Homemade copycat Skyline Cincinnati chili… unique and flavorful, this regional delicacy is easy to make at home for way less than the restaurant charges!
Have you ever had Cincinnati chili? It’s totally unique, and NOT like a traditional chili, but it’s an absolutely delicacy here in the Midwest. It’s also really easy to make at home, freezes wonderfully, and can be served in so many ways!
I love hometown things, and growing up in the suburbs of Cincinnati, that means Cincinnati-style chili!
It’s definitely NOT like any chili you’ve had before. To most people, chili is something like this. For us Cincinnati-ans… this is our chili:
A meat sauce full of unique seasonings that is served on top of spaghetti and topped with cheese (which we call a 3 way), and sometimes onions and/or beans will be added with the cheese (4 or 5 way).
Another classic way we enjoy this chili is on top of a hot dog, with some mustard and onions and a mound of cheese.
That delicious looking dog is called a coney. And they are heavenly… seriously.
I know… the term chili is confusing, because this dish is completely different… but wonderful (as most Cincinnati-ans are as well!).
I urge you to try it, at least once. Most people who try it, love it!
Around here, you can buy Skyline (and Gold Star) chili in cans, packets, and frozen trays. Which is convenient, but p-r-i-c-e-y! So I wanted to find a recipe that starts from scratch… for a few reasons.
- The price. I’m a cheap you know what, and refuse to pay that much for one can of chili.
- I don’t want the preservatives and whatever is in those packets.
- The most important reason… unless you live here, you probably won’t be able to find those cans, trays or packets in your grocery store. Bummer huh? Everyone should be able to enjoy this fabulous chili, no matter where you live!
It’s really simple to make too, just add water, tomato paste and chocolate to a large pot and cook over medium heat for a few minutes.
That’s right, you read that correctly… chocolate. Not the milk chocolate we all love to snack on mind you, but unsweetened 100% cacao bakers chocolate. My turkey chili uses this chocolate as well!
Add your spices, vinegar, and your beef. Crumble it using your fingers, then use a potato masher, whisk, or mash the beef against the side of the pan. Basically you want the meat all broken up into fine pieces. I mainly used the fork and went to town with my whisk. Get mad at it, break up that meat!
Now just bring it to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and let it cook, uncovered for 1 – 1 1/2 hours (you want a low boil). It will thicken up and become a wonderful meat sauce. And the smell that fills your house…. incredible!!
It’s up to you how you would like to serve up your chili… do you want coneys? A “way”? Or just chili in a bowl with cheese and oyster crackers?
It’s your house, your rules! I typically go for “ways” and coneys. Remember, here’s the breakdown.
CINCINNATI CHILI “WAYS”:
- 2-way = spaghetti and chili
- 3-way = spaghetti, chili, cheese
- 4-way = spaghetti, chili, onions OR beans, cheese (my fav is with onions!)
- 5-way = spaghetti, chili, onion AND beans, cheese
CINCINNATI CHILI CONEYS:
- 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 (my fav!!)
Traditionally, people top their “ways” with oyster crackers and hot sauce. They’re great additions, I use them both!
This chili is also fantastic over crispy french fries or even a baked potato!! You can also use it in an amazing Skyline Chili Dip for your next party.
This chili season, I hope you give this non-traditional Cincinnati chili a try! Let me share this piece of my hometown with you all… I think you’ll LOVE it 🙂
Here are some other versions of chili to try too!
- Slow Cooker Beef and Bean Chili
- Slow Cooker Creamy White Chicken Chili
- Beef and Poblano Chili
- Healthier Turkey Chili
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 5 cups water
- 6 oz can of Tomato paste
- 1/2 oz baking chocolate (unsweetened - I use Baker's brand)
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or less, depending on your desired heat level
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/4 lb lean ground beef
Instructions
- Add the water to a large pot. I like to use my dutch oven for this.
- Add the tomato paste and chocolate and heat over medium heat stirring to combine for about 3 minutes. (I stir with a whisk to really break up the tomato paste)
- Add chili powder, cinnamon, garlic powder, cumin, allspice, cloves, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, sugar and vinegar.
- Next, crumble the raw ground beef into the pot with your fingers, then use a potato masher, whisk or fork to break up the meat into very fine pieces.
- Turn heat to high to bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn the heat down to med-low.
