This hearty chili hot dog casserole is an easy crowd pleasing meal that won’t leave you hungry! Packed with hot dogs wrapped in biscuits and topped with our hot dog chili and lots of cheese, it’s the ultimate comfort food dinner.
Why I Love This Chili Dog Casserole
If there’s one thing I know kids love (at least the grandkids wreaking havoc in my kitchen), it’s hot dogs. However… I can only make them so many hot dogs before I start going a little crazy. That’s why I came up this easy, cheesy hot dog casserole using biscuits! It takes everything we all know and love about a classic chili dog and bakes it to perfection in a casserole dish with lots of cheesy goodness. Here’s why I love making this for a fun dinner with the kids or for game day with friends:
- Effortless: After you roll up the hot dogs in the biscuit dough, this hearty casserole is so easy it practically makes itself.
- Comfort food: This is one of those stick-to-your-ribs kind of dinners that is warm and comforting on a chilly night. No one is leaving the table hungry after this cheesy hot dog casserole!
- Easy clean-up: If you use a can of chili and a jar of cheese, you won’t make a mess in the kitchen. However I included all the homemade versions for those who prefer from scratch like me!
- Prep-friendly: Assemble it the night or morning before so you just have to pop it in the oven whenever you are ready for dinner.
Looking for more easy comfort food style dinner recipes? With just 10 minutes of prep, you can’t go wrong with this crockpot Swiss steak! These juicy smothered pork chops or easy sloppy joes are always crowd pleasers too.
Key Ingredients:
Spicy chili and melty cheddar are a dream Tex-Mex flavor combination for this epic chili cheese dog casserole. Below you will find helpful notes for key ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredient list and exact amounts!
- Hot dogs: If you use large hot dogs, cut them into thirds so that the sausages don’t stick out from the biscuits too much.
- Southern Homestyle Biscuits: These are refrigerated canned biscuits you just need to bake. Do not use the flaky style biscuits as the texture will not be the same.
- Hot Dog Chili: Try my version or add your favorite homemade or store-bought chili with or without beans, it’s up to you!
- Cheddar Cheese: Any melty shredded cheese will work, but I like to use mild or sharp cheddar for the classic chili dog flavor.
- Homemade Cheese Sauce: You can also use a jar of store-bought Cheese Whiz or nacho cheese.
- Onion: I used a red onion as they are a little milder in flavor. However, a yellow or white onion, shallots or even green onions will all work too.
How To Make Chili Hot Dog Casserole
Don’t forget the chili layer at the bottom of the casserole dish to prevent burning and your biscuits from drying out. Below is a quick recipe overview, but please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions.
- Roll the hot dogs: Cut the biscuits and hot dogs in half, or thirds if using long hot dogs. Add shredded cheddar cheese and hot dog to each biscuit half. Roll up the biscuits, keeping the ingredients inside.
- Assemble the casserole: Add a layer of chili to the bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Arrange the rolled hot dogs in the casserole dish, standing up right. Leaving space in between each for the biscuits to expand as they bake. Spoon more chili around and in between the rolls.
- Bake: Bake the casserole for 30 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown and the chili is bubbling. If the biscuits are browning too quickly, you can lightly cover the top of the casserole with foil as it bakes.
- Enjoy: Add the hot and melty cheese sauce on top, garnish with red onions if desired, serve and enjoy!
Cook’s Tips & Tricks
- Make it spicy: Top the casserole with freshly sliced jalapeños or serranos for a kick of heat.
- Stay in the middle: Don’t move the oven rack to the top or bottom of the oven. If you move it to the lowest rack, the chili will burn. If you move it to the top, it’ll be harder for the biscuits to cook through because of uneven heat distribution. For best results, always bake on the middle rack.
- Make them serving-size: Assemble the recipe as usual but in a muffin tray with cupcake liners, adding one hot dog-biscuit roll per cavity. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the biscuits are golden.
- More toppings: Sprinkle crumbled bacon, add crunchy chives, or a spoonful of sour cream for more flavor in each bite. My crazy junk-food husband crumbled some Fritos on top of his for added crunch.
- Swap the biscuits: You can also use crescent rolls to wrap the hot dogs with instead of biscuits.
Yield: 8 Servings
Chili Hot Dog Casserole
This hearty chili hot dog casserole is an easy crowd pleasing meal! Packed with hot dogs wrapped in biscuits and topped with our hot dog chili and lots of melty cheese sauce, our chili dog casserole is the ultimate comfort food dinner.
Ingredients
- 8 hot dogs, sliced in half
- 1 (16.3 oz) can Southern homestyle biscuits, sliced in half
- 1 batch hot dog chili, or 2 cans chili
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 batch homemade cheese sauce, or 1 jar of cheese whiz
- red onion, diced, optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray an 11×8 (or similar sized) casserole dish with non-stick spray. Spread 1/4 cup chili on the bottom of the baking dish and set aside.
- Cut the biscuits and hot dogs in half. Add some cheddar cheese to a half of a biscuit, then lay the hot dog on top of the cheese. Roll the biscuit around the hot dog and press to seal the edges. If your hot dogs are longer, cut them into thirds so they do not stick out too much from the biscuits.
- Set the prepared biscuit dogs in the casserole dish, standing straight up, leaving a little room between each one for spreading. Repeat until all biscuits and hot dogs are used. Add the remaining chili around and in between each biscuit wrapped hot dog.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes on the center rack, until the biscuits are golden brown. If your biscuits are browning too quickly as they bake, you can lightly cover the top of the casserole dish with foil.
- Let the casserole rest for 5 minutes. Then drizzle the cheese sauce over the top of the casserole, garnish with the red onion, and serve immediately.
Notes
Store: While best served fresh, the leftovers are still tasty the next day. Cover the baking dish with foil and refrigerate it for up to 4 days.
Reheat: Microwave it in 20-second increments until warm. For large portions, reheat it in the oven at 300F for 20-25 minutes.
Make Ahead: Assemble the casserole as usual but don’t bake it. Cover the baking dish with foil or plastic wrap. Refrigerate it (raw) for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, remove the foil and set the uncooked casserole on the counter for 30 minutes. Bake as usual.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 559kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 34g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 57mg, Sodium: 1633mg, Potassium: 361mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 371IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 194mg, Iron: 5mg
My kids loved them! Biscuits and hot dogs for the win!