Copycat Wendy’s chili is so filling and comforting. Best of all it can easily be made in your crockpot or slow cooker!
When we lived in Houston, I lived right by a Wendy’s. When my son was a baby, he had colic and didn’t sleep much. I couldn’t get much done back in those days so I went through the Wendy’s drive thru a lot. I’ve had my fair share of chili (I always ask for onions and cheese) from Wendy’s!
It is said that the chili at Wendy’s is made from hamburger patties but I just used regular ground beef and it worked out great. It usually comes with a few saltine crackers. You can also get it topped with cheese and onions.
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💭 Why you’ll love this recipe
This recipe is easy to make at home and best of all your crockpot will do all the hard work for you! It is a wonderful recipe to make for dinner and great for big game day parties too.
🍲 Ingredients Needed
For this recipe, you will need:
- Ground beef: I used 85/15 and drained off the fat.
- Celery and white onion: The base of our chili.
- Canned stewed tomatoes: You’ll want to run these through a food processor before adding them to the mix.
- Canned diced tomatoes: Such as Rotel.
- Tomato paste: You’ll need just two tablespoons.
- Water: To prevent the chili from drying out since it will be in your crockpot.
- Chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder: To season our chili with.
- Kidney beans and pinto beans: To make the chili hearty.
- White vinegar: This will help mellow the chili out.
- Salt and pepper: I always recommend salt and pepper to taste since brands of canned beans can have varying levels of salt.
You will also need a crockpot (six quart or larger) and a food processor.
💬 What size crockpot or slow cooker is needed for this recipe?
For this recipe you will want to use a six quart or larger crockpot.
🥣 How to make this recipe
In a large skillet, brown and then drain the fat off of your ground beef. Set aside.
Spray your crockpot with non-stick spray.
Finely dice your white onion and celery. Run your stewed tomatoes through a food processor until they are no longer whole.
Open your beans and rinse and drain them.
Combine all of your ingredients in your crockpot and stir well.
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
🧀 What toppings go on Wendy’s chili?
The original Wendy’s chili is topped with cheese and onions (they usually ask when you’re ordering) and served with saltine crackers. You could also do corn chips, corn bread, oyster crackers, sour cream, freshly sliced avocado, or whatever else you like with your chili. I know some people really enjoy a good cinnamon roll with a bowl of chili, I haven’t tried it yet but it does sound good.
👩🏻🍳 Tips for making this recipe:
- Brown your ground beef before putting it in your crockpot. If you don’t brown it before, the meat will be strange and lumpy.
- Drain your beans and rinse them.
- Be sure to run the stewed tomatoes through a food processor or cut them with a knife before adding them to the chili.
- Let this chili simmer on low for 6 to 8 hours for the best results.
📋 Recipe FAQs
Brown raw hamburger before putting it in your crockpot or slow cooker. If you don’t brown it before, the meat will be lumpy and can taste strange. It will also be very greasy.
You can leave chili on low for up to 8 hours. You may want to add a little extra water (like ½ cup).
They do not use cooked leftover hamburgers but they use hamburger patties for their chili.
Other great copycat recipes:
Copycat Wendy’s Chili in the Crockpot
Equipment
- Crockpot or slow cooker (6 quart or larger)
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 rib celery (one single piece, not the entire celery bunch) stems and end removed
- 1 large white onion
- 1 can stewed tomatoes about 14.5 ounces
- 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles (such as Rotel) about 10 ounces
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup water
- 1 can kidney beans about 15 ounces
- 1 can pinto beans about 15 ounces
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Toppings
- shredded cheese
- diced onion
Instructions
- In a large skillet, brown and then drain the fat off of your ground beef. Set aside.
- Spray your crockpot with non-stick spray.
- Finely dice your white onion and celery.
- Run your stewed tomatoes through a food processor until they are no longer whole.
- Open your beans and rinse and drain them.
- Combine all of your ingredients in your crockpot and stir well.
- Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
Erin says
Can crushed tomatoes be used instead of stewed tomatoes?
Audrey says
Yes, you can use those as a substitute
Erin says
Thank you!
nancy says
i spend so much money at Wendy’s – this copy cat recipe tastes like the real thing! yummy!
Helen at the lazy gastronome says
Better than Wendy’s!
Amanda says
My family loved this recipe. Full of flavour and delicious!
Darcie says
Julia would you please give the cooking info for IP? Love quick, comfort recipes! Thank you! Darcie
Sangita says
What a delicious recipe of chili! Love it…
Kay says
So easy and quick to put together and it tasted amazing! I used some fresh chillies and a tin of chopped tomatoes.
Marilyn says
What if the chilli is too runny. How can I thicken it
Audrey says
How long did you cook it for? If you cook it a bit longer, especially on high it should help if it is watery. You could also add add in some mashed beans or a little corn starch.
Julia says
Loved this! I made it in my IP instead, and it was just as delicious
Nora says
Lovely, that this recipe is gluten-free! Can’t wait to try it out! Thank you!
Tina says
I used three 28 Oz cans of tomatoes I had . Ran through blender. 2 lbs
beef.Onlyy used 1/8 ts Cheyenne. Thank God. And no vinager was nessesary. So as you see I doubled sauce and doubled beans . 3 cans chilli beans and one kidney and it was way to spicy and I only used one can Rotel. Can imagine if I used the small amount of liquid and sauce that this recipe says and a can of Rotel with chilis and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne how spicy that would have been I added twice the sauce twice the beans and it was still super spicy Wendy’s is not that spicy but it was very good
Madeline says
I gasped with excitement at the title of this post. Can’t wait to try it out! Thanks for sharing.
Faith Still says
This looks so good! We are from Columbus, OH the home of the original Wendy’s restaurant and it is one of our favorites. Love the chili and my slow cooker so I will have to try this!
Jere Cassidy says
I had a colicky baby too, I wished I had a Wendy’s close by because I do love their chili so thanks for this recipe. Plus I am all about using a crockpot.