Vegan Coney Chili Sauce

Put vegan coney chili sauce on your favorite vegan hot dog or a carrot dog. Pour it over your french fries, or use it as a dip mixed with your favorite cheese sauce recipe and serve with tortilla chips! You will love this vegan coney chili sauce recipe!

Vegan coney chili sauce in the vegan world is an anomaly. I have seen recipe after recipe, which generally contain beans, which isn't a coney sauce recipe; that's chili. Before transitioning to a plant-based diet, my family loved a good coney dog, so I made a vegan coney chili sauce recipe that rocks! 

Jump to:

• The Fake Meat Debate
• Vegan Hot Dog Brands
• Coney Chili Sauce Ingredients
• Coney Sauce Ingredient Substitutions
• Making Vegan Coney Chili Sauce
• Cooking Alternative Meat
• Lentil Option
• Other Uses for Coney Sauce
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• Other Vegan Recipes to Love
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Although I love chili, when we talk about authentic coney chili sauce, it is in a league all its own.

Other vegan versions are made with soy crumbles or chopped-up veggie burgers. It lacks the consistency of an authentic Coney Sauce, the thick kind that has the consistency of a  gratifying sauce to top your veggie dog or your vegan chili fries.

The Fake Meat Debate

Despite the recent hype and debate over alternative meats available, I don't think eating them from time to time is a problem. There are plenty of soy-based proteins like BOCCA original crumbles, which I like, or you can always use lentils in place of alternative meat. 

Another excellent option for switching out alternative meat is mushrooms or tempeh. Chopped mushrooms or tempeh mimicks lentils and alternative meat.  

Beyond Meat, for example, is made with pea protein, is soy-free, NON-GMO, gluten-free, and has 50 percent less fat than real ground beef (which isn't even something I would EVER consider eating).

Anyway, I decided to make vegan coney chili sauce with lentils, but if you enjoy meat alternatives, you can swap out the lentils for your favorite plant-based meat.

Vegan Hot Dog Brands

As vegan hot dogs go, they all taste different due to various ingredients. The healthiest version of a vegan dog is my carrot dog's recipe. And my kids love carrot dogs. 

If you are in search of store-bought vegan hot dogs, many popular brands exist:

• Field Roast Frankfurters
• The Good Frank
• LightLife Tofu Pups & Smart Dogs
• Loma Linda Big Franks
• Moving Mountains
• Tofurky Hot Dogs

Coney Chili Sauce Ingredients

Although it may seem like there are a lot of ingredients in vegan coney chili sauce, everything is probably in your pantry. However, the magic has nothing to do with choosing alternative meat or lentils but with the combination of spices and sauces. 

• White Onion: White onion has a strong flavor, and when sauteed it softens the taste.
• Garlic: I always use fresh garlic cloves when available.
• Brown Lentils: I used steamed brown lentils from Trader Joe's.
• Tomato Sauce: I like to buy organic tomato sauce.
• Yellow Mustard: Yellow mustard has a crisp, tart-and-tangy flavor that won't be clearing anyone's sinuses with spice.
• Chili Powder: Chili powder is a seasoning blend of ground-dried chiles and other spices. Common chiles include New Mexico chiles, Ancho chiles, or Cascabel chiles. These are usually combined with spices such as cumin, oregano, and paprika. The taste varies from blend to blend.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Several studies in animals and humans have found that acetic acid and apple cider vinegar may promote fat-burning and weight loss, decrease blood sugar levels, increase insulin sensitivity, and improve cholesterol levels. 
• Cumin: Cumin has a slightly sweet, warming flavor with a nutty element, and these qualities mean it's often seen as a savory alternative to cinnamon. 
• Cayenne Pepper: The cayenne pepper is a very hot vegetable pepper, and cayenne powder is made from ground, dried cayenne peppers.
• Vegan Worcestershire Sauce: I like Annie's brand of vegan Worcestershire sauce.
• Garlic Powder: Garlic powder is made from real, dehydrated garlic, which is then ground to various levels of fineness
• Onion Powder: Onion powder is dehydrated, ground onion that is commonly used as a seasoning.
• Crushed Red Chili Flakes: A pinch of crushed red chili peppers flakes gives the sauce elevated flavor.

