Now I know you’re reading the title of this post and saying “There’s no way one recipe can be ALL those things.” Trust me, friends, you don’t even have to be able to boil water to get this recipe to work. And, like so many other recipes, it can be completely customized to you and your family’s tastes.

I originally got this recipe from a family friend, who had it photocopied from a 3×5 cutout from some magazine or other in the 70’s. I have no idea what magazine it was, so I can’t attribute it properly. If someone knows, feel free to chime in in the comments!

Don’t let the title of the recipe throw you off, it’s an amazing soup that I’ve shared with family and friends coast to coast (my cousins now call this Heather Soup. LOL!).

How to make Hot Dog Soup: Printable

1 family-size can Condensed Tomato Soup (I prefer Campbell) or 2 regular size cans

1 family-size can Condensed Bean with Bacon Soup or 2 regular size cans (again, I prefer Campbell. I really want to make Dede’s recipe for this, but haven’t had time)

1 onion, chopped into whatever size pieces strike your fancy. I prefer a large dice.

1 package hot dogs of your choice (quality is VERY important here–if you wouldn’t eat them plain, don’t put them in your soup! I prefer Hormel Wranglers, or Coleman Natural Beef ones. They’re more pricy, but totally worth it.), sliced into whatever size you like. Mine are usually about 1/4″.


That’s it! I’ll tell you how I season it, but really, it’s completely up to you! It doesn’t even need seasoning, if you don’t want to.

Sautee the onion in whatever fat (or not, I use butter) of your choice until translucent but not browned.

Add sliced hotdogs and sautee a bit more, a minute or so. I let them sautee while I open the cans of soup, which is long enough.

Put in both cans of soup.

Now is the time for improvising. If you like a thinner soup, add the appropriate amount of water (1 can water for 1 can soup). If you like a thicker soup, only add 1/2 can water per can of soup.

At this stage, I usually add about 1 tablespoon of chili powder, about 2 teaspoon of cumin, about 1/4 teaspoon of extra-hot cayenne powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and about 2-3 tablespoons sugar. I occasionally add beef bullion or beef soup base. It almost never needs salt (the hotdogs salt things up nicely).

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for…however long you want! I usually simmer for 15-30 minutes. This seems to be long enough for the spices to really come to flavor. If you want to shorten this simmer time, put your spices in with the hotdogs and sautee them a bit first.

This recipe, as is, is usually not spicy enough for me. I often add Cholula to my bowl, but I like really spicy food.

Now that you know the basics, you could make all sorts of variations. Use Italian sausage, a can of diced tomatoes, basil and oregano for an Italian style soup. Add vegetables, or pasta, or rice. For a lower fat version, sautee the onions in chicken broth, and use a chicken or turkey sausage. This is a great basic soup as it is, but the variations and possibilities are endless.

Do you have a recipe post or kitchen-related story to share on the Farm Bell blog?
See Farm Bell Blog Submissions for information, the latest blog contributor giveaway, and to submit a post.

Want to subscribe to the Farm Bell blog? Go here.

What can you enter to win this month? Click here.