- Cook, uncovered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, at a low boil.. stirring occasionally until sauce has thickened quite a bit.
- Serve over thin spaghetti or a hot dog.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Emily says
Thank you! I substituted cacao powder for the chocolate and honey for the sugar. Turned out amazing. I appreciate you figuring out this copy cat recipe for the rest of us
Heather says
I grew up in KY and transplanted to the south (MS!). No one knows how to make a good coney down here like the ones made with Cincinnati chili. When I would return to my home state to visit, I would buy cans at the local grocery (almost $4 each!) and bring back to enjoy or share. Thank you so much for this recipe! You have saved me tons of money and now I won’t gringe if I don’t use every last drop. 😉
Julie says
Turned out perfect! 2 hints,, after breaking up the beef, it was still kinda chunky, I drained it from the sauce, put it in my food processor for a quick spin,, texture was spot on! On to the Chocolate, per directions on the can, mix 1 1/2 T powder with 1 T oil, then mix in.
John Lyndsay says
The BEST chili I’ve ever had. This stuff is so good and so versatile… The first thing I made was nachos… I was going to make them with the pasta and hotdogs but I dipped a nacho chip in the sauce to taste it and it was so good I had to have nachos… Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. I will be making it again and again. FYI … I did add a tad more spices (quantity of the spices in the recipe not new ones) to bump up the flavor… so delicious!
Kim B says
I made Cincinnati Spaghetti more than forty years ago as a bride. Recently I found your recipe and have made it for family including those less than adventurous. So far, I have a 100% successful rate among converts! Thanks for a great recipe filled with lots of memories, past and present!
Glenda S says
Omg I absolutely love this recipe.. I had a taste for a restaurant style chili mac taste and this is exactly what I a taste for .. I followed your recipe exactly as is except I couldn’t find the chocolate you suggested so I used the unsweetened cocoa powder it dissolved nicely with the recipe.. definitely making this again and sharing the recipe with my family and friends ❤
Shana Baert says
I made this again tonight for dinner. It never disappoints. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe with us!
Richard cook says
It’s the absolute best, bar none!!!! Love it!!!
Dan says
Thank you for this. Turned out great. I did kick up all the seasonings and heat a notch. Made some killer chili-mac and coneys. Better than Skyline from the Can!
Joel says
I love to cook and grew up in KY eating gold star chilli and skyline all the time. This recipe was great will be making it again and again
Jojo says
Made it again!! Delicious.
Linda says
Can I sub powder cocoa for the bakers chocolate? If so how much should I use?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested that substitution, so I can’t say for certain if that would work as well, or how much to use. If you experiment a bit and try it, I’d love to know how it goes 🙂
Chris D. says
This stuff is THE BOMB!! I made “5-ways” for the family and they devoured it. Even used whole wheat pasta, which my daughter is not a fan of, and she didn’t even notice. QUICK TIP on getting small bits of meat without a lot of effort – use a stick (immersion) blender on low setting. Mine worked great. We’ll be using the remainder for loaded hot dogs. Great recipe and a keeper for the future.
C McCormack says
I overcooked the chili and it turned bitter is there anything I can do to fix it?
The Chunky Chef says
Oh no 🙁 Some of these tricks may help https://www.wikihow.com/Reduce-Bitter-Taste-in-Food
David Mcinturff says
Hey Amanda I’m Dave. I’m making your Cincy chili for the first time! I put the whole square of chocolate in the sauce! It tastes great! Thanks!
Janet says
It says to use a 1/2 ounce of chocolate in the skyline chili. So that’s a half of an ounce ? Like I would use half of an ounce ?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes. The unsweetened chocolate I use comes in bar form, and it’s easy to break off a half ounce piece. I use Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate 🙂
Terrylee says
made this yesterday for the super bowl……loved it!
Mark says
First time ever making Cincinnati chili (I’ve made lots of Texas chili). Went with Cincy in support of the Bengals. While the game didn’t work out, the chili sure did! It was a HUGE hit! Made a double batch and had both options (coney and ways) available for guests. Absolutely delicious and super easy to make. Will definitely be making this again, and soon!
Shawn says
We made this for the Super Bowl on 2/13/22. It did not disappoint.
Never had it before, so i couldn’t compare it to anything. It was a hit and will make again.
Chris says
The game may have disappointed but this recipe didn’t! Made some great coneys. Thank you!