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.
Marc says
Followed this recipe but my batch is still super liquidy. Any suggestions to get it to thicken?
The Chunky Chef says
It’s supposed to be really loose, it’s not going to look like a typical “chili”. But if you want it thicker, you could whisk together some cornstarch and cold water, then stir that into the chili and continue to simmer and stir until it’s as thick as you’d like.
Brad says
Definitely our go to recipe for Cincinnati chili. The closest recipe to the original!
Scott says
My friend’s brother was visiting from Ohio. I made your chili, following your instructions exactly. The brother said that my chili smelled and tasted like the real thing. Thanks! I’ve never tasted actual Skyline chili, but I think that your recipe is really good. Its different from any chili that I’ve had before.
Susan Glenn Harvuot says
Had Cincinnati Chili many years ago in Cincinnati and loved it. Looking forward to trying your recipe. Just from the ingredients I know it will be good!
Debi says
I made this for our son who is in the Navy. We no longer have a Skyline near us. It was so good many people asked for the recipe. Making it again in a few weeks.
So so good!!!!!!
Winniebear says
Thank you for posting this copy cat Amanda! I’ve never had Skyline chili before and I’m excited to try this.
Do you think this would be good over cheese enchiladas?
Also, have you frozen this to use later and what were the results?
The Chunky Chef says
I hope you love our Cincinnati staple 🙂 I’ve never tested this over cheese enchiladas, but I think that has the potential to be delicious! We freeze this all the time and it works really well (just give it plenty of stirring while reheating).
ROak says
We live in GA now from Northern KY/Cincy and this is a wonderful recipe for our 3way and coney cravings! Great job!
Jen says
Did I do something wrong? I followed this to a tee and it’s suuuuuuuper spicy. And I love spicy food. My husband always says my tolerance level is inhuman. But this was even a bit much for me. Is it the quarter cup chili powder? Do you suggest cutting back on that for heat. I will say the flavor is definitely close to skyline. So props! Bc this ny girl misses skyline. But the spice, phew boy
The Chunky Chef says
Oh no! It’s the correct amount, and you can certainly cut back if you’d like. What brand of chili powder did you use? I know in some places chili powder is literally dried chiles, as opposed to a blend of seasonings. That could certainly account for all the heat!
Jen says
Oh maybe I bought a spicy one? I’m going to make it again and omit all the crushed red pepper. Bc the flavor of this is skyline. 100%. It tasted so authentic. It was just too spicy 🙁
James says
Wow! Super easy to make. I did substitute beef broth for two of the five cups of water, but this came out great. I served it over spaghetti and topped it with cheddar. I would go as far as to say that it tastes better than being at Skyline. Thanks for this recipe!
Carol says
Lol at the haters. All my friends from the nati loved this!!!!!
Hmmm says
I am sorry I respect your trying. This is nothing like skyline chili. Not saying it is bad, but not a copycat.
The Chunky Chef says
No need to apologize for having an opinion.
Robb says
Absolutely positively there is no chocolate in Skyline chili. If there were it would be listed in allergy information by law
The Chunky Chef says
Cool. I never said the original recipe from Skyline has chocolate in it, just that this one does, and it adds a great richness.
ROak says
There is 100% chocolate in Skyline chili!!! Lol that you commented this without actually knowing
Mel21985 says
I believe Gold star has chocolate in their recipe.
Alexa says
This is excellent and probably the best copycat skyline out there. The only thing I did differently is substitute 2 of the 5 cups of water with beef broth. Very flavorful and my family loved it. Will definitely be making it again. Thank you!
marilyn says
Best chili ever!
Emily says
This is the one. We love Skyline Chili, but we live in Texas. The cost per can keeps going up. I’ve tried copycat recipes several times in the last couple of years, but my family hated the results. Yesterday I saw that a can of Skyline was now $7. Today my kids asked for Skyline for dinner. I refuse to pay $7 for a can of chili. So here we are. Made this recipe exactly as posted, minus the cloves since I didn’t have them on hand. It was amazing! It tasted almost exactly like the cans of Skyline chili, but my family said that something was missing. But everyone agreed that it is so close to the Skyline canned chili that it is worth keeping, and is worth making again rather than buying the cans. I will buy ground cloves for next time, that is probably what is missing. Either way, it’s a win and a keeper! Thanks for the recipe!