| | |

Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Have you ditched the carbs and sugar in your diet?  If so, don’t worry!  You can stay on your low carb/ Keto plan and still enjoy a delicious Chili Dog with this Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole.

This Chili Dog Casserole is a mix of your favorite hot dogs, beefy chili, and cheese. It’s hearty, comforting and best of all, low carb. You’ll never miss the bun!

Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole

Chili Dogs are the Ultimate Summer food!

Hot dogs (and burgers, of course) really are the ultimate summer cook-out food.  My kids request them for dinner all the time.

We’ve been grilling outside a lot lately. With Labor Day around the corner, I figured it was time for me to come up with a way the entire family could enjoy chili dogs again.  (Hubby and I are eating low carb right now, so a traditional chili dog in a bun is off the table.)

In the past, I would buy canned chili for our chili dogs, but even the canned bean-less chili’s have quite a few carbs in them, so it’s better to make my own version of a low carb chili.

Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole: Ditch the carbs with this Low Carb Chili Dog Bake!

Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole

My Low Carb Hot Dog Chili recipe turned out sooo good, you would never know it was low carb! 

I combined the low-carb chili with hot dogs, cheese, and onions and made the most amazing chili dog casserole ever!

After baking the hot dogs with all the chili, cheese, and onions, I was definitely in chili dog heaven.  (and yes, there is such a thing!)

How good does Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole look?  You definitely won’t miss the bun.

Nutrition Information for Keto Chili Dog Casserole:

Ok, so the big question I get is: How many carbs are in this low-carb chili dog casserole?

The Answer?

Well, unfortunately, I can’t give you hard numbers as it will vary a tiny bit based on the ingredients you choose to use.

But… If you make it exactly as the recipe below it comes to 498 calories, 8 net carbs, 37 grams of fat, 33 grams of protein, and 5 grams of sugar. (Per serving – 6 servings in the dish)

  • Want to lower the fat count? Use less cheese.
  • Want to lower the carbs? Look for the lowest carb hot dogs and use fewer onions.
chili dog casserole

Ingredients:

Want to give this chili dog casserole a try? Just copy and paste the ingredients listed below to your grocery list. (ingredients at a glance grab the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.)

  • Beef Hot Dogs | Different brands have different carb amounts, just check the packaging.
  • Cheddar cheese | save carbs by shredding your own. Monterey /Colby Jack blend also works great.
  • Ground beef | Leaner the better for this recipe.
  • Tomato sauce and tomato paste
  • Garlic Cloves | Minced garlic from the jar works too. 1/2 tsp of minced garlic equals one fresh clove.
  • Bell pepper | Whatever color you prefer- green has the lowest amount of carbs
  • Onion | Yellow onion would be the first choice for this recipe, but white will work too.
  • Chili powder, ground cumin and celery salt
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Sugar substitute | Many readers have opted to leave this out, but I think it adds an authentic flavor to the chilidog sauce. Sugar is often used to cut the acidity of the tomatoes and using a small amount helps balance the flavors to create a richer overall chili.

How to Make this Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole

The reason this recipe is so yummy and low carb too is partly because of the homemade chili dog sauce.

You could make this chili dog bake with commercially prepared chili dog sauce. It would taste great too, but that sauce from the can has quite a few more carbs than my recipe does. Making your own chili is slightly more work, but oh, so rewarding!  

(Scroll to the bottom for a printable recipe card.)

  1. To make this Keto Chili Dog Casserole, start by browning the meat with the peppers, onions, and garlic.  Add the spices, tomato sauce, paste, and water. Simmer for about 30 minutes. 
  2. Once the chili is done, an optional step, but something I recommend, is to use an immersion blender or food processor to chop the chili into small pieces, as authentic chili sauce would be.
  3. Assemble the casserole by spreading prewarmed/room temp hot dogs flat on the bottom of a 7 x 9 casserole dish. (if your hot dogs come straight from the fridge, you may need to increase the baking time.)
  4. Cover the dogs with chili.  (You should have enough chili to reserve a bit if you have anyone eating regular hot dogs and wants chili on top. Otherwise, use it all.)  Spread 1 cup of cheese over chili and top with remaining onion.
  5. Bake at 400 F for about 15 to 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly!
Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole: Ditch the carbs with this Low Carb Chili Dog Bake!

Can you make this Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole in the Slow Cooker?

Yes! You can make the chili dog casserole in the crockpot, however, the instruction will be a bit different.

  1. Start by browning the ground beef with the garlic, onion, and peppers in a skillet on the stovetop.
  2. Once browned, add the ground beef to the slow cooker. Add the rest of the spices, plus tomato sauce, paste, and water. Use an immersion blender to chop the sauce into fine pieces.
  3. Top with hot dogs and cheese and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4.
  4. Stir before serving and top with additional cheese and onions if desired.

