14 Smoky, Crispy, and Fully Loaded Hot Dogs for Summer Cookouts Level up your hot dog game with all-beef franks, German sausage, homemade relish, freshly baked buns, and fun flavor combinations. By Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann is an editor, baker, and confectioner with more than 15 years of experience in content creation, recipe development, and pastry production. She's obsessed with the fine details and ingredients that take dishes from tasty to outright otherworldly. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on May 15, 2026 Add Us On SAVE ALL RECIPES NEW! Save as a collection on MyRecipes Close Credit: Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle Sure, we love a good hot dog topped with ketchup and mustard — but why stop there? Try one piled high with chili or wrapped in crispy bacon. We’ve even got the perfect recipe for buttery brioche hot dog buns to make at home. Or, skip the bun entirely and slice your dogs into a pot of hearty New England–style baked beans. From classic toppings to creative flavor combinations, these hot dog recipes will take your cookout to the next level. Fire up the grill and dig in. Keep all of your recipes at your fingertips. With the MyRecipes app you can easily save and organize your favorites from anywhere, including Instagram and TikTok, in one convenient place. Get the free app. 01 of 14 Chicago-Style Hot Dogs Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Julian Hensaring / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless Iconic and over-the-top, a true Chicago-style dog features an all-beef frank nestled in a poppy seed bun and blanketed in a colorful assortment of requisite toppings: yellow mustard, finely chopped white onions, sweet relish, sliced tomatoes, dill pickle spears, sport peppers, and celery salt. Get the Recipe Save 02 of 14 Sonoran Hot Dog Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle This Mexico-born classic features bacon-wrapped hot dogs cradled in bolillo buns and topped with charred onions, pickled peppers, salsa, beans, mayonnaise, and mustard. Get the Recipe Save 03 of 14 Beer Brats Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle Update your typical hot dog routine with beer-braised sausages, caramelized sweet onions, and tangy mustard in soft and chewy pretzel buns. Get the Recipe Save 04 of 14 Hawaiian-Style Hot Dog Food & Wine / Photo by Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Chelesa Zimmer / Prop Styling by Phoebe Hauser This spicy-sweet hot dog comes from Henry Adaniya, chef-owner of Hank's Haute Dogs in Honolulu. Adaniya tucks grilled linguiça sausage into a bun before topping it with tangy pineapple relish and mango mustard. Get the Recipe Save 05 of 14 Grilled Italian Sausage with Apple Mustard and Giardiniera Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Tyler Florence sears Italian sausages before loading up them up with sweet apple mustard and giardiniera (pickled vegetables). The spicy, tangy, and sweet take on hot dogs is sure to be a hit at any cookout. Get the Recipe Save 06 of 14 Hot Dog Melts Food & Wine / Photo by Brie Goldman / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Alexandria Juhl Wolfgang Puck's ode to the sausages of his childhood in Vienna features Gruyère-filled hot dogs wrapped in lean bacon, then roasted and served on a bun with sharp, tangy horseradish mustard. Get the Recipe Save 07 of 14 Pigs in a Blanket Food & Wine / Photo by Jake Sternquist / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Lexi Juhl Jen Pelka, the CEO and cofounder of Une Femme Wines, cuts up four long hot dogs to make her next-level take on the classic appetizer. Perfect for a summer cocktail party, the puff pastry exterior is glazed with a mix of butter, honey, mustard, and black pepper before baking until golden and flaky. Get the Recipe Save 08 of 14 Spicy Maple Baked Beans Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle Chef Kevin Sousa's modern spin on New England-style baked beans is made extra hearty with thinly sliced all-beef hot dogs — you'll need 10 for this recipe. A great use of leftover dogs, the dish is satisfying enough to serve as a main course. Get the Recipe Save 09 of 14 Hot Dogs with Grilled Pickle Relish Con Poulos Skip the overly sweet store-bought relish and let this grilled pickle relish be your dogs' star condiment. To make it, grilled dill pickles are combined with onion, vinegar, mustard seeds, and parsley for a smoky, well-balanced relish. Get the Recipe Save 10 of 14 Ultimate Loaded Chili-Topped Hot Dogs Jen Causey The meaty, mildly sweet chili on these loaded dogs is balanced by the sharp bite of pickled jalapeños and the crunch of radishes and salty Corn Nuts. Feel free to make the chili ahead of time for quicker assembly the day of the cookout, when you can grill the hot dogs to order. Get the Recipe Save 11 of 14 Chorizo-and-Kimchi Dogs Victor Protasio Chef Claudette Zepeda once served a version of this dish at her San Diego restaurant El Jardín, envisioning it as her SoCal ode to the Sonoran hot dog. Instead of wrapping the dogs in bacon and adding beans and salsa to the bun, she piles on crumbled chorizo, kimchi slaw, and a homemade cilantro crema. Get the Recipe Save 12 of 14 Buttery Brioche Hot Dog Buns Jen Causey Give yourself a whole new hot dog experience by baking off a batch of these buttery buns. The recipe is incredibly user-friendly, letting your mixer do the heavy lifting to make an easy-to-work-with dough that yields a dozen tender, sturdy buns that can accommodate all your favorite toppings. Get the Recipe Save 13 of 14 Kogi Dogs Greg DuPree In 2018, Food & Wine named Roy Choi's signature hot dogs from his Kogi truck as one of our 40 best recipes of all time. These dogs are piled high with cabbage, kimchi, cheddar cheese, and a squirt of sriracha — they're the stuff of legend in Los Angeles and soon to be in your house, too. Get the Recipe Save 14 of 14 BLT Hot Dogs with Caraway Remoulade Line Klein These “BLT” hot dogs take standard dogs from ordinary to extraordinary. They're topped with crispy applewood-smoked bacon, fresh tomatoes, and crunchy lettuce, plus a creamy caraway-pickle mayonnaise that really pulls it all together. Get the Recipe Save Explore more: Dinner Meat Dishes Sausage Dishes Hot Dogs Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! 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