Do you love chili dogs? This homemade chili dog sauce will be the best chili dog sauce you have ever made — and it has a secret ingredient too that puts it completely over the top!

A couple of years ago I was at a backyard party thrown by my best friend. We were celebrating something ( I honestly cannot remember now), but she was serving hamburgers and chili dogs.

I am a chili dog lover myself, but I hate beans in my chili. When she told me it was beanless, I got so excited! I grabbed a dog and loaded it down with the chili mixture.

That first bite I took was mouth-watering and I begged her to tell me her recipe.

She told me it was a family recipe and that the secret to this sauce was chopped up hot dogs!

I have never heard of anything like that and trust me — I have searched high and low on the Internet for a chili dog sauce that has chopped up hot dogs in it. There were none.

Her recipe is originally called “Flint Coney Island Hot Dog Sauce” and it is truly a very magical recipe — trust me!

I did make a couple of changes to the recipe to suit our own family tastes — such as using all butter instead of butter and margarine, and I used only 1 onion where her recipe calls for two.

The recipe still came out perfectly and now I am going to share this delicious chili dog sauce with you too!

How to Make Chili Dog Sauce

To start, add your butter and onions to a skillet (this one on Amazon is my favorite) and saute' until the onions are tender. Then, add in your garlic and continue to saute' for another minute.

Now, add in your ground beef, mustard, chili powder, salt and pepper, tomato paste, and a 6 ounce can of water.

Combine everything and let it cook over medium-high until the ground beef is cooked through and the sauce has thickened.

Now, turn the sauce to simmer while you get the hot dogs ready.

For this, you will need a 12-ounce pack of skinless hot dogs. I prefer Nathan's all-beef hot dogs. They are the best and really set the chili over the top.

Take the hot dogs and chop them up using a blender or food processor. If you do not have either of those, just use a knife but make sure to mince it up pretty fine.

Then, you are going to add that to the chili dog mixture.

Cook for about 10-15 minutes more and then pile on top of your favorite hot dog and load it up with all your favorite hot dog fixings!

For me, I love a good hot dog covered with chili, mustard, cheese, and dill pickle relish!

Want a few other good chili recipes? Check these out!

Best Chili Recipes

Best Homemade Chili Dog Sauce from Jen Around the World
Chili con Tres Carne from Hezzi-D's Recipe Box
Copycat Empress Chili (Cincinnati Style) from Palatable Pastime
Frito Pie from Art of Natural Living
Jambalaya Chili from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
Slow Cooker BBQ Pork Chili from The Spiffy Cookie
Southwestern Black Bean Chili from That Recipe

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Yield: 8 servings

The Best Chili Dog Recipe

Name: The Best Chili Dog Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef; 2 tablespoons of butter; 1 onion, chopped; 1 clove of garlic, minced; 3 tablespoons of chili powder; 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard; 1 6-ounce can of tomato paste; 1 6-ounce can of water; 12-ounce pack of Nathan's skinless beef hot dogs; salt and pepper to taste

This tasty chili dog recipe is full of flavor with a secret ingredient!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
2 tablespoons of butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons of chili powder
1 tablespoon of yellow mustard
1 6-ounce can of tomato paste
1 6-ounce can of water
12-ounce pack of Nathan's skinless beef hot dogs
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a skillet, add the butter and onions. Saute until tender.
Next, add in the garlic and saute for a minute longer.
Now, add in the ground beef, chili powder, mustard, tomato paste, water, and salt and pepper. Mix together.
Cook over medium heat for about 20-25 minutes. Turn to simmer and let the mixture continue cooking while you prep the hot dogs.
Grind up the hot dogs or mince finely.
Add to the ground beef mixture and let it cook for another 15 minutes to let everything come together.
Serve over your favorite hot dogs and enjoy it!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 341Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 86mgSodium: 497mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 24g