Restaurant Chili Recipe: A Copycat Recipe of One of Our Favorite Chilis by Donna John

Love Wendy's chili? On a foodie group I read that Wendy's will sell its famous chili at grocery stores soon. People from all over seem to be obsessed with this fast food chain's beef and bean chili. Wendy's describes their chili (aka chili con carne) as "a cup of spicy stew with our unique blend of rich and meaty ground beef, kidney beans, tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables." And while many are excited about buying a can of the iconic chili, many still want a Wendy's copycat chili recipe to make it fresh at home.

This copycat recipe for Wendy's chili is pretty darn close in taste and consistency to what you buy at the drive-thru. Start the chili by browning ground beef in a soup pot. Drain the fat then add tomato juice, tomato puree, kidney beans, pinto beans, onion, celery, green bell pepper, chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, dried oregano and ground cayenne, to taste. Gently simmer, covered, on the stovetop for about 1 1/2 hours.

You can also make this ground beef chili in a slow cooker. Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain. Add the ground beef and remaining ingredients to your slow cooker and cook on low heat for about four hours.

Serve this hearty bean and beef chili with your favorite side dishes. We like it with a slab of fresh-baked cornbread and a crisp garden salad. 

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 to 1 1/2 hours
Total Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 32 ounces tomato juice
• 29 ounces (1 can) tomato puree
• 15 ounces (1 can) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 15 ounces (1 can) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• ground cayenne, to taste

Recipe Notes

• You could change up the beans to suit your tastes. Try healthy black beans!

• Instead of ground beef, try this recipe with ground turkey.

• Store the chili in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave. 

Here's how to make it: 

1. Brown the ground beef in a large soup pot. Drain fat. 
2. Add all the remaining ingredients. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook, stirring often, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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