8 Cheese-Stuffed Hot Dogs You Can Find At The Store, Ranked

Hot dogs are an American family favorite, perfect for grilling on warm summer days or for a quick meal on those nights where you don't feel like cooking. Among fan favorite varieties are cheese-stuffed hot dogs which feature cheese (and sometimes other toppings) inside of the hot dog. Unfortunately, not all cheese-stuffed hot dogs are the same, and some are downright unpalatable. How can you figure out which is your best bet for dinner and which should be left on grocery store shelves?

Thankfully, you don't have to discover the answer to that question through trial and error. I was given the opportunity to try eight cheese-stuffed hot dogs you can find at the store and rank them from worst to best based on taste, texture, smell, and size. To do this, I relied on my food industry experience and decades of, well, eating hot dogs. You can find a full explanation of my methodology at the end of this article. Ready to discover your new favorite cheese-stuffed hot dogs? Let's get into it.

I hate to say it, but these Oscar Mayer Cheese Stuffed Hot Dogs rank among the worst hot dogs I've ever eaten. The smell was a little off-putting, but very on-par with what I expect from these types of products when using lower quality meat. Instead of all beef, these are made from a combination of beef, pork, and chicken. While my personal preference would be to not eat these, I pushed through for the purposes of this taste test.

Unfortunately, these dogs are awful. I expected the bologna sandwich-like taste of mixed meat hot dogs, but what I didn't expect was a flavor like artificial seafood lightly sprayed with chemicals. The cheese was also low quality, with a highly artificial taste of its own. These combined for a truly disgusting experience, and I have to admit that I was unable to get past two bites before throwing the rest of the hot dog away.

And so, it should be obvious that I wouldn't buy these again, nor would I eat them if served to me. Skip the Oscar Mayer Cheese Stuffed Hot Dogs and get something better — trust me, your taste buds will thank you.

Upon opening the package, I'm greeted by a faint smell of quality bacon varieties. This intensifies slightly during cooking, but remains relatively faint. The size of these hot dogs are noticeably larger than other brands I've had by a considerable amount, and these two facts make me excited to try them.

However, my excitement was dashed once I took my first bite. Even before the taste became apparent, the texture was off-putting. When boiled like every other hot dog on this list, the Dietz Bacon Cheddar Hot Dogs were rubbery and challenging to bite into or chew. When the taste does manage to come through, you can tell the meat isn't of a very high caliber, and you don't get any real bacon bits from what I ate — instead, it's just bacon flavor and more like bacon grease. There's a light smattering of cheese throughout, which appears to be of good quality at least. A faint aftertaste of cheese and bacon grease lingers, and while it isn't unpleasant it also isn't great.

I wouldn't purchase these again nor would I eat them if they were offered to me. Definitely skip the Dietz Bacon Cheddar Hot Dogs in lieu of better ranking hot dogs.

From the moment I open the package and begin cooking these hot dogs, there's a distinct smell of chili. I find this initially promising since I'm a huge fan of homemade All-American chili, and I hoped that the Oscar Mayer Chili Hot Dogs would live up to these standards.

Unfortunately, these didn't quite live up to my expectations. Instead of a classic chili taste, these came off like a knock-off Hormel chili (which is far from one of the best canned chili brands) — and the low meat quality here is really dominant in the taste profile. There's lots of cheese, which has a nice flavor while eating, but that fades into a highly artificial taste like cheap American cheese that's been lightly sprayed with chemicals. This is followed by an even more lingering aftertaste like hot dog water that leaves me gagging slightly and desperately trying to remove the taste from my mouth.

Obviously, I wouldn't purchase these again and I don't think I could be tempted into eating them if someone else was serving them. Definitely skip the Oscar Mayer Chili Hot Dogs in lieu of better options.

The Oscar Mayer Jalapeño Cheddar Stuffed Hot Dogs had an immediate smell of lower quality meat — these are a combination of beef, pork, and chicken, which I'll be honest and say I've never been a big fan of. They're also one of three unique options from Oscar Mayer's Stuffed Hot Dogs that we had in this taste test (and the best ranking of those three, at that).

With my first bite, the initial thing I noticed was the low-quality meat taste. It almost tastes closer to cheap bologna than what I'd describe as a quintessentially hot dog flavor. However, the jalapeños offer a nice sweet flavor that moderately counteracts the off-taste, and the cheese is pleasant at first. The aftertaste is artificial cheese and a light sweetness, but there's no heat during any part of this taste test. I found this mildly disappointing since I like a little heat to my dishes, and I expected that with the inclusion of the spicy peppers.

