13 Tasty Ways To Upgrade Wendy's Chili

On its own, Wendy's chili satisfies like few cups of fast food stewed beans and spicy meat can. It's savory enough to taste delish, hot enough to warm the coldest days, and hearty enough to be lunch by itself. But that doesn't mean you should leave it to its own devices. Au contraire. As yummy as it is straight out of the cup, it's even yummier once you add a few embellishments.

Fortunately, there is any number of ingredients you can add to please your discerning palate, and more importantly, to improve your fast food order. Some of these upgrades to Wendy's chili put sweetness in your stew. Others improve the texture to make the overall experience more memorable. And still other recommendations aren't as much about eating the chili on its own, but rather how to improve myriad foods by combining them with your favorite comfort food stew. 

In the interest of good eating, trying at least one of them is kind of mandatory if you're a card-carrying chili lover. Trying more of the suggestions below enhances not just your chili. It levels up the whole dining experience, even if the "diner" is the front seat of your car.

Chili cheese fries are a platter of culinary genius that's difficult to resist, and fortunately for lovers of this slice of junk food heaven, Wendy's makes both an awesome plate of fries –- more than one kind, actually -– and a supreme cup of chili. More importantly, they taste yummy together. Technically, Wendy's already offers chili cheese fries on its regular sides menu. However, make one small substitution for a more satisfying plate of chili-topped fries.

On the chain's breakfast menu, you'll find the option for seasoned fries. These are thicker than normal fries. They also still sport their skins, which adds not only more flavor but some crispy texture as well. Because of this, they're closer to steak fries and potato wedges than Wendy's normal fries are. To ensure that they're extra cheesy, be sure to order some cheese to sprinkle on top of your food, and then once you're ready, assemble your treat by creating a base from the seasoned fries. Top those seasoned puppies with chili and cheese, and enjoy.

The garbage burger is the kind of sandwich where everything but the kitchen sink goes. Whatever you think could potentially taste good on a burger belongs there. Fried egg. Bacon. Hash browns. There are no content rules on this messy but delicious burger. Wendy's fans have an advantage in this department because aside from getting direct access to a mean cup of chili, Wendy's happens to produce some tasty burgers. We're lookin' at you, Mr. Pretzel Baconator, though in all fairness, any burger piled high with your favorite goodies -– Wendy's or not –- will do.

But the mention of chili here shouldn't make you jump to the conclusion that you're going to construct a traditional chili burger. While that is yummy, it has its downsides. Namely, it is nearly impossible to pick one up without a mess. With the garbage burger, you don't dress the burger with your chili. You dip your burger in it. You're guaranteed to get a big taste of chili flavor in every bite without messing up your shirt, an important consideration if you're eating on your lunch break and want to avoid returning to the office wearing your chili.

Crackers, usually Saltines, count as pretty standard fare as far as chili toppings are concerned. They add bulk and some savory crunch. From a texture and taste perspective, your chili becomes more interesting to eat. However, Saltine crackers may not be the most flavorful choice when it comes to adding crunch to your chili.

What will bring both savory and crunch are some croutons. If you're taking your chili meal home and have a bag of croutons just waiting for a job, then make Job No.1 flavoring up your chili. If you're in a pinch, just ask the good folks at Wendy's to toss in a package or two of the croutons the chain keeps on hand for salad orders. The seasoned croutons and Parmesan crumble that comes with its Caesar salad ought to be a good choice. Or if you want crunch but would like a flavor alternative, top your chili with some corn chips for a Southwestern flare. Wendy's carries corn chips, too.

If you were to search online to find sides for a cup of chili, chances are good that cornbread will come up among the results. And with the option to add some extra ingredients like jalapeño peppers, kernels of fresh organic corn, or cheddar cheese, few sides are as easy to dress up as cornbread. These hacks for boxed cornbread make a welcome side dish for your chili meal.

However, that doesn't mean that you can't make cornbread an even better match for your chili than it already is. Enter the cornbread bowl, the future of comfort food. In principle, it's similar to making a fried tortilla bowl for your taco salad. And like the tortilla bowl, this cornbread bowl is completely edible.

Making a cornbread bowl is simple, too. Mix up a batch of cornbread batter and pour it into a cake or pie pan. Once it's baked, cut a hole in the middle and pour your cup of chili into it. Top the chili with cheese and sour cream, plus some chopped green onions for some extra flavor. If you're in a real pinch for time, make cornbread from a box, not scratch. 