How Long Will this Chili Dog Casserole Last in the Fridge?

Once cooked, this casserole will last 3 to 4 days in the fridge

Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole: Ditch the carbs with this Keto Chili Dog Casserole!

Can I Freeze this Chili Dog Casserole

Yes, you can definitely freeze this keto Chili Dog Casserole.  There are 3 ways to freeze it.

  1.  Let chili cool significantly, package it up in 1 to 2 servings into a freezer bag, taking care to remove all the air from the bag.  Then when ready to eat, just microwave it on medium power until defrosted. Transfer to a bowl and continue to heat until warmed through.
  2. Create the casserole as directed.  Sto before baking.  Wrap tightly with foil and freeze.  When ready to eat, remove from the freezer and let thaw in the fridge for 24 hours.  Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until everything is hot and bubbly.
  3. The 3rd way, (recommended) is to prepare the recipe up to assembling the casserole. (So just cook the chili.) Let chili cool significantly, package it up into a freezer bag, taking care to remove all the air and freeze.
  4. When ready to make the casserole, put the frozen bag in the fridge in the morning to defrost.  Then when ready to cook, place chili in the microwave to finish warming.  Assemble the casserole and bake as directed in the recipe

Can you make Chili Dog Casserole ahead?

Yes, parts of this casserole can definitely be made ahead of time. The chili is what takes the most amount of time to make and can be made a few days ahead and stored in the fridge. Then just put the casserole together before you are ready to bake.

Chili Dog Casserole Variations

This is a great casserole for the family as everyone loves chili dogs and won’t miss the buns. However, you can serve it so many ways to satisfy everyone in the family.

  • Hungry teenage boys, that eat you out of the house? Serve it over hot dog buns and add chili beans!
  • If you’re gluten-free instead of low carb, this would be awesome with corn chips.  Just cut the hot dogs into smaller slices and scoop the chili, franks, and cheese up with the chips.
  • Or spoon the chili dog bake right into a snack-size bag of chips! Like these walking frito pies.)

If you just want a low-carb chili recipe, be sure to check out this Keto Chili Recipe.

Other Low Carb Recipes You Will Love:

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole: Ditch the carbs with this Low Carb Chili Dog Bake!

Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 97 reviews
  • Author: Jamie Sanders
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: low carb
  • Method: stovetop/oven

Description

Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole: Ditch the carbs with this Low Carb Chili Dog Bake!  It’s the best hot dog chili ever and bonus: It’s low carb! (8 carbs or less per serving if you use beef franks.)


Ingredients

Scale

For the chili:

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 large bell pepper
  • about 3/4 of a large onion, diced (use more if you like sauteed onion)
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp salt  (You could cheat and just use 2 tbs of a chili spice mix in place of the 4 spices above.)
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire
  • 1 tbs of sugar or sugar substitute (12 carbs in a tbs of sugar, fyi)
  • 1/2 tsp celery salt
  • 1 cup of tomato sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tbs tomato paste

For the casserole:

  • 8 Beef Hot Dogs sliced longways down the middle and cut in half
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar or cheddar blend cheese (or more if you like a lot of cheese)
  • extra diced onions for garnish

Instructions

  1. Combine the ground beef, 2/3 of the chopped onions, peppers and garlic in large frying pan and saute until ground beef is browned.  Drain fat.
  2. Add spices, Worcestershire, sugar, tomato sauce, tomato paste and water to the pan.  stir to combine and simmer for 30 minutes.
  3. Optional step, but totally makes it just like real hot dog chili: Using a food processor or immersion blender, process the chili until the beef is in very small pieces.
  4. Lay hot dogs flat on the bottom of a 7 x 9 casserole dish.  Cover with chili.  (you should have enough to reserve a bit for those that are eating regular hot dogs and want chili.)  Spread 1 cup of cheese over chili and top with remaining onion.
  5. Bake at 400 F for about 15 to 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly!

Serve and Enjoy!


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
  • Calories: 498
  • Sugar: 5
  • Fat: 37
  • Carbohydrates: 8
  • Protein: 33

The kids definitely thought these were the best chili dogs ever!

Don't miss any more posts!

Follow along on:

FeedlyBloglovin', your favorite feed reader, or signing up via email and have new posts delivered to your email box each week!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

168 Comments

  1. Is the calorie count 523 for 2 chili dogs with buns?

    1. This is a bunless chili dog bake recipe.

  2. Made this tonight for dinner. It was wonderful! The only thing I did differant was I sliced the hot dogs into bite size pieces. This was a winner? thanks for sharing.






