Tailgate season is in full swing. What better way to celebrate than with a mashup of game day favorites? Gluten Free Chili Cheese Dog Sausage Boats are the ultimate way to satisfy all of your cravings.

Is there anything better than fully loaded messy Gluten Free Authentic Detroit Coney Dogs? These sausage boats combine that gloriously messy chili sauce with touchdown winning flavor of bratwurst.

Ingredients

Gluten Free Chili Cheese Dog Sausage Boats are exactly the football food you want to roll up your sleeves and get messy with. Using a few simple to find easy ingredients, these are sure to become a game day tradition.

Bratwurst – Use your favorite variety of brats for this recipe, from beer brats to more traditional German style bratwurst.
Mustard – Adds a tangy bite and balances the richness. Yellow mustard or spicy brown mustard are both common pairings with brats.
Dairy Free Cheese Sauce or Sharp Cheddar – Ooey, gooey, messy, and delicious, this takes these sausage boats over the top.
Ground Beef – Use your favorite type for the chili sauce. Ground chuck, 80/20, has a good meat to fat ratio for this.
Onion – Adds both savory flavor and sweetness.
Cayenne – Add a little for a back note of heat, or a lot if you like it spicy.
Black Pepper – This gives a mild, earthy note of heat.
Salt
Tomato Paste – Adds sweetness and depth to the sauce.
Water – Helps dilute the sauce and allow it to cook down and concentrate.
Worcestershire Sauce – Gives a layer of umami and depth to every bite of the chili sauce.

How to Make Gluten Free Chili Cheese Dog Sausage Boats

Skip the buns and pull out the stack of napkins. This fun savory create will have you going in for the big bite.

Time needed: 1 hour

This chili sauce is so good it needs to come with a warning. Make sure you save some for the sausage boats!

The Sauce is Boss
Make your chili sauce. Add your ground beef and onion to a saucepan on medium-low heat. Allow it to cook through until the ground beef is done. Add the tomato paste and mix to fully incorporate it. Add the remaining ingredients for the chili sauce and stir to combine. Partially cover the pot and allow the chili sauce to cook for 30-45 minutes until the meat has completely broken down and the sauce is thickened.
Pregame
Preheat your pellet smoker to 300 degrees or oven to 375 degrees. Slice the top of your brats open.
Fill
Spread mustard inside of your split brats. Pack the opening of the bratwurst with the chili sauce. Place the brats in an 8×8 baking dish.
Smoke
Smoke or bake your brats for 20-25 minutes until done.
Finishing Touch
Top with Dairy Free cheese sauce or sharp cheddar and enjoy!

Substitutions

You can use your favorite type of sausage for these Gluten Free Chili Cheese Dog Sausage Boats. In addition, you can also use regular dairy products for either the cheese or cheese sauce.

Storage

The chili sauce for this recipe can be made ahead of time which makes it great for meal prep and easy to make these chili sausage boats on the day of. Keep it refrigerated in an airtight container until ready to reheat and use.

Top Tip for Gluten Free Chili Cheese Dog Sausage Boats

You don’t want to slice all the way through your sausages when creating the openings for these. To make a guide for slicing, you can place a chopstick on either end of the bratwurst. That way when you slice the top of the sausage, you don’t cut all the way through.