This recipe is based on the Skyline restaurant’s secret recipe, so leave everything you thought you knew about traditional chili behind. This recipe will turn it all upside down, but in the most delicious way.
Secondly, it calls for a combination of spices and ingredients that you might find a bit odd, especially for a savory meat stew: allspice? Clove? Unsweetened chocolate?
Hold on a minute!
And finally, beans aren’t exactly in the chili, but they are served on top of it. Deep dark red kidney beans, or sometimes even the cute little chili beans. But you don’t have to have them, either. That’s up to you.
Best of all, this recipe is perfect for the slow cooker and freezes beautifully, so you can have Cincy Chili no matter where you live.
Making a double or quadruple batch of Cincinnati Chili? Smart! Click and slide the number next to “servings” on the recipe card below to adjust the ingredients to match how many you’re feeding—the recipe does the math for you, it’s that easy.
What exactly is Cincinnati Chili?
Basically, this delicacy is based on a Mediterranean spiced beef stew originating from Greece or Macedonia, which uses oregano, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. It was developed by immigrants new to the area and originally served on hot dogs.
Some recipes call for using unsweetened chocolate or cocoa powder, which gives the chili a wonderful depth of flavor similar to a Mexican mole.
Toppings are a must: raw onions, shredded cheddar cheese, and kidney beans or refried beans. Sometimes even oyster crackers, for crunch.
If you’re ever in the chili capital of Ohio, the restaurants use a “way” system to determine the ingredients each customer wants on their chili. Here’s how to order it:
- 3-Way: Spaghetti, Chili, Cheese.
- 4-Way: Spaghetti, Chili, Cheese, Onions OR Beans.
- 5-Way (otherwise known as “the works”: Spaghetti, Chili, Cheese, Onions AND Beans.
- If you’re thinking a Cincinnati Chili Coney dog might be just the thing, here are the options:
- Bun, Hot Dog, Chili
- Bun, Hot Dog, Chili, Cheese
- Bun, Hot Dog, Chili, Mustard OR Onion, Cheese
- Bun, Hot Dog, Chili, Mustard and Onion, Cheese
Cincinnati Chili Ingredients:
People pay good money for Cincinnati Chili packets that hold the secret chili ingredients, so they can make their beloved chili at home. Here’s the spices in Cincy chili:
- Garlic
- Chili powder
- Dried oregano
- Cinnamon
- Allspice
- Ground cloves
- Ground beef (85% lean, 15% fat works best)
- Unsweetened chocolate
- Olive oil
- Onions
- Chicken broth
- Tomato sauce
- Tomato paste
- Cider vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper
For serving Cincinnati Chili:
- Cooked spaghetti
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Cooked dark red kidney beans or chili beans
- Chopped raw onions
- Oyster crackers
- Hot sauce
How do you make Cincinnati Chili?
Now you’re talking! (Psst! If you're a visual learner, these pictures show you what's up--but for the actual recipe with specific amounts, look towards the bottom of the page!)
Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of generously salted boiling water. Why do you salt pasta water? Salting the water increases the boiling point of the water, but it also gently seasons the pasta, which means that you can use less salt overall in the recipe.
It’s really great! Use about a tablespoon of salt to every pound of noodles you cook, but make sure you’re using a lot of water.
- To make the chili, find a large Dutch oven or other large pot, and cook the onions with olive oil over medium heat until softened.
- Then add the chocolate, spices, and garlic and stir until they’re nice and fragrant. Next, add the broth, tomato paste, tomato sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and some salt and pepper.
- Then add the beef and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper).
- Finally, adjust the seasoning and serve over cooked pasta.
How to make Cincinnati Chili in the crock pot or slow cooker:
- In a skillet, sauté the onions in olive oil over medium-high heat until softened. Add garlic and stir, cooking one minute more. Then add oregano, chili powder, allspice, cloves, and cinnamon.
- In a large crock pot, add chicken broth and beef. Stir the raw beef until broken up. Then add tomato sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, chocolate, and cooked onion spice mixture from the skillet. Add a little salt and pepper.
- Next, cover crock pot and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. That’s it!
How do you thicken Cincinnati Chili?
Authentic Cincy chili is definitely on the thinner side, but if you’re needing a little more substance, you can thicken up the chili by making a slurry with flour and adding it to the chili.
Pull out about 1/4 cup of liquid from the chili, and whisk it up with 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Then mix the slurry back into the pot and stir. You may need to do this a couple times before you get the consistency that’s right for you.
Vegan Cincinnati Chili:
Believe it or not, you can make this recipe vegan-friendly!
- Substitute two 15-ounce cans of chili beans or kidney beans for the beef, or use the equivalent amount of HVP (hydolyzed veggie protein), mushrooms, or soft tofu. Look for vegan baker’s chocolate and vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth.
- Skip the cheese, or use your favorite non-dairy cheese in its place.
Cincinnati Chili with ground turkey:
Ground turkey makes an excellent stand-in for beef! Try it and write about it in the comments, if you do.
