Wendy's Launches A New Grocery Item — It's Something You Can't Get At The Restaurant

It's always exciting when your favorite restaurant comes up with a new menu item. Sometimes it sounds so good you have to go out of your way just to try it. In this case, even if you're excited about Wendy's latest offering, you won't find it at your local restaurant. The newest weapon in Wendy's arsenal is only available in grocery stores. So what's all the hype about? Wendy's just rolled out cans of Baconator chili.

Wendy's canned chili (including versions with and without bean) has been available in supermarkets for a couple of years and its reviews are often positive; at least one Redditor called it the best canned chili they'd ever had. This is the heat and eat version of the chili that Wendy's has long offered at its restaurants. Some customers love it, but others find the way it's made by essentially recycling unsold hamburgers unpalatable. The canned chili, which is produced in an off-site facility by Conagra Brands, is seasoned similarly and tastes much like the restaurant version.

This new chili goes beyond what you find on the Wendy's menu by including bacon to invoke the taste of the famous Baconator. The ingredients vary only slightly between the regular canned chili and the new Baconator version. The main differences are that the Baconator Chili includes slightly less water and, of course, bacon. There are minor variations beyond that, with the Baconator version including a bit more sugar and some texture enhancers.

Baconator chili is available at Walmart right now for just under $5 per can. There are no reviews yet, but there are 9 ratings which give it 4.9 out of 5 stars. Most people are only just hearing about it and have yet to try it, but feedback on Instagram and Facebook is generally positive with a lot of people showing interest.

Some commenters have pointed out that you could easily make Baconator chili at Wendy's yourself. All you need to do is ask them to add bacon to a regular serving of chili. You can add bacon to any burger at Wendy's for about $.90, and they'll throw some on your chili, too. You may need to grind it up yourself, though.

Now, if you're a Baconator purist, you'll note that there's no cheese in this chili. A true Baconator has slices of American cheese on it. If you were so inclined to make an authentic version, you could just order a serving of chili and a Baconator, discard the buns, and use your plastic cutlery to hack up the beef patties, bacon, and cheese before folding them into your chili. It would be a beef extravaganza, but it would certainly be memorable. If that's not appealing, maybe just try the canned version.