Coney Sauce Ingredient Substitutions

• Choose Beyond Meat Crumbles. Boca Crumbles, or Impossible Meat instead of lentils.
• One clove of fresh garlic equals ¼ teaspoon of granulated garlic powder. The same conversion applies to dehydrated or freeze-dried garlic or even minced refrigerated garlic.
• Try canned lentils, drained, or prepare your own lentils.
• Tomato paste is an excellent choice to replace tomato sauce in most recipes as it is essentially a concentrated tomato sauce.
• Instead of yellow mustard, try using Dijon, stone ground, or flavored mustard. Dijon and stone-ground mustard will change the flavor profile, but will still impart the mustard taste.
• For every 1 tablespoon of chili powder, use 2 teaspoons of paprika, 1 teaspoon of cumin, and a scant ¼ teaspoon of cayenne.
• White wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar have a similar level of acidity, making for an easy swap.
• Ground coriander is a replacement for cumin. Cumin and coriander grow from a plant in the parsley, or Apiaceae, family.
• Generally, ground red pepper and red chili powder replace cayenne pepper in recipes, as they are frequently made from the same pepper. Paprika comes in a variety of spice levels and flavors, ranging from sweet and mild to spicy and smokey.
• Soy sauce (or tamari) works surprisingly well as a Worcestershire substitute. It also has a bit of sweetness and tanginess that matches well with the original.

Making Vegan Coney Chili Sauce

First, saute the garlic and onions until the onions are translucent.

Then, add the rest of the spices and sauces and simmer them into excellent, tasty vegan coney chili sauce. 

Next, add the remaining ingredients and allow the vegan coney chili sauce to simmer and thicken.

Next, add the remaining ingredients and allow the vegan coney chili sauce to simmer and thicken.

Cooking Alternative Meat

Like real ground beef, Beyond Meat Crumbles and Bocca Original Crumbles are located in the freezer section of local grocery stores.

Nowadays, there are meat alternatives in the refrigerated section, pound packages, or prepared burgers. 

Cooking plant-based meat alternatives are very similar to cooking ground beef. However, instead of using oil or any suggested grease, use vegetable broth in the skillet to prevent sticking as directed.

The rest is pretty self-explanatory. Brown the plant-based meat as you would ground beef. 

Again, I am not a big fan of alternative meat products, but I think they are great for people transitioning to a plant-based diet or experimenting with a different way of eating.

Plant-based meats are certainly not "healthy," but they provide an avenue for those interested in grilling burgers or finding meat that crumbles for tacos or chilis. Or, they work for those who enjoy these products and choose to go that route. 

Lentil Option

But, as with most of my recipes, there is another option to consider. Instead of using alternative meat, how about using lentils? I used Trader Joe's pre-cooked brown lentils for this particular vegan coney chili sauce recipe. Replace the alternative meat with a 17.6-ounce package of pre-cooked brown lentils. 

If preparing dry lentils, avoid overcooking them, so they don't fall apart when cooked a second time in the sauce.

Other Uses for Coney Sauce

If you're not a carrot dog fan, try vegan coney chili sauce on potatoes, as a burger topping, or serve it with nachos.

I baked my potato wedges or slices without oil for chili fries or used my air fryer. For this vegan coney chili sauce recipe, I recommend my air-fried steak fries or try sweet potato fries if you prefer sweet potato fries.

I also have another loaded chili fries recipe that uses regular vegan chili with beans to make vegan coney sauce.

Either way, chili fries are fabulous, especially a healthy, vegan version.

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• Use canned or steamed lentils as a shortcut for making cooking lentils.
• If I don't have tomato sauce, blend a can of diced tomatoes instead.
• I make a double batch of vegan coney chili sauce and freeze it in one cup of souper cubes because we eat it so often.
• The coney sauce stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to one week or freezes for up to 3 months.
• Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and then reheat.
• My family likes to have a vegan hot dog bar with a variety of toppings, such as mustard, onions, pickle relish, ketchup, pickled red onions, sauerkraut, sports peppers, mild banana peppers, and diced tomatoes.
• Other great sauce options are mustard dill sauce, mustard dipping sauce, and vegan secret sauce.

Take a bite, and let me know what you think! Then, print this fantastic vegan coney chili sauce recipe. 

Other Vegan Recipes to Love

If you love vegan coney chili sauce, give us a 5-star review and comment below. We would love to hear from you!

📖 Recipe