Cincinnati Cheese Coneys

Two Cincinnati Cheese Coney hot dogs sitting on a white dinner plate, both dogs topped with large piles of shredded cheddar cheese.

Course: Lunch / Hot Dogs

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 5

Chili Preparation: 1 15

Total Time: 1 35

Servings:

Calories: 716kcal

Author: Kris Longwell

These hot dogs are a Midwestern classic — fun and easy to make at home with juicy hot dogs, Cincinnati-style chili, onions, mustard, and plenty of shredded cheddar.

Print Recipe

Equipment

griddle, grill, steamer, or pot of boiling water for cooking the frankfurters
steam basket or See Expert Tip in blog post

Ingredients

Do Ahead - Make the Cincinnati Chili

Cincinnati chili

For the Cheese Coneys

8 all-beef frankfurters natural casing
8 hot dog buns
yellow mustard (optional)
4 cups Cincinnati chili
1 cup onion chopped, (optional)
1 lb cheddar cheese finely shredded

Instructions

Prepare the Cincinnati chili (this can be done several days in advance). Heat the chili in a medium saucepan on the stove, griddle, or grill over medium heat.
Cincinnati chili
Griddle, grill, steam, or boil the frankfurters until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
8 all-beef frankfurters
In the last minute of cooking the dogs, steam the buns for 1 minute.
8 hot dog buns
Build the Cheese Coneys: Place the frankfurters in the steamed buns. Add a zig-zag of mustard (optional) over the dog. Then add a generous spoonful of the warmed chili. Sprinkle on some chopped onions (optional), and then add a heaping pile of shredded cheddar on top. Serve at once.
yellow mustard, 4 cups Cincinnati chili, 1 cup onion, 1 lb cheddar cheese

Video

Notes

NOTE: Watch the video near the top of the recipe for visual guidance.

Try and seek out natural casing all-beef hot dogs. You can find natural casing beef hot dogs (Dietz & Watson) in the deli section of many well-stocked supermarkets. Sabretts and Nathan's Natural Casing Hot Dogs are excellent, but not available all over. Check your local markets for availability.

The chili can be made up to 3 days in advance, and even gets better if it's had a time to sit in the fridge for a day or two. The chili can be frozen for up to 2 to 3 months. Allow to thaw completely and then reheat in a saucepan until heated through and bubbly.

Nutrition

Thank You! https://gethealth.info/cincinnati-cheese-coneys/%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-44888":{"type":"food","name":"Cincinnati Cheese Coneys","slug":"wprm-cincinnati-cheese-coneys","image_url":"https:\/\/howtofeedaloon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Cincinnati-Cheese-Coney-IG.jpg","rating":{"count":1,"total":5,"average":5,"type":{"comment":1,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"Cincinnati chili","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"id":25209,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"8","unit":"","name":"all-beef frankfurters","notes":"natural casing","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"id":25210,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"8","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"8","unit":"","name":"hot dog buns","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"id":22025,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"8","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":5,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"yellow mustard","notes":"(optional)","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"id":16409,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"4","unit":"cups","name":"Cincinnati chili","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23258,"id":25209,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"4","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"1","unit":"cup","name":"onion","notes":"chopped, (optional)","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23259,"id":5323,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":8,"amount":"1","unit":"lb","name":"cheddar cheese","notes":"finely shredded","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":23277,"id":6072,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"lb","unitParsed":"lb"}}}],"originalServings":"4","originalServingsParsed":4,"currentServings":"4","currentServingsParsed":4,"currentServingsFormatted":"4","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"collection":{"type":"recipe","recipeId":44888,"name":"Cincinnati Cheese Coneys","image":"https:\/\/howtofeedaloon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Cincinnati-Cheese-Coney-IG-360x360.jpg","servings":4,"servingsUnit":"","parent_id":"44883","parent_url":"https:\/\/howtofeedaloon.com\/cincinnati-cheese-coneys\/"}}}