To make uncommonly good chili, you must add an uncommon ingredient: dark chocolate. Despite it being out of the ordinary rotation of ingredients that people normally drop into their Wendy's chili, there is an argument for doing so. Chunks of dark chocolate in chili create a depth of flavor that you didn't know was possible from any chili, let alone fast food chili. The spices snap to attention and the flavors become deeper and richer because of the addition. Basically, everything in the chili tastes more like it should because the dark chocolate enhances all the stew's flavors. 

As far as the type of chocolate, there are a few words about that. First, it really does need to be dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. The chili becomes way too lip-puckeringly sweet if you go with the latter option. Also, keep in mind that a little goes a long way. Second, in a standard pot of chili that feeds about four people, you only need one-fourth of a cup of chocolate, so for a cup of Wendy's chili, you'll need even less. In light of that, it's best to add just a bit at a time until the taste satisfies you. Finally, to make this recipe even more fun, try adding a few pieces of Lindt's chili dark chocolate bar to your stew, instead of a standard candy bar.

Soy and teriyaki sauces count among the most common sauces used in Asian cooking. Soy sauce bolsters the savory umami flavors of the meats, tomatoes, and beans in your standard cup of Wendy's chili. Good thing, too. Umami is a flavor that humans naturally crave because it signals the presence of proteins to the taste buds and to the brain. Eating foods rich in umami flavors tends to satisfy people because proteins are often substantial and will sit in the tummy for a while. While chili itself has plenty of ingredients that bring the umami experience to your lunch, dropping a dash of soy sauce in your stew leaves you all the more satisfied at meal's end.

Conversely, adding teriyaki sauce to your cup o' Wendy's chili brings a similar flavor profile to your meal, in part, because most teriyaki recipes are made with soy sauce. However, ingredients such as brown sugar, honey, and ginger sweeten chili up a bit. If you've ever wondered why chefs add a pinch of sugar into a marinara sauce or even their own homemade chili, then you understand why teriyaki could serve a similar function. The sweetness of teriyaki has the power to balance out some of the acidic qualities that usually come with cooked tomatoes, same as sugar does. Aside from that, you'll likely enjoy the way that the teriyaki makes your chili taste. It's definitely not your run-of-the-mill cup of fast food chili.

Smoked paprika and liquid smoke add the flavor of the charcoal barbecue to any number of foods without requiring you to hover in front of a hot grill. And if you're eating a cup of Wendy's chili while you're driving back to work, then you can appreciate the no-grill-time thing. Smoked paprika or liquid smoke is all flavor, no grill.

For the uninitiated, smoked paprika comes in powdered form, usually in some sort of shaker, but not always. If it comes with shaker lid intact, just shake the bottle like you would with salt and pepper until a bit of it decorates the top of your stew. Otherwise, take a pinch of it with your fingers to flavor your chili. Liquid smoke, on the other hand, is actually a liquid, thus the name. It smells a bit like barbecue sauce when you open the bottle. However, the liquid pours faster than your standard flask of barbecue sauce, so keep that in mind when you're pouring it into your chili.

If you've never used these seasonings before, some experimentation may be required to get the exact flavor you desire. Remember that less is more. Start with a little, taste it, and then evaluate it. It's always possible to add more if you think the stew requires it. It's impossible to remove those smoky add-ons, particularly the liquid smoke, after the fact.

If you're like most people, you have a few leftovers in the fridge that need to be recycled into something else. Maybe they include a few cups of steamed rice or quinoa. Rather than throwing them out, add them to your chili to bulk it up. Given that they're probably coming straight out of the fridge, you may want to microwave them for a few seconds before adding them to your stew. Otherwise, when the cold leftovers meet the hot chili, a lukewarm temperature is likely to ensue. 

Additionally, you're not limited to rice and quinoa. If you have any other leftovers, like your favorite mac and cheese recipe, sweet potato chunks, or veggies, those would taste yummy in your Wendy's chili, too. Finally, it's worth mentioning that some grains, like quinoa, have a bit of a wild flavor to them, kind of like your game meat has a wild flavor. This could add additional punches of flavor to your stewed meat and beans, too.

Although cinnamon and meat are a flavor combo that plays strongly in savory, meat-based cuisines around the world, including in Egyptian and Moroccan cooking, it's not as common to add it to, say, a bowl of chili here in the West. However, you have good reason to try it. Cinnamon's flavor hints at the flavor of pepper, but it is also sweet and pungent. It's no wonder that cinnamon is a key component in flavor rubs, like chipotle cinnamon rub, a recommended flavoring for both beef and Mexican food. 

Doctoring up your chili with cinnamon's woodsy sweetness is as simple as sprinkling a bit of it into your cup of chili, just as you would any other seasoning. That said, if you can allow your chili to sit for a minute after you season it with cinnamon, it'll more deeply infuse the chili with its comforting warmth.

