This hot dog on a baguette recipe—yes, hot dog on a baguette (or you can think of it as a French hot dog)–is a replica of what you’ll find on the streets of Paris. Oui. C’est vrai. You’ll find “le hot dog” vendors on the streets of Paris. And we gotta admit, a crusty baguette that’s been split open and toasted on both sides has it all over a squishy hot dog bun.–David Leite

French Hot Dog FAQs

Can I grill the hot dogs instead of boiling?

Definitely. Cook over low heat on your grill until heated through.

Can I add cheese to this hot dog on a baguette?

Yes. After assembling your French hot dog, sprinkle on your favorite cheese (we suggest shredded Gruyère or sliced Brie and pop under the broiler just until the cheese begins to melt. Note that you may wish to skip the ketchup if adding cheese to your hot dog.

Three servings of hot dog on a baguette with mustard on a paper napkin.

Hot Dog on a Baguette

4.80 / 5 votes
Who said hot dogs can't be glamourous? This French hot dog is proof to the contrary.
David Leite
CourseMains
CuisineFrench
Servings1 servings
Calories435 kcal
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time10 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 baguette or demi-baguette
  • 1 hot dog or all-beef sausage
  • Spicy mustard, to taste
  • ketchup, to taste (optional)

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Bring a small pot of water to a boil.
  • If using a regular-size baguette, slice off an end and cut the baguette into a length slightly shorter than your hot dog.
    If using a demi-baguette, slice both ends off. Cut or rip out some of the fluffy baguette interior to make space for the hot dog.
  • Simmer the hot dog or sausage until warmed through. While it cooks, place the baguette in the warm oven to toast slightly, just for a minute or so.
  • Spread a schmear of spicy mustard and ketchup, if desired, into the slit in the baguette and slide in the hot dog or sausage. Mange. (That's French for "cram it in your piehole.")

Notes

Hot Dog On A Baguette Variation

Gruyère Dog
Slice a baguette or demi-baguette as you would a classic hot dog bun and spread with the spicy mustard. Eighty-six the ketchup. (That means forget about it.) Add the hot dog or sausage and then a generous helping Gruyère cheese. Heat the haute dog under a broiler until the cheese is melted. Serve pronto.
Brie Dog
Slice a baguette or demi-baguette as you would a classic hot dog bun and spread with the spicy mustard. Eighty-six the ketchup. Add the hot dog or sausage and then a generous helping of Brie cheese. Heat under a broiler until the cheese is melted. For a sweet touch, add sliced pears or apples before topping the dog with Brie.
Haute Dogs Cookbook

Adapted From

Haute Dogs

Buy On Amazon

Nutrition

Serving: 1 hot dogCalories: 435 kcalCarbohydrates: 68 gProtein: 17 gFat: 10 gSaturated Fat: 3 gMonounsaturated Fat: 4 gCholesterol: 20 mgSodium: 1080 mgFiber: 3 gSugar: 6 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2014 Russell van Kraayenburg. Photo © 2014 Russell van Kraayenburg. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

Bread lovers, rejoice! Here’s a hot dog variation, le hot dog, which lets you enjoy a hot dog tucked inside a nice crusty baguette. Brilliant! Since I’m a Chicago native, I feel—in fact, I’m quite certain—we have the best hot dog preparation and presentation, which includes a poppy seed-studded soft bun. We also believe in lots of toppings (but no ketchup, ever!).

The pros of this French version are the bread and, for me, the use of spicy mustard instead of yellow mustard. The con, the singular con, is the ketchup. For my Midwestern-biased palate, whether it’s a Chicago dog or a French dog, ketchup does not enhance the experience. Nope. I tried. But the spicy mustard is another story. Be sure to generously smear or squirt the spicy mustard onto the baguette…and, of course, the ketchup, if so desired.

