Chili Dog Casserole is a quarantine creation that resulted from using up what was on hand! The results were delicious!
Gluten Free Chili Dog Casserole Ingredients
While most chili dog casseroles have cornbread, this one is gluten and grain free by using tostones instead. What are tostones? Tostones are twice fried plantains. In a nutshell, you peel a plantain, chop it into 3-4 pieces depending on what size you want, fry the pieces on all sides, remove pieces from the pan and smash them into flatter, larger pieces, then you refry it again on both sides. If your original piece is larger, you can use the tostones as “sandwich bread.” These are known as jibaritos, and you can read about the origin of the sandwich here! They originated in Chicago in a Puerto Rican restaurant.
To learn how to make tostones, check out this recipe. The link is to tuna melt tostones, and I provide just how to make them! I personally had never tried and I don’t think even heard of tostones until I got married. My husband is Puerto Rican, and he absolutely loves plantains! I’m hooked now too!
Chili Dog Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 plantains made into tostones (see link above)
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 bell pepper cut into strips
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic diced
- 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 pack hotdogs
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Prepare the plantains, and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add in the pepper, onion, garlic, salt, crushed tomatoes, and hotdogs. Let cook and simmer until veggies have just softened.
- To prepare the casserole, take an 8×8 dish and put a layer of tostones on the bottom, then half the chili mixture, then half the cheese. Repeat.
- Bake at 400F for 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and lightly golden.
Hot Dogs
You may be thinking, how is a healthy food blogger endorsing eating hot dogs? I’ve seen many people on social media have that same question. It is true that many, if not most, hot dogs at the grocery store are filled with fake, overly processed, and unhealthy (in my opinion) ingredients. Typically it takes a bit of searching for me to find decent hot dogs. If you can, go straight to the Applegate hot dogs! They even have Whole30 approved hot dogs made from grass fed beef.
While the Applegate hot dogs are ideal, they are unfortunately not affordable for many people, myself included. I typically go with a happy medium. Black Bear and Boar’s Head hot dogs have MUCH cleaner ingredients than most hot dogs, but for a cheaper cost than Applegate. Personally, I like to buy them in bulk when they’re on sale to be able to afford them.
Substitutions
If you don’t like plantains, I would thinly slice potatoes into rounds and bake them with a bit of salt and oil. Cook them until they are softened and use in place of the plantains.
If you are dairy intolerant, you could try using nutritional yeast. It gives a very cheesy flavor and you won’t feel like you’re missing out on the cheese!
You could also add in more veggies or sub them out. Try carrots or celery, or even add in jalapenos!
Allergen Friendly
While most of my recipes are Whole30 or Paleo, this one is not due to the cheese! It is however, gluten free (which ALL my recipes are!) and even grain free. No cornbread here, great for those of you with corn sensitivities. The plantains are used in place of any type of bread or gluten. It’s also free of legumes! I don’t like beans in chili so I’d never add them anyway. I know I’m not alone in that either! At my church whenever we have a chili cook off, one participant would always make a bean free chili that was delicious!
This gluten free chili dog casserole would be considered Primal, which is paleo plus dairy. If you are wrapping up your Whole30, consider making this during your reintroduction! The cheese lends itself to making this dish a good candidate, and it would also be delicious topped with sour cream!
Toppings and Extras
To take this dish to the next level, most definitely serve it with hot sauce! My favorite hot sauce for both quality ingredients and flavor is the mild buffalo sauce from The New Primal! Use the THECLEANHAPPYLIFE for 15% off! A cheaper and classic hot sauce that goes well also is Franks original hot sauce, or the buffalo wing sauce!
I like to serve it with sour cream and green onions too. Delicious!
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