Copycat Wendy’s Chili Recipe (2024)

Chili is a buzz word around here. Creates quite a stir. Gets peeps going. If you say Frito pie in conjunction with chili, you are asking for chaos. Big Daddy and my kids can hear nothing else but chili. Frito pie. We have some? Where is it? So I have learned not to even mention it when I am cooking it until it is close to ready to prevent a revolt. These people over here REALLY love chili. A while back, I came across a copycat Wendy’s chili recipe. It looked really good and I know Wendy’s has really good chili, so I thought “score!!” Well, life happened and I kind of kept it on the backburner…excuse the pun. Until Big Daddy says to me the other day…”Cajun Mama…I think it is about time to make some chili.” It was cold, I had ground chuck and you know how they say when you know, you know? I am sure “they” weren’t talking about making chili…but let’s just pretend. I knew. The time had come to break out the copycat Wendy’s chili recipe. Big Daddy about did a little happy dance of delight. It was some good stuff ya’ll!! Oddly enough, the other day I am in Target chatting up the cashier and I am talking about my lasagna recipe. We talk a little more and I tell her about the copycat Wendy’s chili and she smiles really big. She tells me she is the GM at a local Wendy’s. I ask her if she has tried this recipe and she says no and asks what all the recipe calls for. I tell her and she says that it sounds pretty close except for the seasoning. She said they have packets of seasoning they put in theirs and it is not McCormick chili seasoning like what is called for here. Of course, this does not surprise me. You best bet your sweet behind I am going to ask her about what all this seasoning entails next time I go through her line. Next week. Not that I go to Target that much…today. Errr…I may have a problem. My kids may or may not call some of the employees by name. Anyway, that’s another story for another time and we are not here to discuss how many times a week a person has to go to Target before they are considered to have a problem. 🙂 We are here to talk about chili..stay focused people because ya’ll are NOT going to want to miss this chili recipe. That cashier also said that since it has been unseasonably cold here in the past week or two that they have sold a crazy amount of chili. This does not surprise me as this chili is absolutely delicious and warms you from your head to your frozen tootsies. No need to hit the drive thru my friends. The recipe is right here!!

Copycat Wendy’s chili

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1-14 ounce can stewed tomatoes

4-8 ounce cans of tomato sauce

1-14 ounce can Ranch style beans

1-14 ounce can pinto beans

1-14 ounce can kidney beans

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 package McCormick mild chili seasoning

2 pounds ground chuck

Directions

Brown ground chuck in a dutch oven until no longer pink. Drain. Stir in chopped bell pepper and onion and let this cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in all other tomatoes, beans (don’t drain) and seasoning. Just dump the tomatoes and beans directly into the pot. No need to drain. That is what makes this recipe super awesome. It is so easy and yields absolutely delicious results!!! Let this simmer over low heat until onions and bell pepper are tender and the smell is so amazing you cannot hardly stand it. Or do what I did…call it done when your 5 year old comes over and starts to whine “mama I’m hungry!!!” You will know when it is time. We added some shredded cheddar, a little sour cream and of course Fritos to ours. Well, they did. I like mine straight. Just chili…no need to garnish. This stuff is good enough to stand alone. You will LOVE this chili! Your warm toes can write me a thank you, I love you post later. For now, eat your chili. It is best served warm. ~AMB

Happiness is a good bowl of chili…or something like that.