Wendy’s Chili

“I followed the recipe ratios as given, and based on the suggestions of other reviewers, I used canned diced tomatoes ( Hey it’s January in Minnesota !! ) and I used a crockpot. The chili was very good, however based on the chili I bought last night at Wendy’s, I must warn you that this recipe has more heat.Also because I was not simmering the chili in an open pot, mine was not as thick. To make up for that, I added one tablespoon of corn starch mixed with an equal amount of cold water. Of course timing will be different using a crockpot, so I called it done when the tomatoes started to fall apart, and the onion was no longer crunchy.”

“Excellent!My new chili recipe; and it does taste just like Wendy’s.I followed the recipe exactly; but next time I may cut back on the beans.Wonderful, thanks for posting it.”

“FINALLY!!A chili recipe I can throw together and not have to constantly adjust the “heat” for those of us with a palate that is easily traumatized by Big Red gum-level spicey-ness. This was mild and flavorful and I could still use my tastebuds after a nice big bowl. I did cut the recipe in half and it worked out great. I did not use the fresh chilis, I used a small can of chopped green chillis from the pantry. I added about 1/2 cup of fresh minced green pepper just because I needed to use it up. I put this together in a stockpot and let it simmer away for close to 6 hours while I did housework…though I did try a small sample after about 2 hours and it was great. I served mine with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese and a sprinkle of corn chips…YUM!!This is my new standard!”

“Wow! This recipe is delicious! To bad the maximum number of stars you can give is 5 because this recipe deserves 10! A keeper!!!! Thank You Pam!”

“I made changes to this recipe but still kept with the basic outline.I used a 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes instead of 3 medium, a3 ounce can of diced green chilies instead of a fresh green chili and drained and rinsed the beans (way too much salt on them for me).I also covered the pot for most of the cooking.”

“I really loved this recipe. I’ve never tasted Wendy’s chili so I can’t compare, but, anyway, for me it’s a keeper! Thank you for sharing!”

“My family & I thought this was wonderful! I just use a little less beans to suit my family’s taste. Not sure why its taken so long to rate!I love that we can have this at home & know exactly what is going in. Thanks :)”

“Delicious chili.I just had a bag of pintos in my pantry so used those, and I was scared of the chili powder after reading that this is hotter than the Wendy’s kind.So I just used one teaspoon to start, and found that it was fine as it was.Other than that I followed the recipe.Five hours in my crockpot produced a delicious meal, and I’m looking forward to the leftovers for lunches this week.Thanks a lot, Pam.”

“”Perfect”….is the word my husband used to describe this chili.We’ve been married for almost 17 years and I don’t recall him ever using that term for anything I’ve made….and I am not a bad cook, he’s just a very critical eater.He used to cook for a living years ago and he knows what he likes.I liked the chili too.I didn’t follow the measurements on the spices exactly since he has a sensitive stomach.Next time I will follow the measurements for them because even my husband said it needed a little more kick than what I gave it.I used canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes since I didn’t have any on hand.Turned out just fine.I will use this as my standby for chili from now on!”

“Just enough spice to make your tastebuds go WOW! Rich and filling, this was excellent and now the chili recipe of the family. THANKS!”

“This made excellent chili, it did taste just like Wendy’s. Very easy to make as well. Great recipe!”

“WOW!I still can’t get over how much this actually tastes like Wendy chili.Definitely one of the best copycat recipes I’ve encountered- thanks for sharing it :)”

“This is an excellent recipe – thank you Pam! I don’t know if it tastes like Wendy’s because its been a very long time since I had their chili, but this its certainly packed with flavor and has a really nice balance of flavors. I made only a few modifications and it turned out great!Of coarse chili’s adapt to small changes but the spice/veggies ratio in this recipe is spot on so you cant go wrong. My modifications where: 1 lb ground beef 1 lb organic chicken Andouille sausage cut up real small (I only had 1 lb of beef on hand);20 oz can whole tomatoes sub for the fresh tomato; black beans sub for the kidney beans; 2 bay leaf (because I like the flavor).Final note: DO NOT skip the celery or else you will be missing “something” :)”

“This is by far the Best Chili ever! I had a recipe for 28 years and it just went in the garbage! You really nailed this dish! Thank you so much! I always put a dab of sour cream on top and a spinkle of grated cheese! I think I will have another bowl!”

“Just got done eating this. WOW was it good. Cooked for the parents tonight so had to cut the chili powder down to 2 tbls. Also got the urge to clean out the fridge…. so in went left over pico de gallo, half jar of roasted sweet red peppers, and fresh green onion. I used italian sauce instead of paste and used canned tomatoes. Also added a can of fire roasted tomato with peppers. Cooked in a crock pot and topped with chopped scallions and shredded cheese. Everyone loved it! And my Mom even said it was better than hers. hehehe. Thanks Pam!!!”

“I thought this did taste exactly like Wendy’s chili!I skipped the celeryand used 1-19oz can red kidney beans, 1-19oz white kidney beans and 1-19oz romano beans.Also used can of diced green chili and tons of hot pepper sauce because we like it spicy! Cooked in my crock pot on low for 4 hours, then left it over night on the keep warm setting to slowly simmer and it was fantabulous!”

“Attention! I think Pam means bell peppers where she puts chili peppers. Ours was not too spicy, and tasted just like wendy’s. The differences in reviews is coming from what you interpret as green chili peppers! Canned chili’s are too hot for children so don’t use them if that’s not what you want. Otherwise, awesome recipe!”

“I’m a young mom and wife and honestly a terrible cook. I always try to find simple yet delicious. This was absolutely both. It’s the first Chili I’ve ever made and I will never use another recipe. altogether it coast about $10 to make a pot that could feed my husbands military unit. Would recommend this to anyone.”

“Very ,Very good!!!my 4yr old loved it!!!It was easy now I’m ready for the fall….”