I’ve only been to New York City once, but I’ll never forget the delicious pushcart hot dogs. The smell of sautéed onions and sauerkraut draws you in and you can’t resist trying one.

Unlike your typical hot dog topped with ketchup and mustard, the New York Hot Dog is topped with sauerkraut, onion sauce, and spicy brown mustard. To say it’s packed full of flavor is an understatement!

The secret to the New York Hot Dog being so delicious lies in the onion sauce, a sweet and tangy combination of sautéed onions, ketchup, cinnamon, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.

With NCAA March Madness underway, I teamed up with Bar-S to share my New York Style Hot Dog recipe. I think you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make, especially for a crowd.

To make your own New York pushcart hot dogs, you’ll need to pick up a package of jumbo beef franks from your favorite brand.

You’ll also need onions, sauerkraut, ketchup, spicy brown mustard, hot dog buns, and pantry essentials such as olive oil, ground cinnamon, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.

If you have homemade sauerkraut that is a bonus — if not, simply grab a can at the grocery store and that will work just fine.

Follow the recipe below and in just 30 minutes, you’ll have delicious New York Style hot dogs.

If you’re planning on feeding a crowd, simply double or triple the recipe. You can boil the hot dogs ahead of time and keep them warm in a slow cooker until you’re ready to serve them.

New York Style Hot Dog Recipe

Name: New York Style Hot Dog Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6 jumbo or bun length beef hot dogs; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 medium onions, sliced; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp chili powder; pinch of cayenne pepper; 1/4 cup ketchup; 1/2 cup water; 1 cup sauerkraut; spicy brown mustard, to taste; 6 hot dog buns

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Featuring an all-beef hot dog, sauerkraut, onion sauce and spicy brown mustard, the New York Pushcard Hot dog is delicious and full of flavor. A must try!

Ingredients

6 jumbo or bun length beef hot dogs
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1 cup sauerkraut
spicy brown mustard, to taste
6 hot dog buns

Instructions

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft. Stir in the cinnamon, chili powder and cayenne pepper and cook for 1 minute.
Add ketchup and water and stir until well combined. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 to 15 minutes.
While the onion sauce is cooking, boil hot dogs for 5-6 minutes over medium-high heat.
Put hot dogs in buns and top with sauerkraut, onion sauce and spicy brown mustard.
Enjoy!

Notes

Cooking for a crowd? Simply double or triple this recipe! You can boil the hot dogs ahead of time and keep them warm in a slow cooker until ready to serve.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 364Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 850mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 3gSugar: 11gProtein: 11g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

What are your favorite hot dog toppings?

New York Style Hot Dog - this simple & delicious recipe is similar to the pushcart hot dog featuring onion sauce and sauerkraut.

I partnered with Bar-S Foods to bring you this post. All opinions are my own.

Simon_W

Monday 28th of August 2023

How nice my comment hasn't been published. OK I'll use the mild chili powder mix by McCormick then. It's made of mild chili, cumin, oregano and garlic.

Marisa

Wednesday 30th of August 2023

Hi Simon, your comment was published and responded to on 8/8 :) Thanks!

Saturday 5th of August 2023

Thanks from Switzerland for this interesting recipe, I'm definitely going to try this! But what exactly do you mean by chili powder? You wrote half a tsp of chili powder and just a pinch of cayenne pepper. This seema to suggest your chili powder is milder than your cayenne pepper. Facts are, mine (a birds eye chili powder) is way hotter. Do you actually mean a chili con carne-like mix of chili, cumin and oregano?

Tuesday 8th of August 2023

Hi Simon, thanks for reaching out! Here in the US, chili powder is very mild. You can buy it at the grocery store and it usually includes a mix of ground dried chiles, cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, oregano, and onion powder. I add a pinch of cayenne pepper to give it a little more heat. Hope that helps! Enjoy! :)

Pepo

Sunday 24th of July 2022

Hi, this is exactly what I was looking for. For sure,, I’ll try this right away. Thanks

Frank M

Thursday 3rd of March 2022

Sabrettes are the only pushcart hot dogs. Bar S are cheap crap. You can also buy Sabrettes red onions by the jar full in Walmart. Spend the extra money and buy the best.

@Frank M, I’m sure you would provide the monies necessary for everyone, so everyone can follow your instructions?

Daniel

Friday 15th of January 2021

Never tried a New York hotdog before. To me this all sounded very weird, sourkraut and the cinnamon flavoured sause. But I wanted to try it anyway, and man, this comes together so well. Was not expecting it to at all but it was amazing. Only thing I changed was that I fried the sausages instead of boiling them. It's so weird, I didn't like any of it by itself, not even the mustard, but together it just works. Thanks for the recipe, will definitely be having this a lot.

Monday 25th of January 2021

Hi Daniel! It sounded weird to me at first too, but somehow it all comes together to create something delicious. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts! :)

New York Hot Dog Recipe