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.
Table of contents
A bowl of chili is great on a cold day, but eating the same leftovers for days on end is not my idea of fun, so here’s an idea: repurpose that leftover chili and make baked chili cheese dogs.
Any chili you like will work (I have some suggestions later in the post, of course), 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.
Make them for a fun dinner, or serve them up for your next game day get-together. You can make the chili ahead or use the leftovers from your last chili night. Either way, it works.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- All-beef hot dogs
- Top-sliced hot dog buns
- Chili
- Shredded smoked cheddar cheese
- Cornstarch
- Half and half
- Kosher salt
- Parsley
- Diced red onion
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 chili dogs for 20 minutes or until the chili is warmed through.
Garnish the chili cheese dogs with chopped parsley, diced onion, and sprinkle a little more shredded cheese over the top.
Recipe Tips
Prep Tip: Line the baking dish with foil for easy clean-up.
Chili: I like to use 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, or get other ideas in my chili recipes round-up.
Cheese: You can swap the smoked cheddar cheese for regular cheddar cheese or try pepper jack cheese.
Other Garnishes: Change the red onion for sliced green onions or switch the parsley for chopped cilantro.
I hope you give this recipe a try!
Happy chili dog-making,
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PrintBaked 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
For Hot Dogs
- 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
For Cheese Sauce
- 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.
Notes
The nutrition estimate does not include the garnishes.
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
Keywords: chili dogs, baked chili cheese dogs, baked hot dogs
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
RPG says
These are outstanding at home, but even better camping … and so easy to make either way!
★★★★★