Wendy’s chili is an institution. It’s the perfect thing to order when you’re hungry and in a hurry and you don’t want to consume a bacon-covered burger that sounds like it was sent from the future to kill you. Put it on a baked potato? My god. Heaven.
Suffice it to say, we were pretty excited last year when Wendy’s chili in a can hit stores. I can’t say it’s an exact dupe for Wendy’s chili from the restaurant, but I can (and did) say lots of other nice things about it. It’s super savory and a little bit smoky, so it definitely nods at the restaurant stuff, which is reportedly made with leftover Wendy’s burgers. And it’s bean-y, too—kidney beansand pinto beans.
But, hey. Maybe beans aren’t your thing. Or maybe you can’t eat them for gastrointestinal reasons. If that’s the case, we have good news: Wendy’s canned chili now comes in a no beans variety. Is it as good as the original? I heated up a can of Wendy’s chili (no beans) for lunch to find out.
Pros: If you like Wendy’s chili in a can and you aren’t super attached to beans in your chili, you’re probably going to like this new Wendy’s chili in a can. It tastes pretty much the same as the original—super savory, a little smoky, and very salty (but chili tends to be, especially fast food chili). There are bits of diced tomato and green peppers, which serve to break up the monotony of meat, meat, meat, because that’s what you’re getting in this can. A lot of meat. Thirty percent more meat than in the variety with beans. That also means more protein (20 grams a serving versus 17 grams in the with beans version), which I’m sure is a big pro for some people. It’s a very beefy experience.
Cons: It’s a lot of meat. And it’s canned meat, which means it’s a little mushy, as canned meat tends to be. Additionally, we don’t really harp a lot on nutritional info here unless we’re specifically ranking something like low calorie ice cream or the best keto desserts. But, wow, I was pretty shocked by the numbers on this can’s label. A one-cup serving (about half a can) contains 15 grams of fat (there’s 24 grams in a whole can), 7 grams of saturated fat, and 1,000 mg of sodium. Their chili with beans isn’t much better, but I still think it’s worth knowing what you’re getting into before you go to town on a full can for lunch.
Gwynedd Stuart, Sporked’s managing editor, is an L.A.-based writer and editor who spends way, way too much time at the grocery store. She’s never met an Old El Paso taco or mozzarella stick she didn’t like.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!
They said it had 20 grams of protein versus the 17 grams found in the bean variety. Second to last sentence in the pros section if you don’t believe me.
I tried the canned Wendy’s chili with beans once. I wasn’t that impressed with it. I thought it had too much of a tomatoey flavor. I will stick with Dennison’s chili with beans. The best chili with no beans is Hormel Turkey Chili with No Beans.
Worked for Wendy’s once upon a time and, yes, they use cooked burger patties past their sales window in the chili. They aren’t ancient, days old patties, they’re a few hours and have been in the warmer drawers, or at most overnight and have been put in the walk in for the morning batch, depending on the time of day and the amount of unsold meat there is.
People get weird about that but forget this is the reason chili exists in the first place; when on the trails going west, people didn’t have the luxury of fresh meat, and would have to stretch leftovers out. With beef, the best way do that was often cook it down into a chili, because cooked meat gets tough. It made for much less waste then, as it does for Wendy’s now. Most soups and stews came into being for the exact same reasons. It’s a much more modern luxury to make these things completely from fresh goods. Complain about it is just showing our privilege.
That said, I actually like the canned version of the Wendy’s chili. It’s much saltier than the restaurant stuff seems, but beyond that it has a pretty close taste. This one lacking beans is kinda funny though, because I believe you won’t find that in the restaurant. If I remember correctly the vegetable mixture put into the chili comes with the beans already mixed in. Given this is usually a meal chilli, I don’t mind the beans, but if I were to put it on a burger or hotdogs, the beanless one makes more sense (with some doctoring to bring down that salty taste and add a little heat). I imagine the texture without the beans would be iffy, if trying to eat it on it’s own.
I am sorry but I think you might to have your taste buds checked out. This is the worse tasting. There is no other flavor the the taste of a tin can. I would rather eat hormel because at least you know what it taste likes.
79 years old and have tried obviously many chilis and I can say Wendy’s chili is really good.Like it with beans.Will continue buying it.
Bloody expensive tho
They said it had 20 grams of protein versus the 17 grams found in the bean variety. Second to last sentence in the pros section if you don’t believe me.
All that talk about meat, meat, meat, yet no mention of the protein contained therein? Seems like you missed your own point there…
I tried the canned Wendy’s chili with beans once. I wasn’t that impressed with it. I thought it had too much of a tomatoey flavor. I will stick with Dennison’s chili with beans. The best chili with no beans is Hormel Turkey Chili with No Beans.
Worked for Wendy’s once upon a time and, yes, they use cooked burger patties past their sales window in the chili. They aren’t ancient, days old patties, they’re a few hours and have been in the warmer drawers, or at most overnight and have been put in the walk in for the morning batch, depending on the time of day and the amount of unsold meat there is.
People get weird about that but forget this is the reason chili exists in the first place; when on the trails going west, people didn’t have the luxury of fresh meat, and would have to stretch leftovers out. With beef, the best way do that was often cook it down into a chili, because cooked meat gets tough. It made for much less waste then, as it does for Wendy’s now. Most soups and stews came into being for the exact same reasons. It’s a much more modern luxury to make these things completely from fresh goods. Complain about it is just showing our privilege.
That said, I actually like the canned version of the Wendy’s chili. It’s much saltier than the restaurant stuff seems, but beyond that it has a pretty close taste. This one lacking beans is kinda funny though, because I believe you won’t find that in the restaurant. If I remember correctly the vegetable mixture put into the chili comes with the beans already mixed in. Given this is usually a meal chilli, I don’t mind the beans, but if I were to put it on a burger or hotdogs, the beanless one makes more sense (with some doctoring to bring down that salty taste and add a little heat). I imagine the texture without the beans would be iffy, if trying to eat it on it’s own.
The beans are canned, strained and rinsed. The veggies are frozen and come in white bags.
I am sorry but I think you might to have your taste buds checked out. This is the worse tasting. There is no other flavor the the taste of a tin can. I would rather eat hormel because at least you know what it taste likes.
That talk about meat, meat, meat, yet not one word on the protein contained therein? Seems like you missed your own point.
Sorry, my comment was intended for the OP.