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My wife and I were on our way to Gatlinburg, TN, tootin’ along down the interstate, when lunch time crept up on us. A glance at the GPS showed that our choices were pretty much fast food or nothing. A hankerin’ for a Wendy’s burger came over me, so into Wendy’s we went. It was a cold fall day. My wife got the chili and when she wasn’t looking I took a few bites. And it was good, which of course meant that I instantly started searching for a copycat recipe of Wendy’s chili. And here it is. A little thicker than the real deal served at Wendy’s, but definitely a great copycat of the fast food favorite.
Easy And Delicious
This copycat recipe for Wendy’s chili is about as easy as you can get to make, yet it is quite tasty and has great texture. It’s not hot, but it can be by just adding cayenne or substituting hot chili powder for the mild. You can also substitute cubed chuck for the ground beef for a more traditional chili. Cincinnati chili lovers need only add a bit of cinnamon. And yes, if you like your chili with pasta, you can serve it over pasta.
I like to use my good ole trusty Dutch oven to make this chili and pretty much darned near anything like it on my stovetop. It’s nice and big and sturdy. That extra weight helps it maintain and distribute heat perfectly. As an added bonus, it’s actually pretty easy to clean up too!
- OVEN SAFE DESIGN: Withstand temperatures up to…
- EXCELLENT HEAT RETENTION: This heavy-duty cast…
The Beans
Oh I’ve heard it. The argument that you don’t put beans in chili. Ok. Cool. If that’s you guess what? You can leave the beans out. No harm, no foul. I don’t think you can get your Wendy’s chili without beans though. They might look at you a bit strange at the counter. And they might just tell you that it’s up to you to take them out!
Also try my copycat of Cin Chili, the best chili mix ever.
Wendy’s Chili (Copycat Recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 cups water beef broth can be substituted
- 2 28 ounce diced tomatoes
- 16 ounce kidney beans rinsed, drained
- 15 ounce pinto beans rinsed, drained
- 1 large sweet onion diced
- ¼ cup celery diced
- ¼ cup green bell pepper diced
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in a large pot. Drain.
- Add the water. Bring to a boil, then drain completely to remove more fat.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and simmer for 3 hours, stirring often.
