better camping … and so easy to make either way!