Who doesn’t love the iconic Wendy’s Chili? You can recreate this copycat Wendy’s chili at home, like the restaurant. You can prepare this in under 45 minutes; this tastes even better the next day!
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Why This is the Best Copycat Wendy’s Copycat Chili Recipe
If you are looking for a tried and true copycat recipe, look no further. I developed this copycat version over 20 years ago. This recipe has stood the test of time. People love this recipe.
This chili is perfectly seasoned—not too spicy and just enough spice. This easy chili recipe is going to become one of your go-tos. You can enjoy the leftover chili the next day.
Wendy’s Chili Meat
It is said that Wendy’s chili is made from grilled hamburger patties that weren’t made into their burgers. You don’t have you start with hamburger patties, you can use fresh ground beef.
It is easier to start this way when you make your chili. We suggest that you brown the beef very thoroughly before making your chili.
If you are a die-hard Wendy’s Chili fan, you can start with about 2 pounds of ground meat and fry it up as hamburgers, but you must cook them until they are very well done.
Did you know?
- Wendy’s Chili is gluten-free.
This Wendy’s chili copycat recipe has lots of fresh ingredients, and it can be put together in no time. It has onions, celery, green bell pepper, two types of beans, beef, and chili seasoning.
You won’t be disappointed when you make a delicious bowl of this amazing chili from scratch. You’ll enjoy the wonderful aroma of chili cooking on the stovetop.
Wendy’s Chili Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Ground beef – Ground chuck is recommended due to its fat and lean meat ratio
- Tomato juice – This is added instead of water, so the chili has a rich tomato flavor.
- Tomato puree – I use this instead of tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes because it has more flavor. I prefer this over chopped tomatoes in a can because the tomatoes are already broken down, and you can get a lot of flavor this way.
- Canned red kidney beans – drain and rinse before using
- Canned pinto beans – drain and rinse before using
- Onion – white onions are recommended; they have a good flavor, and tend not to be spicy like yellow onions
- Celery – adds a nice crunch and texture to this chili
- Green bell pepper – layers in additional flavor
- Chili powder – McCormick brand is recommended, we find it has a good balance of flavors.
- Ground cumin – adds richness and a bit of smoke
- Garlic powder – you can use fresh garlic, but garlic powder
- Salt – is used to balance out the flavor
- Ground black pepper – layers in some heat, but not too much.
- Oregano – this chili adds a bright earthy flavor
- Cayenne pepper – if you need your chili to have more spice, I recommend adding a bit more
- Sugar – this rounds out the chili flavor
Tomato juice enhances the flavor of this chili, as does the chili powder, though you may want to start with a little less chili powder. I find 1/4 cup isn’t too hot and is still very flavorful.
How does Wendy’s make their chili?
Wendy’s makes chili in a big pot with leftover hamburger patties and chili ingredients. You only need a skillet to brown some ground beef and a big pot to cook the chili. Here are the easy steps:
- In a skillet, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat.
- Drain the browned ground beef.
- Put the drained beef and the remaining ingredients in a 6-quart pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
- Bring the chili to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Let it simmer for 1 to 1½ hours, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Serve this delicious chili and enjoy it as-is or with your favorite chili toppings and side dishes.
Recipe notes
It is important to cook this chili the entire time, as listed in the recipe. The flavors mellow and change over the cooking time.
I understand that some people also feel that three tablespoons of chili powder is too much. I think it’s best to stick with standard brands of chili powder.
Chili powder is a combination of several spices. There isn’t a chili powder plant. Stick with a well-known brand, and if you naturally like less spicy foods, consider using less. Again, I fully stand behind the three tablespoons as listed in the recipe below.
Recipe variations
If you cook the recipe as written, you will get the best-tasting copycat of Wendy’s chili. But you can make substitutions. Some people like to use ranch-style beans instead of pinto beans for a unique flavor, while others love to use just dark red kidney beans. You can add chipotle powder to this recipe, about 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon, if you want to add a wonderful rich smokiness to your chili.
You can swap the ground beef and use ground turkey if you want. You could also swap the meat entirely for some vegetarian meat crumbles.
Can you make Wendy’s Chili in a slow cooker? Yes, you can!
Can you make this delicious chili in a Crockpot slow cooker? Of course! Brown the ground beef, drain the beef, pour everything into a slow cooker, and cook on low for about 4 to 6 hours.
I hope you enjoy this recipe!
What to Serve with Wendy’s Chili
Here are some sides, toppings, and other dishes to go with this hearty chili:
- Baked Potato
- As a topping on a chili dog
- Corn Chips or Tortilla Chips (or make nachos with chili on top of them)
- French Fries
- Garlic Parmesan Buffalo Wings
- Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Jalapeno Peppers
- Salad
- Saltine Crackers
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Sour Cream
How to Store Wendy’s Chili
This recipe makes quite a bit. Chances are, if you don’t invite the whole team over for chili, you will have plenty to enjoy. Let’s go over how you can best store the chili!
- Refrigerate – in an airtight container for up to five days.
- Freeze: Cool the chili to room temperature. Please place it in an airtight freezer-safe container or a vacuum-sealed bag. Keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Best Way to Reheat Leftover Wendy’s Chili
If you need to reheat a portion of Wendy’s chili, I recommend doing so in the microwave. If you need to reheat several portions, I recommend doing so on the stovetop in a pot over medium-low heat.
Homemade Wendy’s Chili Copycat
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh ground beef
- 1 quart tomato juice
- 29 ounces canned tomato puree
- 15 ounces canned red kidney beans drained
- 15 ounces canned pinto beans drained
- 1 large onion chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1/4 cup chili powder you may want to use less, as some people find this is too much
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain the grease.
