11 Tasty (and Totally Bunless) Hot Dog Recipes

Anyone who gobbles up pigs-in-a-blanket from an hors d’oeuvres tray should supersize their appetizer into a full-sized crescent dog dinner. Wrap a hot dog in a triangular slab of crescent roll dough, then bake until golden brown. Serve with all your favorite condiments — ketchup, mustard, maybe even ranch dressing. 

This no-bun hot dog recipe in a nutshell: Throw all your family’s favorite foods into a pan and bake. This casserole combines leftover hot dogs, tater tots, chili, cheese, and ketchup for an easy weeknight dinner that gives you time to put together a salad — or watch an episode of your favorite show together — while it bakes.

This loaded macaroni dish combines hot dog pieces with another dinner winner — mac-n-cheese — plus some bacon because why not? If you’re tired of boring Kraft dinners in a box, try this meatier version of cheesy pasta to put some zing in your dinner lineup. 

Corn dogs are tasty fair food, but who wants to bother slathering a hot dog with batter and dealing with hot frying oil? One pressed-for-time chef discovered this corn dog hack: Put the hot dog in a corn muffin instead. You get the double win of a meaty surprise in the center of your muffin and a quick and easy baking project with minimal mess. Add a jalapeno to the mix to spice up your snack.

Hot dogs may be the American versions of German sausages, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go international with them. Got leftover hot dogs and rice in the fridge? Toss them with veggies, soy sauce, and ginger for an Asian-inspired lunch of hot dog fried rice.

From Asia, head to the islands for a Polynesian hot dog meal. This hot dog recipe without a bun combines wiener slices with bell peppers, pineapple chunks, some sweet brown sugar, and sour apple cider vinegar and soy sauce to create a colorful plate. This is a meal to eat outside by tiki torchlight, accompanied by a Blue Hawaiian or Bora Bora mocktail. 

Hot dogs ... in a salad? Sounds crazy, no? But perhaps hot dogs are the next ranch dressing when it comes to getting reluctant veggie eaters to try salad. Hannah at the Bittersweet blog tosses onions, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, and pickles with hot dog pieces to create a tangy dish that just might make salad converts out of grownups and kids alike. (Note: This recipe uses meatless dogs, but you can certainly substitute the meat kind, no problem.)

Who says hot dogs aren’t a breakfast food? Hot dog hash begs to differ. For this easy hot dog recipe, brown some chopped-up franks, fry up some potatoes with onions and garlic, and cook an egg to flop on top. We’d throw some hot sauce on there, but you do you.

Hot dog pizza-dillas are basically the culinary representation of the melting pot that is the United States. Throw Mexican, Italian, and American food concepts into a blender and turn out this wacky-yet-yummy family-friendly meal. The tortilla becomes the pizza crust, sliced hot dogs the pepperoni, a salsa-ketchup mix the tomato sauce, and the cheese is, well, the cheese. Fry it up quesadilla style and serve with whatever ethnicity of condiment you prefer.

When you need a hearty meal on a cold day, pull out The Kitchen Whisperer’s recipe for her mom’s beans and weenies tater bake. The ingredients are in the name: hot dogs, white or kidney beans, and potatoes, simmered with bacon, sweet onion, and Worcestershire sauce for a dish that will stick to your ribs. Don’t be sad if the kids don’t ask for seconds; it’s likely because they wolfed down the first bowl and now are too full to move.

Our intensive hot dog recipe research has yielded some main themes — mainly that hot dogs go well with carbs, chili, and cheese. Therefore, the ultimate hot dog dinner might just be chili dog pizza. This bunless hot dog recipe has it all: a pizza crust, chili, sliced hot dogs, and handfuls of cheese. Add chopped onions and sweet pickle relish for the full hot dog effect. This one hits all the food groups while delighting all the taste buds. Bon appetit!