  3. I made this a few nights ago — SO DELICIOUS. I’m not usually a leftovers kind of person, but even the leftovers for this were as good as the night I made it. Don’t skimp on your hot dog choice, I went with Hebrew Nationals (2 carbs each) but sooo worth it! Thank you for this recipe!!






  4. I am working on loosing weight and I have been told that the best way to loose weight is to limit your carb intake, exercise regularly, and drink plenty of water. I am wanting to know how much of this I could have for one serving? Please no negative comments!

  5. Amanda Collins says:

    This was delicious. My son didn’t like the combo of spices, but he is the pickiest eater ever. We grown-ups loved it.






  6. Wondering how this would freeze

    1. I have not frozen it myself, but I bet it would freeze great!

  7. I made this a bit over a week ago, hubby and I both liked it. Our 18 year old grandson finished off the other half the next day (was supposed to be our lunch…oh well..lol)! Hubby wants me to make this again tonight. Thank you for this recipe!






  8. Sorry, did not enjoy that much. Will try it again but omitting the sugar. It tasted like beef and sweet ketchup. Even after adding like 5TBSP of chili powder and extra salt and black pepper.

    1. There are several types of chili recipes. This is a hotdog chili recipe which is supposed to be slightly sweeter and less spicy.

  9. Used Hebrew national hot dogs because they’re my favorite. It was great! I forgot a minor ingredient or two but we still loved it. Also we didn’t use the sugar and it was fine.






  10. Ashley Roberson says:

    Going to try this tonight. I amcheating and using the pack of chili seasoning but instead of tomato juice/paste, I am going to use V8 Juice and using Jenni-o turkey + ground turkey instead. Can’t wait to try!

  11. I made this two nights ago. I thought it was great. Definitely making this again.






  12. Would this still tast good without any sweetener at all? I have cut sugar from my diet and can’t seem to find an artificial sweetener that I can stand the flavor of ??

    1. I am sure it will be fine, the chili just won’t taste the same. Have you tried swerve sweetener? 1 tbs of this in the chili does not taste weird.

      1. I haven’t. I have looked at it but am just scared to buy a bag ?. I might try it ☺️

      2. I saw swerve at my local safeway for a great price recently. You might check your grocery stores. Swerve is a is a combination of erythritol and oligosaccharides. I really haven’t found anything yet to cook and bake with that I like better.

    2. Xylitol is an all natural sweetner with absolutely no
      Bitter after taste. It looks and taste exactly like real sugar and Im very critical
      Of artifical sweetners, and I
      FIND IT 100% BETTER THAN STEVIA. TRY IT!

  13. Just got mine out of the oven. This is the 2nd time I’m making it. This time I fried the hot dogs in a dry frying pan while I was simmering the chili sauce for eye and taste appeal. I ran out of tomato sauce and used Heintz low sugar Catsup with a dab of French’s mustard and added a little water for consistency then lowed the water amount from 1 cup to 3/4 cup. The chili thickness was perfect.. Thanks for sharing the recipe!






  14. Courtney Botts says:

    I am just curious of the nutrition facts for the low carb chili dog bake casserole. Thanks.

    1. If you need them, you can go to my fitness pal and enter the ingredients.

  15. Made this tonight!!!!!! Delicious. Thank you so much.

  16. Stephanie says:

    I found a low carb corn bread recipe and then assembled this in layers. Dogs, cornbread batter, chilli, cheese, repeat. It was amazing

  17. This was sooooo good!!! I found the hot dogs in the produce area near the deli where they slice the meat for you!






  18. I used Applegate Natural Uncured Beef Hot Dogs. They do not have any fillers or carbs(no sugar, no corn syrup, starch etc). They are expensive but IMO worth it.

    When I made this recipe, it came out of the oven with too much liquid in the bottom. I only used half a cup of water and I drained most of the grease from the hamburger. I will try omitting water next time.

    1. I’ve never tried those hot dogs, that sounds good. If your chili is too liquidy you could also try simmering it a bit longer so that it opens up more.

      1. Ashley Roberson says:

        the BarS Hot Dogs are good. and affordable. Less than $1.50 for a pack. If you want to go the turkey route the Jenni-O Hot dogs aren’t bad and again less than $1.50 per pack.

  19. This is absolutely delicious. We love chili dogs but need to stay low carb and diabetic friendly. The only thing I omitted was the celery salt (didn’t have on hand). The canned chili always has a bitter aftertaste and of course all the carbs/fat. Thanks for such a great recipe, we will definitely be enjoying this on a regular basis.






  20. I use Aldis park view cheese hot dogs and they have 1net carb per dog! I can’t wait to try this recipe…it looks so yummy!