- Put the drained beef and the remaining ingredients in a 6-quart pot or slow cooker and stir to combine.
- If using a pot, cover and simmer for at least 45 minutes. If you have time, I recomment to 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes, for the best flavor.
- If using a slow cooker, cook on low for 4 hours.
Video
Nutrition
Check out my other Wendy’s copycat recipes
- Baconator
- Breakfast Baconator
- BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad Recipe
- Instant Pot Wendy’s Chili
- Wendy’s Apple Pecan Salad
- Wendy’s Frosty Recipe
- Wendy’s Strawberry Salad
- Wendy’s Taco Salad
More Chili and Stew Recipes
Be sure to look at more fast food to make and homemade soup recipes.
Made it twice. Omitted the celery was the only change. The first time I cooked it the blend of spices made it delicious. Even though I thought the tomato puree made it far too thick. It had good flavor but not quite a duplicate of the Wendy’s chili because of its thickness. Yesterday I cooked it again and added a little water and it diluted the spices a bit..I need to substitute that ghastly tomato puree with tomato sauce next time. Also it was unusual adding onions after cooking the ground beef.. Otherwise it’s a good chili that tastes better the next day
Can you use a frozen bag of onion, peppers and celery in place of the fresh veggies?
I haven’t tried that, but I think that would work.
Good chili recipe if you don’t like super-spicy. I cut the amounts of cumin, chili powder and left out the cayenne. (My wife doesn’t care for the heat). It’s definitely a keeper!
This is my family’s favorite chili recipe.
Delicious. I used V8 juice and Italian jarred Passata. It does need heat though. Makes a thin souplike chili which is what I like. Great with crackers and a little hot sauce.
Can this be cooked in a slow cooker?
That’s what it says:
Slow cooker Directions
In a skillet, brown the ground beef.
Drain the grease from the browned ground beef.
Put the drained beef and the remaining ingredients in a slow cooker.
Cook on low for 4 hours.
Tomato juice as in V8?
And Tomato Puree as in Tomato Paste?
No, there is tomato puree, it is different than tomato paste.
If all you can find is tomato paste and can’t find puree, mix the paste with an equal amount of water and you will have tomato puree. Tomato juice is 100% tomato juice not the same as V8, V8 is tomato juice with other vegetables, it can be substituted, but it will slightly change the flavor and you might have to add a little more water to get the same consistency as it is slightly thicker than tomato juice… You probably won’t notice much flavor or consistency difference unless you compare them side by side…
Like the recipe, but you don’t tell me what amounts of ingredients I should use
The amounts of the recipe are towards the bottom of the page, I will email them to you.
This is a great recipe but it was a bit bland, and I even added diced fresh jalapeño with seeds. Something seems to be missing but I can’t put my finger on it. I do wish I’d had a better chili powder, all the store had was the generic brand. I will make again and make a few adjustments. Thank you!
I am very sorry my recipe didn’t meet your expectations. I think it was your chili powder to blame. I would suggest using McCormick’s, while not the store brand, it is a very common brand available at most stores.
In video the ground beef wasn’t drained??????????
I most likely did not drain it, the beef in my personal opinion and preference was pretty lean, or that’s normally what I do with Costco ground beef.
Danielle: There are many great chili powders available online now. Try:
https://www.mildbillsspices.com/
https://www.thespicehouse.com/products/chili-con-carne-blend,
Gephardt’s is a highly rated brand you might find in stores.
I love this chili it’s one of my favorites
Can you use an Instapot?
Yes, here are directions for that recipe.
This recipe is delicious! We liked it better without the celery. I liked the amount of chili powder, as we like it a little spicy. Very good flavor. We were snowed in, and the Hubby and I ate the whole pot over a few days! I was going to make it again, and I could not find this recipe. I made a different recipe, and Hubby said not as good as the first one! I was so happy when I ran across it in a drawer today!! SCORE!!
Thank you!!!!
t was so so delicious
I was sure it was a hit as soon as I finished putting the ingredients in the pan. I knew it was a hit when my husband had a second helping. (He doesn’t generally care much for chili.) Can’t wait to try some after all the flavors meld in the fridge. I mean I literally can’t wait! Absolutely delicious chili.
I love this. It is low carb but I only use one can of beans to make it even lower carb
This was outstanding! My only changes were to add the whole bottle of V8, an extra 14oz. (My store didn’t have tomato juice!)
I also fried my ground sirloin like a giant hamburger patty, in a large fry pan. Salted the oil, dropped the beef in, salted the top, flipped it when time and crisped up both sides before I broke it apart. Yum!
Oh my, oh my, So good!
I didn’t have a green pepper so I used a red one. Nothing really different there.
Too much chili powder NO WAY. This recipe is perfect. The tomato juice I buy has several more ounces than a quart. No biggie. Just put it all in.
This is the best chili I have ever made. Thank you for this fabulous recipe.
I also used V-8 instead of the tomato juice. However, made the mistake of cutting the amount of chili powder, which left it a little bland for us. Will not make that mistake again!! The amount of chili powder is just fine and I wont make the mistake of using less next time. It was a wonderful chili, and will follow the recipe to the letter next time.
This was pretty much exactly Wendy’s chili I forgot the celery and used a yellow pepper if anything I would add a little more heat but I also add to Wendy’s Excellent recipe
Do you know what I love to do with this recipe? I love adding a bit more Cayenne, and then I add some dried chipotle pepper.
great chili recipe
1/4 cup=4 tablespoons