Wendy’s Chili copycat made with kidney beans, onions, chilis, bell peppers and tomatoes with a spicy chili powder and cumin spices. The perfect copycat!
Wendy’s Chili is a no brainer now that the weather is cooling down in a hurry. This copycat recipe is actually so spot on that when I tested it on an unsuspecting family member who loves it she replied, “If you got Wendy’s where is my FROSTY!!”
Sadly, I had not made a Wendy’s Frosty for her, but the chili is in fact a very spot-on copycat. Plus I love serving it with my Jalapeno Popper Cornbread Muffins.
Wendy’s Chili seems like it would be a tough recipe to make, but honestly the most difficult part is waiting for it to cook low and slow. In fact here are some tips and tricks for making this the PERFECT chili recipe.
- Add in a tablespoon of butter at the end of cooking. It helps mellow flavors and provide the best texture. It adds a richness with minimal calories (it is only 1 tablespoon for the whole pot!).
- Cook on a “simmer” which is lower than “low” usually. Cooking on a simmer is just the smallest of bubbles.
- If you find your chili doesn’t look the same as below you may have the heat on too high so too much water has evaporated or on too low and too much water is remaining.
- If you’re nervous about cooking it uncovered just stir more frequently. You’ll be able to feel if any of the chili is sticking to the pot.
Slow Cooker Wendy’s Chili Recipe?
- Brown the beef before adding to the slow cooker. Add in the rest of the ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
Looking for more soups?
- Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup
- Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup
- Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Slow Cooker Creamy Minestrone Soup
Looking for more copycat recipes?
- Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Shrimp (Copycat)
- Cheesecake Factory Louisiana Chicken Pasta (Copycat)
- KFC Original Recipe Chicken (Copycat)
- P.F. Chang’s Orange Peel Chicken (Copycat)
- Panda Express Orange Chicken (Copycat)
Tools used in the making of this Wendy’s Chili Copycat:
Cast Iron Dutch Oven: Great heavy bottomed pan is amazing for low, even cooking and high quality for not a lot of money! Plus the lid is a second pan!
Pot Strainer: MY LIFESAVER. I strain everything in a pot through this and it is SO MUCH easier than a colander. Perfect for cooking 1 pot meals.
Pinto Beans: I also use this variety with jalapenos when I don’t want to go to the store for fresh jalapenos.
Kidney Beans: My favorite for salad toppings too, this variety is my favorite.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef 85/15
- 29 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 29 ounces canned kidney beans not drained
- 29 ounces canned pinto beans not drained
- 28 ounces canned tomatoes chopped (not drained)
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 diced jalapeno de-seeded and de-veined
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- In a heavy bottomed stockpot brown the ground beef.
- Drain the fat.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients (except the butter) and bring to a boil.
- Lower to a simmer and cook uncovered (please keep at a simmer level) for 2 hours stirring occasionally.
- Add in the butter and stir until fully melted and incorporated.
- Serve.
Nutrition
I love this recipe which is basically indistinguishable from Wendy’s. It’s a versatile starter recipe for chili that can be enhanced to your own personal preferences.
Add a tablespoon or two of sugar to cut the acid in the tomatoes. I think Wendy’s does the same.
Regarding tomatoes, I use San Marzano canned peeled tomatoes. Cento brand from Walmart is a good buy. I chop one can with a knife by hand. I use a food processor to turn the other can into sauce.
One more thing – keep in mind Wendy’s uses portions of unused burger patties chopped up for their chili. So, let your meat brown in whole form in the pan, so that it’s got some decent chunks in it. One good way to achieve this is to put frozen ground directly into the pan and scrape off the chunks as it cooks.
I did this recipe in the crackpot and WOW! SPOT ON!
Hi. How long did you cook it in the crockpot for?
Sabrina, do you have a specific chili powder that you use for your chili recipes? i see that you link to the McCormick dark chili powder – is that what you use? i have found that many different chili powders have very diverse flavors which, of course is going to affect the final flavor of the chili.
Going to make this but concerned about the 1/4 cup of chili powder. That sounds excessive. Is that correct??
1/4 Cup Chili Powder works very well for the recipe.
I don’t like it when people make comments without even making the recipe but since I saw this recipe by dinnerthendessert, I made an exception.
I’ve made quite a few recipes from Sabrina and all were a total success so when I drove past Wendy’s today,I almost bought a big cup! But I thought no,we probably have all the ingredients. As soon as I saw Sabrina’s copycat recipe, I saved it on Pinterest but thought of cutting the recipe in half but I decided I’ll make the recipe and put part of it in 1 qt. Zipper bags.We’ll either use it up for ourselves or give it to someone that needs meals. (That’s confidence in the recipe for sure!)
I love the pack that Wendy’s give out to add heat.Can anyone tell me how to make that?
1/4 cup chili powder is way too much! We used a bit less and it was still burning the mouth.
Must be from the north if it burns your mouth ? tastes perfectly fine to my wife and I ?
what is the actual serving size?
Great Recipe I use 2 small cans of green chilies instead of the jalapeño and with the hamburger meat I added a pound of ground pork. Instead of simmering it for 2 hours I cooked it in my 8 qt pressure cooker for 7 minutes since the beans are ready cooked I didn’t want my beans mushy. It turn out great. The pressure cooker idea I seen on YouTube for Wendy’s Chilli. It turn out great. I making some right now.
I work at Wendy’s and make the chili every day, going to try to make this copycat recipe at home!
How was it, close? Wendys is only chili I like and loveeeeeeeee it
This was really good and got better the next day.
I made a few subs as I thought I had all the ingredients but I didn’t:
subbed chipotle for jalapeno
ran short on Tomato sauce so subbed petite diced tomatoes with a little tomato paste.
Was still delicious. I was actually sorry I sent some home with my son 🙂
I make this vegetarian with veggie ground round. I have made it several times and family love it. Great recipe. Thanks
I didn’t modify this recipe (other than using the types of beans I had on hand, light, dark kidney & cannellini) I was worried the whole jalapeno would make it too spicy but it wasn’t “spicy” at all. We like a bit of spice, this was perfect for everyone. Served with some shredded cheddar, sour cream & fritos. Delicious! I did forget the butter at the end, I didn’t feel like it was missing anything. Might add some as I heat up the leftovers just for fun
This is great chili! And the taste gets better with each day. I added a little sugar but I would do it again, unless it is very minimal.
This recipe was so awesome
Excellent Wendy’s copycats chili. I’ll make it over
Delicious
This was fabulous
Hubby said i could make this anytime I want
Can you make this in a crockpot
To amend my previous comment, I’m a vegan, so swapped out the beef for Morningstar Farms crumbles and left out the jalapeños due to sensitive tongues in my family and it was A-FREAKING-MAZING.
I will be making this chili forever.
I left out the jalapeños and listen friend, this chili was THE FREAKING BEST. MAKE THIS! You won’t be sorry.
I work at Wendy’s and we never put butter in it….. peoples come like crazy for Chili. Because they always love it.
Also my mother made Chili many, many years go and she never put butter in her. Not at all.
The butter adds a little creaminess/depth, and fat back to the dish since it was drained from the beef the beginning. I think it’s a nice touch. I’d also add that if you aren’t watching your weight – you can forego draining the fat off the ground beef to add some additional richness to the dish.
Absolutely the best chili I’ve ever had.Thanks for sharing