Who doesn't love a chili cheese dog? No one I can think of! This hearty chili cheese dog bake is another amazing way to use refrigerated crescent rolls to add fun and flair to a weeknight dinner!
This recipe works great with your favorite canned chili or when there's not quite enough homemade chili to be a meal for everyone.
Knocking out this impressive-looking casserole only takes a few ingredients and minutes of hands-on time! Thirty minutes in the oven, and you've got something new and different on the table for the family!
You'll need a tube of your favorite refrigerated crescent rolls, a package of eight of your favorite hot dogs, eight slices of cheese, and about four cups of homemade chili or two 15-ounce cans of your favorite brand of chili.
Separate the crescent rolls into eight triangles, then place a slice of cheese and a hotdog across the wide end of the crescent and roll it up.
Our favorite frankfurters are Oscar Meyer 100% beef uncured hotdogs. They have no nitrites or nitrates and no artificial preservatives. We think they have great flavor.
You can use any sliced cheese you want. I didn't have American cheese slices, so I used our old standby, sharp cheddar cheese slices. They're a little less pliable than American cheese slices, but I held each slice between my hands for a few seconds to warm them before I rolled up the hotdogs, and they were very cooperative!
Now, line up those hotdogs in a nine-by-thirteen casserole dish. A glass pan works really well because you can peek at the bottom to ensure the rolls are nicely baked before serving them.
You do not want soggy, underbaked dough in your chili cheese dog casserole, so the chili dogs need to touch the bottom of the dish, not rest on the chili.
You need to leave a little space between the wrapped hotdogs to allow the dough to puff up as it bakes, so you may need to get a little artful in arranging them so there's room between the dogs in the casserole dish.
Since there were just two of us, I didn't use a full package of eight hotdogs. I baked the leftover crescent rolls alongside the casserole, and Papa enjoyed eating them! I could have made less, but Papa and I run on leftovers (we call 'em plan-overs,) so it was nice to cook once and eat twice or more again.
Bake the chili cheese dog casserole in a 375-degree oven for about thirty minutes. Make sure the bottom of the chili dogs is completely baked. Remove the casserole from the oven, and if you like, brush a little melted butter on each roll, sprinkle them with a little garlic salt or garlic powder, and a bit of parsley for some pretty color.
If you even noticed, I thought I'd explain the sixth chili cheese dog in the casserole. Why six?
Does it bug anyone else that hot dogs come in packs of ten, and their bun partners come in packages of eight? Or is it just me? I'm no math whiz, but I figure it takes five packs of buns for every four packs of dogs to come out even. (There's some mathematical principle embedded in that computation.)
As usually is the case, there's a solid explanation for this disparity, and this little article explains why it happens. Until the weiner and bun powers-that-be come to an agreement, I will be freezing one hotdog out of every inner pack of five. I always freeze the buns in heavy Ziploc bags because hotdogs are only an occasional treat.
Now, I need to investigate why crescent rolls are packaged in eights.
This casserole would be perfect for a tailgate or fifth-quarter get-together! So full of warm chili-cheesy goodness, you'll love it, and the whole family will, too!
By the way, the only way to cook hotdogs today is in an air fryer! They're as good as grilled, and there's no waiting for the grill to heat up!
Ladle the chili between the cheese dogs, not on top of them. The rolls must be exposed to the oven's heat to get all golden brown and yummy looking. You may not need the entire contents of both cans of chili. Instead of drowning them, heat that chili and serve it alongside the casserole for spooning on top.
Bake the chili cheese dog casserole in a 375-degree oven for about thirty minutes. Make sure the bottom of the chili dogs is completely baked. Remove the casserole from the oven, and if you like, brush a little melted butter on each roll, sprinkle them with a little garlic salt or garlic powder, and a bit of parsley for some pretty color.
This casserole would be perfect for a tailgate or fifth-quarter get-together! So full of warm chili-cheesy goodness, you'll love it, and the whole family will, too!
A new twist on two old favorites! Wrap hot dogs with a slice of cheese in a triangle of crescent roll dough, and bake in a casserole surrounded by chili! An easy weeknight dinner, sure to be a hit with the whole family.
If you liked this recipe, you are my people! You might also enjoy this Three Meat Pasta Bake, another easy and quick weeknight favorite kids like!
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Love, GB (Betty Streff)
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