Leftover chili? Make Skyline Chili Dip:
Cincinnati Chili is perfect for parties as the key ingredient in Skyline Dip, which can be devoured with corn chips.
- Line a glass baking casserole with a 1” cream cheese base, then add chili.
- Top with shredded cheddar cheese and beans.
- Bake at 350 degrees until cheese melts, then allow to cool a few minutes before serving.
Cincinnati Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1 (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 pounds 85/15 ground beef
- Cooked spaghetti for serving
- Shredded cheese, dark red kidney beans, finely chopped onions, and oyster crackers for serving
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat, heat oil until shimmering. Cook onions until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in chocolate, garlic, chili powder, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, tomato sauce, vinegar, tomato paste, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Stir in beef and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper).
- Serve over cooked spaghetti with desired toppings such as cheese, beans, onions, and crackers.
As a Cincy area native living in LA, I always have a longing for the real hometown chili you can get at restaurants in the area there. I’ve tried many a recipe to recreate something close and I have to say this is the best I’ve found and delicious! It just seems to have the right balance of everything that makes Cincy chili great (and I used a 90/10 beef even to make it a tad healthier). Thank you!
I haven’t made this yet. I’m considering the crockpot, but even if stovetop, do you grate or chop the chocolate before adding, or just add the square whole?
This is the best Cincinnati chilli I have ever made! Flavorful, smooth–the perfect mixture of flavors. So simple and quick to make. I forgot to buy onions, but I had one red onion at home which I substituted instead and still had great flavor.
Wow! Thank you Alex! I’m so glad you liked it! -Meggan
you know you’re in cinci when you can smell the chocolate in the chili….
Absolutely fantastic! The best chili we’ve ever had. Made it in an instant pot (20 minutes) and then moved the insert onto the stovetop to simmer and cook it down. Served over spaghetti with cheddar, chopped onions, and a little bit of jalapeno. Fabulous! Our dogs loved it too- they are still waiting in the kitchen in case we have some more plates to be licked 😆
What settings / times / release / etc. did you use to make this in the Instant Pot?
I would like to try this recipe but want to use my Instant Pot.
As a former Cincinatti resident you left out the chocolate! Non sweetened cooking chocolate makes the difference. Try it
I was also thrown off, because there’s no chocolate in the video…. but listed in the recipe.
Trying this tonight, in the slow cooker, while I work.
Hi Juli, sorry about that. I have reworked the recipe to include chocolate, now I just have to make a new video! Hopefully in the next couple months it will be ready. And I’m going to include all the measurements in the videos from now on, too, so if you want to actually just cook from the video, you’ll be able to (more or less). Thank you! -Meggan
No, the recipe says 1 oz unsweetened chocolate.
I’m making this tonight! Ironically, the first time I had Cincinnati style chili was in Milwaukee at Real Chili! Can’t wait for dinner:)
Real Chili still exists…but I think you’re probably thinking of the Chili Bowl, which had an east-side location that indeed closed in the early ’90s. They definitely had Cincinnati-style chili (I worked there briefly), but I don’t think Real Chili does. The “regular” chili at both Real Chili and the former Chili Bowl is based on the recipes at Chili John’s in Green Bay, which (at least as of a few years ago) is still open and still has several varieties of chili, including Cincy-style.
I’m pretty sure Real Chili closed in the mid ‘90s 😔. The one I used to go to was near the Marquette campus. Dinner was delicious! Thanks for the great recipe.
I have never heard of Real Chili! I need to find it. I’m a Waukesha native. I hope you liked the recipe, and thanks for the restaurant suggestion! :D
You explanation of 3,4, & 5 ways are incorrect! A 3 way is noodles, chili, & cheese. A 4 way is the same as a 3 way with the addition of either beans or onions. A 5 way is the same as a 3 way with the addition of BOTH beans & onions.
You are so right! I was like… how did I get this wrong, I copied it from the Skyline website?! I totally got it wrong. It’s fixed now. Thank you so much!
I would like to try this as soon as I get paid. I am thinking since I am allergic to beef to use ground turkey. That should be browned up in a frying pan instead of boiled.
One more little clue is to those who say and like how skylines chili is a little more creamier than other cinncy chili. Corn starch. This recipe would use about two tablespoons.
Sorry. 2 teaspoons
Hi Meggan. Great discussion on chicken vs. Beef. Im actually related to the Lambrinides by way of my great aunt married johnny Lambrinides , son of Nicholas the founder. I can remember growing up my grandfather talking about how they would get together and he would make some skyline. Never telling what was in it thow. My grandparents would always make their on version and swear theirs was better. Very competitive. See my grandfather favored a version of cinncy chilly called Dixie chili which uses more garlic and vinegar and which is less sweet. No one would ever write down the resipe. They added everthing by memory. One thing they did do while mixing the spices is the meat was added to the marinade of tomato paste, vinegar and water and let rest so the vinegar would tenderize the meat before adding the remainder of ingredients. Then everything was simmered together for hours. I always tried to get my grandparents to give me the recipe and all they would ever say is come on over and we’ll make up a batch. I was to naive to realize to write it down. But then again, no one ever did. I’ve been trying my self for years to replicate this recipe and this is close. One thing i will say is i remember asking my grandparents about the use of cocoa powder in it and alls i remember is their big old grins. That meant yes. See the big argument on the web over chocolate or not stems from some who say chocolate is an allergen there for must be disclosed on their packaging. Since its not on there, people say its not in there. Wrong. Cocoa powder is not chocolate. It is made from cacoa bean. It is not a nut. Chocolate is made from cacoa and coconut oil. Introducing the nut .
