Copycat Wendy’s Chili Recipe

Do you love Wendy’s Chili? Try this copycat version filled with all the same ingredients but made at home in a big batch.

I have a friend who worked at Wendy’s, and she told me that at Wendy’s they chop up the hamburgers off the line, that are about to expire, and save them for the chili? Well, this is a bit gross, but I do like how big and chunky the meat is. So when making this chili, I cook up seasoned hamburger patties, chop them up, and throw them in the slow cooker, so there are big chunks of meat, just like Wendy’s.

How to make Wendy’s Chili:

You will need these ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• ¼ salt to taste
• ½ pepper to taste
• ¼ onion powder to taste
• 1 cup white onion diced
• 1 Anaheim Pepper seeds and stem removed, diced
• ½ cup celery diced
• 15 oz kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 15 oz pinto beans drained and rinsed
• 14 oz beef broth
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 14.5 oz tomatoes
• 1.25 oz McCormick Original Chili Mix

Directions:

• To make this just like Wendy’s, form the meat into hamburger patties and season with salt, pepper and onion powder. Cook on in a skillet just as you would hamburgers.
• Crumble the meat and add to the slow cooker with the remaining ingredients. Stir.
• Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.

What to serve with Wendy’s Chili:

• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Diced white onions
• Saltine crackers
• OR over a baked potato!

Slow Cooker Copycat Wendy’s Chili Recipe

5 from 5 votes

The best fast food chili around can now be made right at home in your slow cooker.

Print Pin Rate

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Copycat Wendy’s Chili

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 396.16kcal

Author: Sarah Olson

Equipment Needed:

• Slow Cooker- 6 quart or larger-oval

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• ¼ salt to taste
• ½ pepper to taste
• ¼ onion powder to taste
• 1 cup white onion diced
• 1 Anaheim Pepper seeds and stem removed, diced
• ½ cup celery diced
• 15 oz kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 15 oz pinto beans drained and rinsed
• 14 oz beef broth
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 14.5 oz tomatoes
• 1.25 oz McCormick Original Chili Mix

Toppings for serving

• cheddar cheese grated
• onions yellow or white; diced
• saltine crackers

US Customary – Metric

Instructions:

Hamburgers

• Form beef into patties, season with salt, onion powder, and black pepper.
• Heat skillet on medium high, cook the patties until done, then crumble. (see notes)
• Add the meat to the slow cooker.

Making the Chili

• Add all the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker, stir well.
• Cover, set to LOW for 8 hours. Do not open lid during cooking time.
• Once done, stir and ladle into bowls
• Top with onions, cheese, and saltine crackers.

Recipe Notes:

At Wendy’s they use chopped up hamburgers, so the meat is bigger and chunkier, so that’s what I did, I shaped my hamburger into 4 patties, sprinkled with salt, onion powder, and lots of black pepper, and cooked them on the stove top. Then chopped them up, and threw into the slow cooker. Or you can brown the meat like normal by breaking up as you cook it.

Nutrition:

Calories: 396.16kcal | Carbohydrates: 49.44g | Protein: 31.43g | Fat: 9.6g | Saturated Fat: 3.48g | Cholesterol: 49.14mg | Sodium: 568.42mg | Potassium: 1518.33mg | Fiber: 16.57g | Sugar: 7.93g | Vitamin A: 3949.84IU | Vitamin C: 20.37mg | Calcium: 105.57mg | Iron: 7.71mg

Made this recipe?I want to see your photos! Tag me on Instagram @themagicalslowcooker

I bought the little white paper bowls from a restaurant supply store (Cash and Carry), not good for the environment, but great for taking to work!

Here are many more Slow Cooker Chili Recipes:

• Slow Cooker V8 Chili
• Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken Chili
• Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili
• Slow Cooker No Bean Texas Chili
• Slow Cooker Beef Enchilada Chili
• Slow Cooker Venison Chili
• Slow Cooker Chipotle Turkey Chili
• Slow Cooker Steakhouse Chili
• Slow Cooker Poblano White Chicken Chili
• Slow Cooker Low Carb Beef and Bacon Chili