25-Minute Air-Fryer Chili Cheese Dogs
Air-fried franks, a quick skillet chili and melted cheddar, on the table in about 25 minutes.
The chili dog is the everyday cousin of the Coney: the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council lists chili-topped dogs from Michigan, Cincinnati (with a heap of grated cheddar) and West Virginia among America's regional styles. This weeknight version borrows the idea without any one city's rules.
The method leans on test-kitchen guidance. Taste of Home's Test Kitchen says hot dogs air fry in about 5 minutes at 400°F, and suggests a few shallow diagonal cuts so the franks split where you want them. The chili is a stovetop shortcut of Taste of Home's Chili Coney Dogs sauce, which normally slow-cooks for hours.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Air-fried franks, a quick skillet chili and melted cheddar, on the table in about 25 minutes.
🇦🇹 The original
In Vienna the same sausage comes in a pair, warmed in water below the boil, with mustard, horseradish and the roll on the side, not around it. See the Frankfurter Würstel with Mustard and a Roll recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Scoring
Shallow diagonal cuts let the casing open neatly instead of bursting at random in the hot air.
Lean beef, short simmer
90% lean beef leaves little fat to drain, so the tomato sauce reduces into a thick chili fast enough for a weeknight.
Step by step
- Step 1
Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it up, 6 to 8 minutes, until it reaches 160°F and is no longer pink. Drain off the fat.
- Step 2
Stir in the tomato sauce, water, Worcestershire, dried onion and spices. Bring to a simmer and simmer 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick.
- Step 3
While the chili simmers, heat the air fryer to 400°F for 3 minutes. Make 3 shallow diagonal cuts on one side of each hot dog.
- Step 4
Air fry the hot dogs in a single layer at 400°F for 5 minutes, in batches if needed, until steaming hot (165°F for higher-risk eaters).
- Step 5
Put the hot dogs in buns and set them back in the basket, 3 or 4 at a time. Spoon about 1/4 cup chili over each and top with cheddar.
- Step 6
Air fry at 350°F for 2 minutes, until the cheese melts and the buns are warm.
- Step 7
Sprinkle with chopped onion, add mustard if you like, and serve.
25-Minute Air-Fryer Chili Cheese Dogs
Serves 4 (2 hot dogs each) · 8 hot dogs · 25 min total
Quick chili
- 1 lb lean ground beef (90% lean)
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp dried minced onion
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground mustard
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Pinch cayenne
Dogs and buns
- 8 beef hot dogs
- 8 hot dog buns
Toppings
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar (6 oz)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
- Optional: yellow mustard
Method
- Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it up, 6 to 8 minutes, until it reaches 160°F and is no longer pink. Drain off the fat.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, water, Worcestershire, dried onion and spices. Bring to a simmer and simmer 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick.
- While the chili simmers, heat the air fryer to 400°F for 3 minutes. Make 3 shallow diagonal cuts on one side of each hot dog.
- Air fry the hot dogs in a single layer at 400°F for 5 minutes, in batches if needed, until steaming hot (165°F for higher-risk eaters).
- Put the hot dogs in buns and set them back in the basket, 3 or 4 at a time. Spoon about 1/4 cup chili over each and top with cheddar.
- Air fry at 350°F for 2 minutes, until the cheese melts and the buns are warm.
- Sprinkle with chopped onion, add mustard if you like, and serve.
Chili ingredients from Taste of Home's Chili Coney Dogs, with the chili powder raised to 1 teaspoon and the 4-hour slow cook replaced by a 10-minute simmer; air fryer time and temperature from Taste of Home's How to Cook Hot Dogs. Taste of Home. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- No air fryer? Bake the scored dogs on a sheet pan at 425°F for 10 to 15 minutes, turning once. Nestle them in buns, add chili and cheese, and broil 1 to 2 minutes, until melted.
- Make a double batch of chili; it freezes well for the next chili dog night.
- Don't crowd the basket; hot air needs room to brown the dogs.
- Keep leftover chili above 140°F if it sits out, or refrigerate it within 2 hours.
Every other hot dog style
Frankfurter Würstel with Mustard and a Roll
Two slim smoked sausages, warmed in hot water that never boils and served in a pair with sharp or sweet mustard, horseradish and a crusty roll on the side.
Chicago-Style Hot Dog
An all-beef frank in a steamed poppy seed bun, "dragged through the garden" with seven toppings, and never ketchup.
New York Street Cart Hot Dog
An all-beef frank held in a hot "dirty water" bath, in a steamed bun with sweet red onion sauce, sauerkraut and mustard.
Detroit Coney Island Hot Dog
A natural-casing dog in a soft bun under a fine, beanless meat sauce, a stripe of yellow mustard and a pile of chopped onion.
Sonoran Hot Dog
A bacon-wrapped dog in a soft bolillo split along the top, loaded with pinto beans, tomato, onion, jalapeño salsa, mustard and a zigzag of mayo.
New Jersey Italian Hot Dog
Hot dogs fried in oil with peppers, onions and potato rounds, stuffed into a pocket of round Italian pizza bread over a line of mustard.
DC Half-Smoke
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Seattle Cream Cheese Dog
A butterflied, griddle-browned dog on a toasted bun spread with cream cheese and piled with golden onions, jalapeños optional.
American Corn Dog
A hot dog on a stick, twirled in a cornmeal and buttermilk batter and fried golden, with a squiggle of yellow mustard.
Chilean Completo Italiano
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Danish Ristet Pølse
A griddle-browned sausage poking out of both ends of a soft bun, striped with ketchup, mustard and remoulade, buried in raw and crispy onions and topped with sweet cucumber.
Korean Corn Dog (Gamja Hotdog)
A hot dog on a stick wrapped in chewy yeast dough, rolled in potato cubes and crumbs, fried and dusted with sugar, then zigzagged with ketchup and mustard.
Coney Island Griddled Dog, Inspired by Nathan's Famous
An all-beef natural-casing frank cooked whole on a flat-top, gently first and hot at the end, for a blistered, snappy skin.
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