Overall, I wasn't a big fan of these and won't purchase them again. However, I may eat them if they were served to me by someone else. Skip these in lieu of better-ranked jalapeño and cheese dogs on this list.

Hippey's Jalapeño and Cheese Hot Dogs are one of three unique options from the brand that grace our list. These come six to a pack and the very first thing I noticed was their size — these hot dogs are considerably thicker than standard hot dogs. They also appear to have a greater density or a more solid feel (and mouthfeel) to them. While cooking, they don't have much smell. But, I was excited to try these based on appearance alone.

My first bite offered a high-quality beef taste that I prefer over the mixed meat varieties. The cheese is well dispersed and offers a creamy taste and texture beside the solid, umami profile of the meat. I expected these hot dogs to be spicier thanks to the addition of jalapeños, but I don't detect any heat while eating. There's a mild kick to the aftertaste, but it's barely perceptible.

Regardless of the lack of heat, I'd likely purchase these again and would definitely eat them if they were served to me. Despite preferring other options more, I recommend Hippey's Jalapeño and Cheese Hot Dogs if you're looking for a thick hot dog with mild heat — and I think they'd be especially great topped with chili and pickled jalapeños.

Nathan's is a hot dog brand I've often eaten, and I already knew I liked their original bun-length option. However, I had never tried their cheese option, and after my varying experiences during this taste test, I was left feeling uncertain of what to expect. Thankfully, the brand didn't let me down. There was no discernible smell upon opening the package or when cooking it, but the appearance was almost identical to the standard option from this brand.

When I took my first bite, there was the taste of quality hot dog meat paired with quality cheese. There's lots of cheese hidden inside these thin hot dogs, which I really enjoyed. They're also a good length for eating on a bun (although, for quality control purposes, I didn't do that during this taste test, but rather know from experiencing other Nathan's hot dog options). There is a mild artificial cheese aftertaste, but it's not enough to ruin the experience for me and quickly fades away as I continued eating.

I would purchase Nathan's Cheddar Cheese Beef Hot Dogs again and would definitely eat them if they were served to me by someone else. If the top two options aren't available in your grocery store, these are a fantastic alternative.

The Hippey's Cheese Hot Dogs are larger than average options, which is the most obvious thing I noticed right off the bat. There isn't a huge defining smell when I opened the package, and even when cooking it there was no real discernible aroma. Since I'm big on the smell of my food, this was a little disappointing — but, considering the bad smells of other hot dogs on this list, I was willing to look past it.

When I bite into one of these cheese hot dogs, the first thing I noticed is how juicy it was, which was fantastic. Next, I noticed the meat was high quality and definitely all beef, which is my personal preference. The cheese was also good quality and didn't have that chemical or artificial taste that permeated some of the other items on this list. With no real aftertaste and a fantastic flavor profile all around, I was left feeling very satisfied.

I would definitely buy these again and the only reason they didn't rank on the top is pure personal preference. I highly recommend trying the Hippey's Cheese Hot Dogs for yourself.

Hands down, the Hippey's Chili Cheese Hot Dogs are the best hot dogs I've ever tasted. In fact, I ate enough of these to put myself into a mild food coma, which should be a good indication of how I felt about them.

Right off the bat, I noticed a distinctly chili smell. Unlike the other chili and cheese option on this list, this one smelled very much like homemade chili, with tiny hints of spice. Thankfully, the aroma turned out to be indicative of the taste, which predominately featured a smoky chili profile. Interlaced through this was creamy, melty cheese and a small kick of spice. Texturally, this was exactly what you'd want out of a hot dog.

I'll definitely buy these again and highly recommend you get yourself a pack of Hippey's Chili Cheese Hot Dogs. Once you try them, you'll have zero doubts as to why they ranked as my top cheese-stuffed hot dogs.

I chose cheese-stuffed hot dogs for inclusion in this ranking based on their availability. Although most hot dogs were purchased at my local ShopRite in Vineland, New Jersey, a select few were mailed to me for consideration. I ranked each hot dog based on taste, texture, smell, and size, with taste being the largest determining factor. I tasted every hot dog alone, without bun or condiments, to provide the fairest taste comparison.

To make my judgments, I relied on more than 15 years of food industry experience, during which time I cross-trained in hot foods and bakeries. More than three decades of eating hot dogs as a consumer also helped make my decisions. Where two hot dogs were closely matched, I asked for the opinion of my partner and children to help determine the better of the two.