Just a little known fact that i have found while researching this recipe.
I will have to try this. I live in Cincinnati and LOOOOVE Skyline and the other favorite Gold Star. We also dump it over fries with shredded cheddar on top. We put it on cheese coneys (bun, hot dog, chili, mustard, onion, shredded cheese). And Skyline dip, layered in a pan, bottom layer is cream cheese then a layer of chili topped with, as always, shredded cheddar. Heat in oven until cheese on top melts. Served with Fritos scoops or nachos
I’m just curious, why use chicken broth instead of beef broth?
Hi Chris! If you know Kenji from Serious Eats or have ever heard of his book The Food Lab, he talks about this sometimes. So the reason why I use chicken broth instead of beef broth is “because Kenji says so.” However, the reason HE says so is because, and I’m paraphrasing his book The Food Lab: “There is very little beef in canned beef broth. Food manufacturers are lazy and concerned about their bottom line… instead of simmering veal and beef bones, they use natural and artificial flavorings. According to the USDA’s guidelines, beef or pork broth only has to have 0.007 ounces beef protein present for every ounce of water. So beef broth doesn’t taste much like beef. Their flavor, if any, is enhanced with yeast and vegetable extracts. Chicken broth will have more/better flavor overall because it is cheaper to make.” I hope this is helpful! Here’s another article I found online which discusses this and also reference’s Kenji’s info on the subject. https://lifehacker.com/use-store-bought-chicken-broth-instead-of-beef-broth-fo-1755022375
I love all chili but try adding peanut butter its awesome.
Hi there!! Love Cincinnati Chili and super excited to try. I don’t mind boiling the beef. Just wondering if you skim off any fat as it simmers or if you leave it alone?
Hi Sean! So glad you found my recipe. Skimming fat is a personal choice. I would say a lot of flavor is in the fat, but I know it grosses people out too. I think it also depends on what type of beef you choose. In the recipe I recommend 85/15. To me, this is lean enough that I don’t feel compelled to skim the fat. If you were using 73/27, though, I’d probably skim some fat. Personal choice. Do what makes you happy! Thank you so much and I hope you love it, if you try it! Take care!
I haven’t thrown it out! I normally eat things that most people find repulsive like Kim Chi. Curry both middle easten and Thai. Well people in this area that is. This is growing on me though the cinnamon, cloves and allspice on beef is interesting just not expecting it I guess. I’ll have to make it for my wife though. I’ve pampered her to much with the food I know she will like. I believe it’s time for her to branch out.
Ah yes, nothing like a stinky vat of Kim Chi on your counter to start the day off right! But seriously we made it in culinary school, that was my first exposure to it but I loved it. And all the curries, at least all I’ve had so far. I’m taking an International Cuisine class starting in February so I hope after that I have a clear understanding of all the curries. I’m basically stuck on Tikka and Vindaloo at this point! The Cincinnati Chili is weird for sure, “on the tails of the distribution” as my husband would say, but after a few bites I realized that I really liked it. I have to give those Ohio people credit for their madness! I can’t wait for your wife to try it – I’m just imagining her scowl now. :) Take care and have a great weekend, thanks for playing nice!
I don’t know if it’s good but it’s not bad just different, I’m from the PNW. It’s edible which is good.
Edible is good, yes! Ha ha ha! I can’t tell if you’re giving a wry smile or rolling your eyes while you were writing your comment. But thanks for not firing me!
Cincinnati Chili is one of my favorites so I was glad to try out your recipe. It was wonderful! Delicious AND easy to make, using staples I already had in the house. I will halve the amount of chili powder next time because I like my chili on the mild side. Perfect meal on a cold winter day! Thank you!
I see posts about boiling the meat but instructions don’f mention it
Hi Bob, Step #3 says “Stir in beef and bring to boil.” You’re not boiling it in water, but I think this is what everyone in the comments is referring to. If you have other questions just let me know. Thank you!
My family ate at Skyline while passing thru the Cincinnati area a couple of years ago. This recipe brought back all the delicious memories! It was just so good! I buy beef in bulk and thus used 80/20. A lot of grease floated to the top as it boiled, but I was able to skim off almost all of it while it simmered. I thought about boiling the beef in water first next time, as some other posters have done, but I think I’ll just do it the way it calls for. I’m sure the whole dish benefits from the meat cooking in the seasoned broth, and again, it skimmed easily. Thank you for a keeper!