Copycat Wendy’s Chili Recipe {Crockpot}
50 Comments Apr 01, 2023
Updated Apr 19, 2025
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If you love the taste of Wendy’s chili, you can now recreate this masterpiece in the comfort of your own kitchen with this Copycat Wendy’s Chili Recipe. Everything from the beans and veggies to the spices is there, making this one of the best copycat recipes out there.
What makes copycat Wendy’s Chili so good?
There’s something about Wendy’s chili that we can all agree is simply irresistibly delicious. All the spices, chunks of bell peppers, green chilies, and chunks of their hamburger patties make this hearty chili a worthwhile purchase every time.
When you’re looking to have this favorite chili on demand, use this easy chili recipe to have Wendy’s chili any day and time. It’s so good, you’ll want to make a double batch.
What you need:
- Ground Beef: You’ll notice that Wendy’s chili has actual chunks of their hamburger patties, but for this Wendy’s copycat chili recipe, you’ll use fresh ground beef.
- Tomatoes: Canned tomatoes and tomato paste are used to create part of the flavorful base and hearty texture.
- Beans: A host of beans are needed to make this a classic copycat Wendy’s chili recipe. One can each of pinto beans and red kidney beans are drained and rinsed.
- Vegetables: Fire-roasted green chiles and diced celery, white onion, and chopped green bell pepper encompass both the look and flavor of Wendy’s chili.
- Seasonings: Minced garlic, apple cider vinegar, chili powder, salt, and black pepper seal the deal on this easy chili recipe.
- {The full recipe is in the recipe card below the images}
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Place the fresh ground beef into a nonstick skillet.
Step Two – Cook beef over medium high heat until brown and no longer pink.
Step Three – Drain any excess fat and transfer the cooked ground beef to a 6 quart slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients.
Step Four – Stir, cover, and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours. Serve and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
- Picture all the classic toppings Wendy’s serves with their chili: saltine crackers, cheese, and a splash of hot sauce.
- When serving this mouthwatering chili at home, you can take it to the next level with your favorite additions like extra shredded cheese, diced onions, sour cream, crispy bacon, or freshly sliced green onions.
- Get creative with how you serve it, too! Spoon it over hot dogs for irresistible chili dogs, or repurpose leftovers to create loaded nachos or hearty chili cheese burritos. The possibilities are endless!
- Serve over rice or slow cooker baked potatoes to stretch the recipe out and feed more people.
Recipe FAQs and Variations
This can be made without browning the meat first. You will also have to skim out the fat after the cooking time is up. You can also use ground turkey. Beware that the texture will differ if you brown the meat in a skillet first.
To store the chili, refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To freeze, let the chili cool completely and store it in a freezer safe airtight container for up to 3 months.
To reheat the chili, warm single servings in the microwave, or to reheat a larger batch, reheat on the stove top in a large pot over medium low heat. Allow the frozen chili to defrost in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
You can add a few shakes of cayenne pepper, chopped jalapeno peppers (with the seeds), or extra hot sauce should do the trick.
Copycat Wendy’s Chili Recipe {Crockpot}
How to Video
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. ground beef
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 medium sized onion, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 30 oz. diced tomatoes –, two 15-oz.cans
- 30 oz. tomato sauce, two 15-oz. cans
- 8 oz. green chilies, two 4-oz. cans
- 15 oz. canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 30 oz. canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup dark chili powder, (regular works fine too)
- sour Cream and/or shredded cheddar for topping, optional
Instructions
- Heat a medium sized nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and brown until no longer pink. Drain the meat to remove excess fat. Transfer the cooked ground beef to a 6 quart slow cooker.
- To the slow cooker, add the rest of the ingredients and stir.
- Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
- Serve hot, top with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheddar. Enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
- To store the chili, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To freeze, let the chili cool completely and store in a freezer safe airtight container for up to 3 months.
- To reheat the chili, warm single servings in the microwave, or to reheat a larger batch, reheat on the stove top over medium low heat.
- Allow the frozen chili to defrost in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
- This can be made without browning the meat first. You will also have to skim out the fat after the cooking time is up. You can also use ground turkey. Beware that the texture will differ than if you were to cook on the stove-top.
- Picture all the classic toppings Wendy’s serves with their chili: saltine crackers, cheese, and a splash of hot sauce.
- When serving this mouthwatering chili at home, you can take it to the next level with your favorite additions like extra shredded cheese, diced onions, sour cream, crispy bacon, or freshly sliced green onions.
- Get creative with how you serve it, too! Spoon it over hot dogs for irresistible chili dogs, or repurpose leftovers to create loaded nachos or hearty chili cheese burritos. The possibilities are endless!
- Serve over rice or slow cooker baked potatoes to stretch the recipe out and feed more people.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Really enjoyed this chili recipe tonight for dinner! Nice and saucy, just the way I like my chili! Very easy to put together. Nice to come home from running some errands and dinner is ready!
Made this for our weekly Sunday night dinner, and it was awesome! I have another slow-cooker chili recipe I’ve used for a few years, but it always felt as if it was missing something. Figured I’d try a new recipe, and my family and I loved it! Perfect blend of ingredients. I did add an extra pound of ground beef (to make 3 lbs.) and maybe a little extra garlic, but everything else was as-is. Delicious! Can’t wait to make it again in the fall.
I made the copycat recipe for Wendy’s chili tonight for my husband and I for dinner and I must say it was another fantastic meal. I halved the recipe and still had leftovers, even after we had seconds.
I cut the recipe in half because it’s just my son and me. Otherwise, I followed it exactly and it came out great! We both loved it – and enjoyed the leftovers! I had several recipes to choose from, but this one seemed right to me. Thank you for the great recipe!
It is true that Wendy’s chops up burgers they did not sell for their chili meat. My 16 year old son worked there this summer and revealed this (oddity) to me.
If you think of it from a business standpoint, it’s pretty smart. Utilizing good meat, instead of throwing it away. I know a lot of grocery store deli’s will utilize the chicken that would normally get thrown out to make salads, etc.
I’d worked in a grocery store deli dept and the deli saved the ends of cold cuts and cheeses and sell then in a bulk pack.
My daughter worked at Wendy’s while in high school
And she said the same thing
Leftover burgers were chopped up and put in it the chili
Sounds like a great idea! Those grilled burgers adding more tast to Chilli! I’ll remember this tip!
They have this delivered, pre-prepared. Then they simmer it for the day. It’s delicious, but they do not make it at the restaurant.
Yes, times have changed since I wrote this blog post.
An this be cooked on the stove instead of the crockpot?
Yes. The longer is simmers, the better. You may have to add liquid as it cooks.
I haven’t had Wendy’s Chili in years but do recall how much I enjoyed their chili with a side Frosty! Those fast food days are gone, but this chili recipe made up for it. It was so good! Whole Pot was polished off same day. I want to make it in my new Instant Pot but not sure how to convert cooking times.
Can I use my instant pot for this recipe? I made it in my slow cooker (loved it!) but got an IP for Christmas and love using it. I am new to the IP community so not sure how to convert your recipe. Family asking fir this chili again.
LOOK UP A N IP CHILI RECIPE ON THE WEB AND USE THAT AS A GUIDE
Can you cook this 4 hrs on high?
Yes! Chili does great for 4 hours on high.
I use vegetable juice ( V8 or store brand fir my liquid and I use rotel ( chopped, canned tomatoes with green chili’s) and a package of fry taco seasoning instead of chili’s. Thus makes hearty chili and is not to spicy.