Not to be confused with Texas chili, this hearty, tomato-y meal is budget friendly and the perfect bowl on cold nights.
Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- This Wendy’s chili copycat recipe is an easy slow-cooker chili that’s low on prep time but big on flavor!
- A steaming bowl of chili is the perfect comfort food to enjoy on a cozy winter night or for tailgating during the big game —just add your favorite toppings to make it a complete meal!
- V-8 tomato juice is my secret ingredient for making the best chili full of fresh veggie flavors.
If y’all like Wendy’s original chili, then you’ll love this Wendy’s copycat chili recipe—no long drive-through line required!
Recreating this delicious, hearty chili at home has never been easier, so grab your trusty
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- Although not traditional, ground turkey, ground chicken, and ground venison are also tasty in this meaty chili.
- If you can’t find stewed tomatoes at the grocery store, then diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, or tomato sauce will do.
- Kick the heat up a notch by using spicy V-8 juice and replacing the stewed tomatoes with Rotel canned tomatoes and green chilies.
- A true copycat Wendy’s chili recipe is made with pinto beans and dark red kidney beans. However, feel free to use different types of beans, such as ranch-style beans, black beans, and chili beans with sauce.
- Add tomato paste mixed with water or beef stock to your
slow cooker for a richer, more flavorful sauce. - Adjust the amount of chili powder to reach your desired level of spice. You can even make chili powder from scratch with my easy recipe!
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Add all ingredients to the
🍴 Equipment
- slow cooker
- cast iron skillet
🥫 How to store leftovers
The only thing better than chili on day one is enjoying chili on day two and day three! Refrigerate leftover Wendy's chili in an airtight container for up to three days.
Zap small servings in the microwave or heat a larger amount of chili in a large pot on the stovetop until warmed through.
This easy chili recipe freezes great, too! Let the chili cool to room temperature before transferring it to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to three months.
For best results, thaw frozen chili in the fridge overnight before reheating it.
Expert Tip:
Rinse and drain the beans, but don’t drain the stewed tomatoes. You need all those yummy juices in your delicious chili!
💭 Things to know
- You'll need a large crock pot that holds at least 6 quarts to make this homemade chili.
- Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and be sure to drain the excess fat before adding to the crock pot.
- Feel free to use a frozen mix of red, yellow, and green bell peppers for even faster meal prep.
- This is a great recipe to scale up or down. Make a double batch to feed a large crowd, or halve the recipe if you have a smaller family.
- Portion leftovers into individual containers for quick lunches the whole family will love. Leftovers are even better the next day and freeze well, too!
👩🍳 FAQs
Yep! But you don’t need to go load up on Wendy’s burgers to make this simple Wendy’s chili recipe. Fresh ground beef mixed with spices tastes just as good! However, if you want the real deal and have extra time, you can cook up some hamburger patties and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Sure. Feel free to swap the ground beef for ground pork, ground chicken, or ground turkey. Your chili won’t be just like Wendy’s anymore, but you do you!
It’s easy! Just follow the recipe as directed, but simmer all the ingredients in a big pot on low heat for 45 minutes to an hour.
Absolutely! First, brown your beef and onions, then add them to your instant pot with the rest of the ingredients. Cook on high pressure for 10-15 minutes. Allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then manually release any remaining pressure.
Slow cooking on low heat takes 6-8 hours. Reduce the cooking time to about 4 hours on high heat if you're too hungry to wait!
📚 Related recipes
- My 30-minute Chili Dog Casserole recipe is a kid-friendly dinner made with five simple ingredients and is the perfect way to use up leftover chili!
- Mom's Chili Soup Recipe—aka cowboy soup—is a budget-friendly meal full of savory flavor from beef, beans, and a hearty tomato broth.
- A classic Texas dish at football parties for decades, Frito Pie is the best copycat recipe for the original chili pie created in the 1950s.
🍽️ Serve with...
A Southern rule I'd never break—you can't have chili without toppings and dippers! Serve your bowl of chili loaded up with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, green onions, cilantro, Saltine Crackers, tortilla chips, Fritos scoops, or sliced jalapeno pepper.
Your favorite chili just isn’t complete without cornbread! Slightly sweet and oh-so buttery, Copycat Cracker Barrel Corn Muffins is one of my favorite copycat recipes.
📞 The last word
This easy, copycat recipe is so good and it's perfect as an ingredient in recipes like chili mac or chili dog casserole! Be sure to make a big batch and freeze the leftovers in recipe or meal sized portions.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Copycat Wendy's Chili
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 ½ cups onion, diced
- 1 ½ cups bell peppers, frozen mix
- 2 cups V-8 juice, regular or spicy
- 30 ounces kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces stewed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon chili powder, up to 3 tablespoons to taste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper , to taste
- 6 ounces tomato paste, optional
- 1 cup water, if needed
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef and onions together.
- Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.
- Taste and add salt as needed. If you'd like a richer sauce add the tomato paste and enough water to loosen the consistency of the chili without making it too watery.
- Serve topped with shredded cheese, chopped onions, or other favorite toppings.
Notes
- Drain and rinse the beans but don't drain the tomatoes.
- You'll need a large crock pot that holds at least 6 quarts to make this homemade chili.
- Be sure to drain the excess fat from beef before adding to the crock pot.
- This is a great recipe to scale up or down. Make a double batch to feed a large crowd, or halve the recipe if you have a smaller family.
- Portion leftovers into individual containers for quick lunches the whole family will love. Leftovers are even better the next day and freeze well, too!
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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