Vegan Chili Dog

A tasty plant-based twist on the classic and nostalgic Coney Island hot dog specialty, featuring texturized soy protein crumbles.

My husband loves all kinds of sandwiches – basically anything in between some type of bread. But he has a special affinity for hot dogs; and chili dogs just take his level of satisfaction and joy to an epic level. Surprisingly, he loves putting all of the hot dog condiments on top of his chili dog, including ketchup, mustard, and pickle relish. It’s his absolute favorite splurge.

In the last couple of years, since adopting a plant-based lifestyle, we have made delicious and satisfying Plant-based Carrot Dogs whenever we want hot dogs. They’re perfect for barbecues and we enjoy having them whenever we go camping. They’re super easy to make, contain zero fat or cholesterol, and are much healthier than commercial hot dogs.

But when my husband specifically asked me if we could have chili dogs for his birthday, I knew he wasn’t looking for a healthy Plant-based Carrot Dog served with healthy sides like Backyard Baked Beans, Easy Summer Carrot Salad, and Potato Salad.

These sides are all be delicious in their own right and make classic sides for a hot dog or chili dog. However, my birthday guy was specifically looking for his absolute favorite classic nostalgic Chili Dog – flavor, look, and feel. And if he was going to splurge, he wanted his childhood favorites, too. Mmmm, tater tots….

Translation: the look and texture of this Chili Dog are extremely important. The hot dog, the bun, the chili, the condiments – it all has to look and taste the part. And when you take a bite, it has to live up to the hype – and you and I both know that it’s super hard to live up to a nostalgic childhood memory.

So for his birthday, I made a plant-based hot dog chili using texturized soy protein (TVP) on top of a commercial vegan hot dog. I’ll be honest, I briefly considered making a hot dog using our Plant-based Andouille Sausage recipe as a base – and perhaps I will do just that in the future. But for his special day, I turned the spotlight on the hot dog chili to make sure it was flavored just right…

You want to know if he liked it? He was ecstatic! And I think you’ll agree, this chili dog looks pretty amazing!

You can definitely top a Plant-based Carrot Dog with this hot dog chili. And you will not be disappointed – in fact, it will be absolutely delicious. However, if you’re looking for an authentic chili dog look and texture, you’re probably going to want to make a commercially-made vegan hot dog. I bought our vegan and meatless hot dogs at Aldi. This may be helpful if you’re introducing plant-based or vegan options to someone who normally consumes traditional hot dogs.

We were both very satisfied with these Chili Dogs. However, I must also mention that we are normally more cautious about the amount of sodium we eat on a daily basis. But it’s fun to make special exceptions for birthdays and holidays – all things in moderation, right?

We served our Chili Dogs with minced onions, dill pickle relish, spicy brown mustard, and ketchup. And as I said before, we served these alongside crispy baked tater tots and corn on the cob. After all, I aim to please!

You can also top your Chili Dogs with vegan shredded cheese or Mighty Cheez Sauce drizzled on top. This hot dog chili topping would be quite tasty over a baked potato, french fries, or baked tortilla chips, too. It’s very versatile.

These Chili Dogs are fully transportable, which makes it great for a tail gate, barbecue, baseball or football game get together, potluck, etc. Just take the hot dogs or carrot dogs, buns, and chili and assemble on the spot.

Another awesome feature of this recipe is that this one-pan plant-based Chili Digs recipe is super fast and easy. It comes together in less than twenty minutes. And the flavor is spot on. I have one happy husband.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Please let me know if you try it in the comments below.

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2-2½ cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup texturized vegetable protein (tvp)*

• 4 Tbsp (¼ cup) tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari)
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp Thai chili garlic sauce
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce**
• 1½ Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• 1½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp cinnamon

• Salt to taste (optional)
• 8 vegan hot dogs or Plant-based Carrot Dogs***
• 8 hot dog buns
• condiments such as diced onions and mustard (optional) 

Instructions

1. On low to medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients, except the hot dogs and condiments. 
3. Stir until well combined and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the sauce is thick.  Add broth if needed and adjust seasonings to taste.
4. Serve over hot dogs and dress with diced onions and mustard.

Notes

* If you prefer not to use tvp, you can use cracked bulgur wheat or kasha (buckwheat).

** If you are vegetarian or vegan, be sure to review the ingredients on the Worcestershire sauce bottle.  Lord Sandy’s makes a vegetarian Worcestershire sauce.

*** I used commercial vegan hot dogs purchased at Aldi. For a much healthier treat, please try my Plant-based Carrot Dogs. They contain a lot less salt and zero fat.

To make this Vegan Chili Dog gluten-free, simply use gluten-free hot dogs, gluten-free hot dog buns, and gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce. Verify all of your ingredients are gluten-free.

This Vegan Chili Dog was adapted from The Anthony Kitchen’s Coney Sauce.

To save or print this Vegan Chili Dog recipe, please click on the download link below: