8 Store-Bought Chili Brands For Hot Dogs, Ranked Worst To Best

Is there any food more quintessentially American summer than hot dogs? They're quick, simple to make, and delicious. Even better, there are countless creative ways to dress them up so they taste different every time. Whether you begin with your standard beef hot dog or go the extra mile by starting with cheese-stuffed hot dogs, you can add any variation of mustard, ketchup, onions, relish, sauerkraut, shredded cheese, coleslaw, bacon, hot peppers, and so much more. One of my personal favorite ways to eat them is topped with hot dog chili. But it's been my experience that some canned hot dog chili brands just taste like dog food rather than the somewhat spicy, savory deliciousness I look for. The problem is that it's nearly impossible to determine which brands are worth your hard-earned money unless you go through the hassle of trying each one individually.

Of course, if you're here, you don't have to go through that taste-testing hassle because I already did it for you. I tasted eight store-bought chili brands for hot dogs and ranked them from worst to best based on taste, texture, and smell. My food industry background, love of hot dog chili, and previous work for the Daily Meal provided me with the foundation needed to confidently make these judgments. If you're interested, you can find my full methodology at the end of this article. Now, ready to discover your new favorite hot dog chili? Let's get into it.

Great Value is Walmart's private label. I'll be honest and say many of my experiences with this brand have been negative, but there are always some redeeming products to help give me hope. For example, their donut shop coffee blend is one of my favorites. But this monstrosity they call hot dog chili sauce doesn't just deserve to be left on the shelf — I would go so far as to say it should be pulled from the shelves entirely so nobody else has to suffer through the experience of eating it.

From the moment I opened the can of Great Value Hot Dog Chili Sauce, I couldn't help but cringe. Not only did the stuff inside the can look like dog food, but it also smelled like it. You know that intense savory smell with something almost rancid but not quite? Yeah, that's exactly what greeted me. If it hadn't been for this taste test, I would have never eaten this. Nevertheless, I persevered so you don't have to. 

For my efforts, I was greeted by a gag-worthy texture and taste that brought up traumatic memories of accidentally eating actual dog food as a young child. Don't eat this. I'm pretty sure it is dog food relabeled as hot dog chili sauce. I couldn't even be tempted to look at a can again, never mind eating it.

From my previous experiences, Texas-style chili has a somewhat spicy kick that complements an intense meaty savoriness (because Texas-style chili never has beans traditionally). That was the general flavor profile I was expecting here, but to say the Texas Tailgate Chili Sauce For Burgers and Dogs didn't deliver would be an understatement.

Even as I was heating this up on the stove, I started to become wary, because the scent was overwhelmingly sweet — I'd even go so far as to say it veered towards sugary. But I thought that maybe this was just a smell thing, and held out hopes that the taste test would show something different. Unfortunately, the flavor profile was also super sweet in a weird, gross way that overwhelmed any other flavor notes that may have been hiding in this hot dog chili. Outside of that intense sweetness, the chili was very bland and didn't even really taste savory, which was further off-putting. Although the texture was thinner, as I prefer, I can confidently say this was one of the worst store-bought hot dog chilis I've ever tasted. I'm only grateful it didn't taste like a can of dog food.

I wouldn't purchase this again, and you couldn't pay me to eat it again. Skip this in lieu of a better option ... unless, of course, you prefer your hot dog chili so sweet it might as well be candy.

Brookdale is one of Aldi's private labels, and I've largely had great success with these. I adore Aldi Mexican foods, and there are countless Aldi cheeses that are well worth buying. Some of my favorite snacks also come from the store, including a range of Aldi spicy snacks, and their mini pies that cost less than a dollar. But every once in a while, I find a dud product that just isn't up to the standards I've set for this private label retailer — and this can of Brookdale Original Chili No Beans happens to fall into that latter category.

My primary issue is the same one I have with the Texas Tailgate brand. This Brookdale hot dog chili is more sweet than anything else, and that's just not what good chili should be. A hint of sweetness? Totally fine. But more sweetness than spice or savoriness? That just ruins the experience for me. Texturally, this was really thick, in a way that overwhelmed the hot dog and bun, but I could have looked past this if the rest of the product was good. As it stands, this pulled just a bit ahead of Texas Tailgate because I could detect faint spice and mild savory notes amongst the sweetness. I wouldn't buy this again, nor could I be tempted to eat it again.

Although this option from Hormel doesn't specifically say "hot dog chili" in the name, it does show the chili being used this way on the label. This clearly distinguishes the Hormel Chili No Beans from other options since their "with beans" shows a bowl of chili on the front of the can. That being said, I wasn't overly thrilled with this option either way, which was honestly disappointing, since Hormel's standard product with beans is my go-to if I'm going to grab canned chili.

To start on a positive note, this Hormel Chili No Beans had a great texture. It was thick without being too thick, with a hearty amount of solid meat throughout to give it substance. The smell was okay, with an intense meaty savoriness. Unfortunately, that was streaked through with a moderate scent of low-quality meat, which I didn't like at all, somewhat ruining the experience for me. This was largely indicative of the taste, which was very savory with a small kick of spice, but marked by the tell-tale flavor of low-quality meat. I wouldn't buy this again, nor do I think I could be tempted to eat it again if offered to me by someone else. That cheap meat taste is a really big pet peeve of mine.

Steve's and Ed's offered three different types of hot dog chili sauce at my local grocery store, and I decided to include all of them in this ranking, since each one was decidedly unique. The idea of this one, which includes onion, was intriguing to me, since I adore diced onion on my chili hot dogs. In fact, it's one of my favorite chili hot dog combinations, right after coleslaw — and if you haven't tried a hot dog in that traditional West Virginia style, you're really missing out.

Texturally, the Steve's and Ed's Hot Dog Chili Sauce with Onion is thinner than some of the other options. Despite believing I'd find diced onions in here, I couldn't really feel or see them, which was a little disappointing for me. Those onions were obvious in the taste, though, providing a mildly sweet counterpoint to the hearty savoriness of the product. The meat tasted real and not cheap, which was a boon after struggling through a few of the lower-ranking options on this list. However, the onion did lend a mild but odd after-texture, which caused my mouth to feel a bit dried out.

I wouldn't purposefully seek this out again at the grocery store, only because there are options I prefer more. However, I would definitely eat this hot dog chili again if offered to me by someone else.

I found this Castleberry's Original Hot Dog Chili Sauce at Walmart, along with a few other brands. While this may not be the top choice in this store-bought hot dog chili brands list, it's definitely the best option available at Walmart — so if that's where you prefer to do your shopping, this is the hot dog chili brand you should reach for.

To start out on my one singular complaint, this hot dog chili sauce looked a little bit like low-quality dog food because of the chunks strewn throughout the thinner sauce. I was able to overlook this because (unlike our lowest ranking option) it smelled and tasted much better. In these aspects, this was very similar to the original Steve's and Ed's Hot Dog Chili Sauce on our list. An intense savory scent was indicative of the overall taste, and this paired exceptionally well with the hot dog/bun combo. If I was at Walmart, this would be the hot dog chili sauce I'd choose, but I wouldn't visit Walmart just to get it because I prefer the top two options vastly more.

I really enjoyed this brand of hot dog chili sauce overall, because I prefer the thinner consistency these have. Many of the other brands on this list are thicker, like standard chili, but personally, thinner seems more texturally appropriate when it's going to be paired with hot dogs. I recognize that this could be a personal preference rather than a true indicator of better quality.

Thankfully, it's not only the consistency that makes Steve's and Ed's Original Hot Dog Chili Sauce so great. The flavor profile brings an intense savoriness that pairs well with the savory hot dog and starchy bun. After my first few bites, I added a little bit of mustard to the final half of my hot dog, since this is my preference, and I really appreciated how well the chili paired with the bright tang of the mustard.

I'll probably buy this again for my kids, because they didn't enjoy my own top choice, and I could definitely be tempted to eat it again. If you're looking for a standard chili for hot dogs, this is an excellent choice.

Of all three Steve's and Ed's products, this one was my favorite, hands down. Not only did it have the best taste, but I thought it was the one that paired best with the hot dog and bun combination, too, thanks to some additional flavor notes that helped create a beautifully layered taste profile.

The flavor profile of the Steve's and Ed's Hot Dog Chili Sauce with Jalapeño starts with moderate savoriness, which remains the sole note for the first few seconds. As this fades slightly, you're met with a faint sweetness and a mild kick of heat, neither of which is overwhelming. I enjoy the faint sweetness here, since it complements rather than overwhelms, and I've always enjoyed a bit of heat in my foods so long as it balances the flavor rather than negating it.

This will be my personal go-to hot dog chili sauce moving forward, and I highly recommend you try it if you're looking for a little kick of heat. If you're not a fan of spice, opt for the original Steve's and Ed's instead. Either way, you won't be disappointed by our top picks.

I chose all of the available store-bought hot dog chili brands available in my area for inclusion in this list. This included options from Shoprite, Aldi, and Walmart, which are the main grocery stores in my local area. Since each option was meant to be eaten on hot dogs, I tried them on a hot dog and bun without additional condiments, as I thought this would allow me to give the fairest assessment. I judged each option primarily based on taste, texture, and smell. If there were any other notable qualities, these played a much smaller role in determining rank, and I've mentioned those wherever necessary.

Fifteen years spent working in the food industry gave me a basis to make my decisions on. Of those fifteen years, I regularly made varying types of chili, both to be eaten with hot dogs and alone. An extensive history of hot dog consumership and previous work creating rankings for Daily Meal also contributed to my ability to confidently place these hot dog chili brands — this includes similar articles like my ultimate ranking of McDonald's burgers and my ranking of thick-cut bacon brands. Although personal preference played a role in this ranking, I aimed to be as unbiased as possible about product quality.