Name: Healthy Chili Dog Casserole
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 15 oz. chili beans; 1 lb. ground beef; 2 Tbsp dried, minced onions; 8 oz. tomato sauce; 2 cups water; 2 Tbsp chili powder; 1 1/2 Tbsp cumin; 1/2 Tbsp smoky paprika; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional); 8 hot dogs; diced onions; shredded cheddar cheese; Prepared coleslaw

Jump to Recipe

Low carb, easy, and fast, this healthy Ninja Speedi chili dog recipe comes together quickly in your favorite multi-cooker. Perfect for busy weeknights, lazy weekends, summer cookouts, or anytime!

What you’ll love about this recipe:

A COPYCAT OF A FAVORITE BRAND – I love Castleberry’s® Hot Dog Chili Sauce, but it’s really hard to find it where I live. So I set out to make a copycat recipe, and I think I’ve gotten very close to the real thing. Taste for yourself!
HEALTHY – Although beans are used in the recipe, it still maintains is keto-friendly status. It does have more carbs than most keto recipes, but is still very low carb.
FAST – I like my chili dog sauce to taste slow-cooked. With the Ninja Speedi, you get that slow-cooked flavor without waiting hours!

Text reads "Keto Chili Dog Sauce Recipe, makes a delicious chili cheese hot dog casserole too!" above a picture of two chili dogs topped with cheese

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Tools you’ll need for this healthy chili dogs recipe

I made this chili dog sauce in the Ninja Speedi, but you could use a Ninja FOODi or another multi cooker. You’ll need to adjust the cooking times, however.

Ninja Speedi
Measuring cups & spoons
Cutting board & knife
Instant-read food thermometer

Ingredients for healthy chili dogs in the Ninja Speedi include ground meat, chili beans, tomato paste, chili seasoning and chopped onions

Ingredients List for Healthy Chili Dogs

Here’s the full list of ingredients to make this low carb chili dogs recipe in the Ninja Speedi. See below for some suggestions for substitutions.

Chili beans
Ground beef
Minced, dried onions
Tomato sauce
Chili powder
Cumin
Smoky paprika
Salt (optional)
Cayenne
Hot dogs
Keto hot dog buns (optional)
Toppings (optional)

Chili beans I think chili beans are a must in this recipe. I think the only bean variety I would substitute in would be pinto beans. I just think kidney beans or black beans–traditional choices for chili–take away from the flavor.

Ground beef I have made this recipe many times and have used ground beef and ground chicken. In all honesty, I prefer ground chicken. It is a very mild flavor compared to beef, so it doesn’t compete with the spices. And it breaks up into a finer ground meat texture.

Seasonings I like to use individual seasonings so that I can better control the flavor and what goes into my recipe. For this recipe that was really important since I was trying to create a copycat recipe.

But you could use a packaged chili seasoning mix if you like.

Hot dogs I love grass-fed, beef hot dogs, but it doesn’t really matter which you use. Everyone seems to have a favorite, so use yours in the recipe. If you’re watching your carbs, just be sure the ones you use don’t add any extra carbs.

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How to Make Healthy Chili Dogs in the Ninja Speedi

The Secret: Don’t fry the ground meat!

This recipe calls for combining the ingredients in the cooking pot with water and then steaming it for about 30 minutes. You are basically boiling the meat in the water. This makes the meat very moist, not tough, and it will crumble much finer than if you fried it first.

Ingredients to make chili dog sauce, like ground meat, beans, and seasonings are stirred together in the cooking pot of the Ninja Speedi

Step 1 Smash the chili beans with a fork, then put all the ingredients in the Ninja Speedi, except the hot dogs and toppings. Stir together. Steam and bake for about 35 minutes total. See the recipe below for the exact settings.

Chili dog sauce bubbling in the cooking pot of the Ninja Speedi

Step 2 When there are about seven minutes left on the timer, stir the sauce. Place the crisping tray in the pot in the upper position. Place the hot dogs on the tray. Close the lid to finish cooking.

Roasted hot dogs for healthy chili dogs on the crisping tray of the Ninja Speedi.

Step 3 When the unit shuts off, remove the hot dogs and crisping tray. Check the temperature of the sauce to make sure it’s at least 160•.

A bowl of chopped hot dogs, onions, and shredded cheese atop keto chili dog sauce

Step 4 Serve the hot dogs and chili sauce in buns with your favorite toppings. Or slice the hot dogs and mix with the chili sauce for a keto chili dog casserole.

FAQs about this healthy chili dog recipe

No you don’t. There are lots of ways to keep the carb count down in this recipe. Use a brand and variety of beans that are lower in carbs. You could also use only a portion of the can of beans instead of the whole can. But since the full can is divided across 8 servings, the carb amount is fairly low per serving.

You could easily make this recipe in a Ninja Foodi or other multi cooker or slow cooker. You could even make it in a pot on the stove. It would take much longer, but you should be able to follow the basic recipe.

My favorite healthy, low carb sides for this chili dog recipe are coleslaw, pickles, and pork rinds. And I love to top my dogs with chopped fresh onions, shredded cheddar cheese, and mustard. Relish, prepared horseradish, grilled onions, or even pickled red onions are delicious, too!

Healthy Chili Dog Casserole

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Low carb, easy, and fast, this keto chili dog recipe comes together quickly in the Ninja Speedi or your favorite multi-cooker. Perfect for busy weeknights, lazy weekends, summer cookouts, or anytime!

Ingredients

Chili Dog Ingredients

15 oz. chili beans
1 lb. ground beef
2 Tbsp dried, minced onions
8 oz. tomato sauce
2 cups water
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 Tbsp cumin
1/2 Tbsp smoky paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
8 hot dogs

Toppings (Optional)

diced onions
shredded cheddar cheese
Prepared coleslaw

Instructions

Pour the chili beans into a bowl and smash them with the back of a fork or a potato masher.
Do not fry the hambuger. Put all the ingredients, except the hot dogs, into the Ninja Speedi cooking pot. Break up the hamburger with a silicone spatula and mix everything together. Close the lid.
Set the SmartSwitch to RAPID MEALS. Set the cooking mode to STEAM & BAKE, the temperature to 375° and the time to 20 minutes. Press START.
The Speedi will steam for about 17 minutes before switching over to the baking mode. When it switches, lift the lid and give the hot dog sauce a quick stir. Close the lid to resume baking.
When there's about 7 minutes left on the timer, lift the lid. Stir the sauce. Place the crisping tray in the elevated position. Place the hot dogs on the crisping tray and close the lid to resume baking.
When the unit shuts off, lift the lid. Using silicone tongs, move the hot dogs to a plate then remove the crisping tray.
Stir the chili dog sauce. Check the temperature with a food thermometer to make sure it is over 160°.
Scoop the chili sauce into bowls and serve with sliced up hot dogs, diced onions, shredded cheese, and low carb coleslaw.