The most lengthy part of the preparation is the time it takes to preheat the oven to 400°F and to boil the water. After that, it takes less than 5 minutes tops. Did I love this? Well, yes. In fact, if I’d purchased a whole baguette instead of a demi-baguette, I’d be having seconds now. One note on that baguette—my demi-baguette was quite wide. I think something skinnier would be a better fit, keeping the bread and dog in better proportion to each other. I also wonder if the French ever add more toppings, creating something akin to their version of the Chicago dog? What comes to mind almost immediately for me is caramelized onions, which would be lovely with both the dog and the warmed, slightly toasted baguette. As a lover of the crusty variety of bread, I’ll give up those soft buns for a baguette any day henceforth. So, yes! And oui! Mange, absolument!

My husband and son LOVED this hot dog on a baguette recipe. Not only do they get a meal, but they get the pleasure of eating a hot dog all fancied up. The hands-on time for this recipe is maybe 5 minutes, and the total time was 8 minutes (including the time it took to heat the water and get the plates). When I turned on the oven, I opened the package of hot dogs and put them into a pot of hot water on the stove to warm up while the I cut a large baguette into pieces slightly shorter than the length of the dogs itself. I got 4 buns out of a large baguette, so if your package has 8 hot dogs in it, I would use 2 baguettes. My package only had 6, so I used 4. I used a paring knife to make the hollow for the dogs. I put a nice spicy tarragon mustard and plain ketchup in the hole of one bun and a curry ketchup in another. Both were good. I would only warm the baguette until slightly crunchy, which only takes a minute or 2 in a hot oven. It would make it a little easier to slide the hot dog onto the bun when done. Plus, one taster found the baguette too crunchy when I toasted them for the full 5 minutes. Total time from fridge to table took about 7 minutes. This makes a fun recipe to fancy up a quick meal.

As soon as I read this hot dog on a baguette recipe, I had to make it for my daughters. I grew up with this way of eating hot dogs, and until coming to the States, I thought this was the right way of making them. This literally takes 10 minutes from beginning to end and requires barely any work, though I must say, I cannot recall having had it before with ketchup. There’s something about the crunchiness of a baguette, which in my mind actually works so much better than a hot dog bun. With a bun, everything is mushy and uneventful. But with a warm and slightly toasted baguette, it’s a whole different experience. My older daughter absolutely loved it and right away remembered having this as her lunch while surfing in Portugal, where they also added potato sticks inside it (again, more crunchiness). In my mind, this is a winner and certainly a different take on a hot dog for people here in the States.

This is so easy, but so much better than using a regular too short, too narrow​ ​hot dog bun. The regular ones are never the right size to put on the mustard and ketchup without having a mess. Plus, if you like relish​ and ​onions on it, forget it!​ ​I used a mini baguette, toasting ​it ​very lightly​ and removing some of the interior​.​ By removing some of the interior, I was left with a nice “nest” for the hot dog to​ ​rest in with plenty of room for mustard, ketchup​,​ and any other condiments that I may like to add. The hot dog was pre-cooked, so with the preparation, simmering​,​ and toasting, ​this recipe took no more than 15 minutes.

Brilliant! I’ve always had an issue with fluffy store-bought ​ hot dog buns. Nothing is worse, in my opinion, than your carefully prepared dog and ​the accompanying toppings falling through the bottom due the weight of the sausage and added moisture from the condiments. Enter a baguette and all of my problems are solved! ​My local grocery store doesn’t carry baguettes—mini or otherwise—so I used large breadsticks. They worked perfectly! The breadsticks took less than 5 minutes to toast, which was the same amount of time the hot dogs took to heat through in simmering water. One thing, though—​no ketchup on hot dogs. Ever.

W​hat an easy weekend lunch or picnic dish. I made this on ​a day​ when​ ​I gardened for several hours. I used ​m​ini ​baguettes and followed ​the ​directions. ​I served the b​aguette ​d​og with​ some​ sauerkraut and ​s​riracha ​hot s​auce​ ​as well. It w​as delicious.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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