Cincinnati Skyline Chili

This easy recipe for Cincinnati Skyline Chili involves spaghetti, tons of cheese and some of the best chili in the world. And if you want, onions and beans!

Why we love this recipe

So, those of you who follow me on Facebook (thank you!) know that I often I post what I am making for dinner as my Facebook status.

(This started when I first got my Facebook page one million years ago and I wasn’t posting any status at all. The Southern daughter was aghast, and told me I HAD to post my status and change it every day, and dinner was the only thing I could think of that changed radically every day.)

Anyway.  Most days the Dinner Status gets a comment or two, or someone hits the “Like” button, especially if there is bacon involved.  Then came the day that I changed my status to “making three-way Cincinnati Skyline Chili.”

Oh my goodness.

Everyone from my food writer and editor friends, to my friends who are from or who are married to Ohio natives and so have first-hand knowledge of Cincinnati chili, to various folks just want to know what it IS.

It was a Facebook/Cincinnanti Chili free-for-all, and I loved it. Who knew chili was such a conversation-starter? But obviously this one is, so let me break it down for you.

This famous chili recipe was created by Nicholas Lambrinides, who founded a popular chain of chili restaurants called Skyline Chili in Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1940s. And here are the rules.

1. Cincinnati chili is served on spaghetti. Not rice, spaghetti, and very well-cooked spaghetti. This is not the time for al dente.
2. Cincinnati chili does NOT have beans in it, unless you are having Five-Way chili.  More on that later.  It’s complicated.
3. Cincinnati chili includes, among various other flavors and seasonings: CHOCOLATE. (I’m starting to understand the passion now.)

Now that we have covered that, let me explain the various ways you can have this particular chili.

THREE WAY: Chili, shredded cheese, spaghetti.

FOUR WAY: Chili, shredded cheese, spaghetti, chopped onions

FIVE WAY: Chili, shredded cheese, spaghetti, chopped onions, beans

I am not a beans person, but I did go for Four Way.

My Ohio sources tell me that there is a variation on the Four Way where you can swap out the beans for the onions. And that it is often served with oyster crackers.

That is the sum total of what I know about this variation of chili, other that the fact that it is flat-out scrumptious, and if you let it mellow in the fridge overnight and have some the next day, it is even better.  

So there you have it, Cincinnati chili, and all you Ohioans out there? Let me know if I got anything wrong, okay?

Ingredients you need

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Onion: We like a sweet onion for this recipe, but any onion you have will work.
• Ground Beef: We recommend the 80/20 blend but you can go for a lower fat version if you want to.
• Spices: Make sure you give the spices a good sniff to make sure they are still fresh, because they are key to the flavor (and we’ve all let some spices sit in our drawer wayyyyyyyy past their prime! 🙋🏼‍♀️)
• Chocolate: Look for unsweetened chocolate (which gives this chili a deep rich flavor) in the baking aisle.
• Beef Broth: As always, we recommend the kind in the box for the freshest flavor.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.

How to make this recipe

STEP 1: Heat some vegetable oil in a large pot or Dutch oven and saute some chopped onion until it is soft, about 5 minutes.

STEP 2: Add some ground beef and cook it up until it is browned. You can drain it if you like, or leave the juices in there for a little extra flavor!

STEP 3: Add some spices, unsweetened chocolate, beef broth, tomato sauce and cider vinegar and give it all a good stir. Bring it to a simmer, turn the heat to low and cook it for 90 minutes, giving it a stir every 15 minutes or so.

STEP 4: Time to serve it up and here comes the big decision! Cook up some spaghetti, ladle on the chili and top it with cheese, onion and/or beans depending on what WHAT you like your Skyline Chili! Four-way girl here. 😀😀😀😀

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Cincinnati Skyline Chili

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This easy recipe for Cincinnati Skyline chili involves spaghetti, tons of cheese and some of the best chili in the world. And if you want, onions and beans!

• Author: Kate Morgan Jackson
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
• Yield: 8
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large chopped onion
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
• Two cups beef broth
• 2 eight ounce cans tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 pound cooked spaghetti
• At least two cups shredded cheddar cheese…or more
• Chopped onions and/or cooked beans for garnish (optional!)

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Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes.
2. Add ground beef and stir until browned.
3. Add chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, chocolate, beef broth, tomato sauce, cider vinegar and stir. Bring to a simmer, turn heat to low and cook for 90 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so. If you like your chili on the thicker side, keep simmering it until it is the consistency you want.
4. Serve over spaghetti and top with LOTS of shredded cheddar cheese for three way, add some chopped onions for four way, add some drained heated kidney beans for five way.

Notes

• • Onion: We like a sweet onion for this recipe, but any onion you have will work.

• • Ground Beef: We recommend the 80/20 blend but you can go for a lower fat version if you want to.

• • Spices: Make sure you give the spices a good sniff to make sure they are still fresh, because they are key to the flavor (and we’ve all let some spices sit in our drawer wayyyyyyyy past their prime! 🙋🏼‍♀️)

• • Chocolate: Look for unsweetened chocolate (which gives this chili a deep rich flavor) in the baking aisle.

• • Beef Broth: As always, we recommend the kind in the box for the freshest flavor.