Chili Dog Mac & Cheese | Food Wishes

This chili dog mac and cheese recipe was an attempt to combine two of my favorite things to eat into a casserole that tasted like both, but in the end it ended up not tasting like either. That’s the bad news. The good new is this was easy to make, comforting, and very delicious. Enjoy!

[llamalover]

I am so sorry, Chef, but I actually did laugh our loud when you dumped all those hotdogs in.
Thank you for always showing us the real version of what happens during your experiments.

[Jarbs]

Ohhh it looks great - I would only change one thing. Let the cut hot dogs get some browning in a skillet - the flavor will seriously enhance the final product!

[AddictOfLearning]

😂 " As a Michelin star chef would say, this is a little hotdog forward" that killed me! Thank you so much for your recipes and your comedy!

[grapetomatogirl]

No. Way.
I’ve made my family chili cheese fries, chili cheese hot dogs and chili cheese ‘burgers’ over the last two weeks. The other night, while I was making spaghetti for dinner, I was contemplating whether to attempt a chili cheese version of it instead of the same old spaghetti with marinara sauce and ground meat by omitting the marinara sauce and adding some chopped grilled hotdogs, chili and cheese- but using the spaghetti didn’t seem quite right. I can’t believe I didn’t think of just making it into a casserole, and using elbow macaroni!
My apologies sensei- you have taught me better than that.
For my errors, I shall recite:
10 ‘round the outsides
10 0Oole tappa-tappas
10 fork don’t lies
… and add 10 teaspoons of cayenne pepper to my next meal. 🥵

Be well, stay kind and blessings to all~

[fluvCity]

Chef John, I just wanted to let you know, I've been watching you for years and I've learned so much from you. Thank you chef John. You're the Best 😊

[catmomsheri]

This is a lot like my Chili-Mac, except I don’t add hotdogs. I do use beans though. I never thought about baking it like a casserole. Looks way more cheesier that way, as opposed to mine that is served in a bowl with cheese just sprinkled on top - with a dollop of sour cream. Thanks!

[johnstewart]

John! This recipe totally surprised. I made it to use up left over hot dogs, and the result was so good it's been requested for repeat appearances. I didn't have enough macaroni, my chili powder was way too old and was only about 3/4 the amount suggested, but the results were delicious. This will go alongside your recipe for American Goulash and Asian garlic noodles as one of my go-too ones.

Thanks, please keep up the good work and carry on, brother.

[jennarodriguez]

My mom makes this but doesn't put it in a casserole and uses cocktail sausages. She calls it Beanie Weanie Chili 🤷🏻‍♀️ Also adds some barbecue sauce to it

[faithsrvtrip]

I would make this with hot Italian sausage and kielbasa, sliced like the hotdogs, or maybe quartered. My fav pasta for baking and mac-n-cheese is cavatappi as it holds up well and can be reheated without turning into mush. Happy cooking everyone!

[chelybeann]

If I were to recreate this, which I believe I will on an upcoming cheat day, I would make a regular mac & cheese recipe, and top it with the mixture, and top it again with shredded cheese. Then I think you would get both elements (and equal parts heart disease). ❤ thanks, Chef John!

[AldrickTanith]

I make something similar to this, minus the hot dogs. Interesting! I might try an experiment of my own inspired by this recipe. I'd start off by sauteing a large onion, one green pepper, and three or four cloves of garlic. Once that's cooked, dump in a can or two of canned hotdog chili, followed by eight to ten hotdogs cut into medallions, 16oz can of crushed tomatoes, and 1/4 of can of water with some beef bouillon. Heat up to cook the fat out of the hotdogs, taste for flavor, add salt, pepper, and if necessary cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and MSG. Once the flavor is right, just add whole wheat elbow macaroni to the mixture. Next add in Velveeta and mozzarella. The Velveeta is a more classic chili cheese dog cheese. The mozzarella will help it hold some sort of shape. Mix in the cheese until it seems to develop some binding ability. Dump the mixture into the casserole dish. Use monterey Jack cheese or mozzarella for the top, pressing down so it binds together with the cheese already mixed into the casserole. Bake until the noddles are completely al dente, likely similar to the amount of time called for on the box of noodles, maybe 2 or 3 minutes more just to be certain. When it comes out, test to see if the noodles are done, then let sit for 15 minutes, and then serve.

That's likely how I'd spin this to be more like the classic chili cheese dog mixed with mac 'n cheese. It also reduces the clean up and the work. It's less fancy though, but a classic chili cheese dog isn't meant to be fancy, lol. That's likely why it doesn't taste like it.

This recipe is good, though. I might try it as written, but with kielbasa instead of hotdogs.

[joshuaychung]

Dinner idea for the kids. This is combining everything they like into one dish, and it seems easy enough to make!

[libertyblueskyes]

This dish is like a midwest casserole dish served at a bridge game on Friday night.

[rundmw]

One of my own creations is a mix of:

* taco meat (prepared however you prefer, from scratch or using prepared spice packets)

* macaroni and cheese (again, prepared however you like prefer, from scratch or using the box)

Then combine.

Bam! Tacoroni and cheese.

[mon]

Tip for when you slice too many hotdogs and don't know what to do with the left overs: fry them up in butter, add pepper (and onions if that's your think). At the end... add ketchup and cover cuz it will splatter 😅

You can thank me, and every Trini person you ever meet later 😛

[Frie_Jemi]

The part I think you're missing, is the bread! I buy the cheap 4pk of canned biscuits, (40) cut each in half, baked on a sheet tray for 8-10 . minutes. Stir them in when its still a bit soupy. ALSO prepare the mac&cheese FULLY before adding and the cheese will stay on the noodles!

[mindysuarez]

I thank you for this. I made it almost the same, I used chili seasoning put, I used a deluxe macaroni & cheese with the cheese sauce which I included and I used all beef hot dogs but only 2 because they were big. I did add a can of seasoned pinto bean in the can because I new I would have leftovers. Last I topped with fine shredded cheese. Brought out the sour cream, pickle jalapeños but it was so good we didn't even use them. I did add hot sauce to mine for a bigger kick❤ thank you again

[LimaGolfth]

This is similar to my favorite Zippy’s (Hawaii restaurant chain) dish, Zippy’s Chili Frank Plate. It consists of Zippy’s chili and a hotdog, served with macaroni salad and white rice.🥰

[Panwere]

Thank you for this one. This and your Lasagna Soup are two recipes I intend to try as soon as possible.

[whoareyoume]

That's it. The next time I have chili, I'm dumping some on top of my mac and cheese. That is some next-level snacking Chef John. And yes I said 'Oh my God' out loud when I saw ALL those hot dogs go in.