Finally, if you want to take this flavor pairing further, consider doing what chili lovers in the Midwest do. They dip their cinnamon rolls into their chili to sop up all those savory juices. As luck would have it, Wendy's happens to sell chili and if not cinnamon rolls, a version of cinnamon bread, the chain's Cinnabon Pull-Aparts. If you happen to be at Wendy's at 10:30 a.m., on the cusp of the breakfast and lunch shifts, order both and experience for yourself how good cinnamon and chili taste together.

How would you like to make your Wendy's chili thicker without adding a dry ingredient, like flour or cornstarch? If so, you won't need to look very far. The solution to thin chili is peanut butter, and you probably have a jar of it in your cupboard right now. While it might seem counterintuitive, given how strong the flavor of peanut butter is, it isn't likely that you'll taste the sweet legume butter in your bean and beef stew.

Instead, the thick goodness of peanut butter fills your chili with creaminess that also cools down the spicy heat (if your Wendy's cup o' beans has taken to nipping at your tongue with its spiciness). The flavor and the texture of your lunchtime stew of choice becomes balanced under peanut butter's influence. 

The addition also isn't as far out as it seems. Many Tex-Mex chili recipes not only call for peanut butter, but cinnamon and chocolate, too. What's more, you won't need but a smidgeon of peanut butter to reap the benefit of it. For example, one chili recipe that feeds six people only requires about a third of a cup of peanut butter. So, do like you did when you were a kid. Jab a teaspoon into the jar of peanut butter, pull out a scoop (bypass your mouth), and stir it into your chili.

Huevos rancheros recipes may vary depending on who's cookin'. However, this Mexican breakfast specialty does have a few elements that are mostly the same, no matter which recipe book you're reading. The dish must have eggs. Huevos rancheros means "rancher's eggs," after all. Aside from eggs, most recipes for this popular rural breakfast also include rice and beans and some potatoes with tortillas.

That said, as with most regional fare, huevos rancheros recipes take their flavor profiles from the area they come from and the ingredients available therein. As such, the exact ingredients can vary from recipe to recipe. This is where your Wendy's chili, plus an order of the chain's morning spuds and a breakfast burrito, comes in. These three items include some of the most common flavors in recipes for huevos rancheros, though some assembly will be required if you'd like a bonafide plate of rancher's eggs.

To make a full meal of this combo of fast foods, pour the chili onto a plate with a high lip or into a to-go box with high sides, leaving a bit of chili in the cup. Place the burrito on top of the chili and the fries on the side. Top each with the remaining chili. Order the makings of this for brunch if you're torn between Wendy's breakfast and lunch menus.

You put bacon on your bacon cheeseburger and bacon in your bean and bacon soup, and if you love those foods already, it's not much of a stretch to think you'll love bits of the smoky breakfast meat in your Wendy's chili, too. Given the common denominator in all those foods -– bacon and more bacon –- it isn't such a big stretch to think that adding a sprinkle or two of bacon bits to your bean and burger stew will taste most excellent as well. The only ingredient you're missing is the hamburger bun. Everything else from those two classic recipes is there.

If you happen to carry around a bottle of bacon bits or faux bacon bits in your backpack, you're golden. Otherwise, try asking the kind, bacon-delivering person taking your order whether it's possible to add a side or two of Wendy's applewood smoked bacon to your to-go bag. It's an ingredient in the fast food chain's Cobb salad. Your friend at the counter can just drop the bag o' bacon bits to the top of your to-go bag to give you easy access to that smoky goodness when you're ready to dig in.

Like the cute pumpkins dotting the landscape, the smell of a steaming pot of chili bubbling away on the stove counts among the most reliable markers of autumn. Its stout constitution and savory spices push the fall chill off the bones like few comfort foods can. And while it's difficult to beat your standard chili recipe during the fall, there is one type of ingredient that would make it more of a fall food than it already is: squash.

Pumpkins come to mind here, naturally, though they aren't the only types of fall and winter squash out there. Butternut, spaghetti, and kabocha are among the most common varieties, though there are some fun-to-try types, too, like the blue hokkaido pumpkin. (Yes. It's a pumpkin. And yes, it's blue.) For those who love to add squash to their chili as a filler, it's available in fresh, frozen, and canned forms.

Though you may not want to cook a whole squash just to put a few chunks of it into your Wendy's stew, frozen squash that's microwaved 'til it's hot is an easy and delish way to bring these fall fruits to your meal. Or if you've just bought some pumpkins for carving, put one aside for freezing for your fall recipes and be sure to save the seeds. Baked and seasoned, pumpkin seeds add a satisfying crunch to your chili to go along with the flavor of your fresh pumpkin.