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.
Heidi says
Also, I use vegetable broth in place of water – tastes delicious!
Jamie Lameier says
Cincinnati girl opinion-the base recipe will get you there, but it needs a lot of tasting and additional spice/salt adds
Ric Hosea says
Good flavor but doesn’t taste quite like Skyline. But still very good chili.
Clyde Lee Graham says
It definitely needed more salt.
Bethany Malugin says
Im so excited to try this; thank you for posting!!!
Jan says
I have made this several times and everyone loves it!
Bob Rhine says
Great recipe. Being from Northern Oh, Cincinnati chili is not that big of a deal. As you get toward the center of the state and closer to Cincinnati it’s a very big deal. Skyline restaurants are at every exit in all directions around the Cincinnati Dayton area. Your recipe is tremendous! Thank you.
Rob says
I’ve lived in the Cincinnati area all of my life and this is a great take on it. Remember to scrape the sides of the pot every so often.
Linda Downesl says
Second time making. It is delicious and sooo tasty.
Lenny Smith says
This has become a staple recipe that I have made at least ten times now. I live in Michigan and have never had Skyline from the restaurant. I have had Greek chili in various ways throughout the years, and had begun buying the frozen stuff though. I find this to be a more economical and tasty version.
Prior to adding the chocolate, tomato paste and water I sauté onion, bell pepper and garlic. I also like to add beef bouillon paste, paprika, Worcestershire, onion powder and Sriracha. I find these add another punch of flavor. The lean ground beef is really indispensable or you’ll end up with a layer of grease. This is now one of my favorite recipes.
Tamre Kincaid says
I’ve made this a few times. It’s s so flavorful and delicious 😋 thank you Amanda
Alec says
Fantastic recipe! I subbed ground beef with turkey as I’m trying to cut back on beef. Still tastes incredible!
The Chunky Chef says
So happy to hear that you loved it, but also that it’s great with ground turkey!
Noel Wright says
Great recipe and is super yummy, and im a aussie!! Got send here by my american brothers on a discord server i frequent and im glad i did because this recipe is a winner thank you amanda!
EMILY says
We buy the can of chili and the frozen ‘way’ because we live too far from Cincy. Every time I am in town I have to go to Skyline and get my favorite, which you didn’t mention. The chili sandwich, hot dog bun with chili, mustard, onions, and of course cheese (minus hot dog). Where else do they bring you a bowl of shredded cheese unsolicited. Isn’t it lovely?
Lara says
As a person who grew up eating Skyline Chili, this recipe was so close in flavor that I almost couldn’t tell the difference. Years ago, I would buy the cans at the store to get my fix however, they were very expensive so, I could only buy one every once in a while. Now, I can have it more often because this recipe is very economical once you have all of the spices on hand. At first, I thought this recipe had WAY too much chili powder as it was all I could taste and I added a little bit more of the allspice and cinnamon. I really wasn’t sure if I was going to like this recipe but, decided to let it rest overnight and see what happened and have it the next day over some spaghetti for dinner. I am so glad I did because it was so good and the chili powder flavor really mellowed out and created a wonderful flavor along with the other spices. My advice is to make this chili at least a day ahead of time to give the flavors time to meld and, I promise, you won’t be disappointed! Don’t forget, Cincinnati chili is supposed to be fairly thin in consistency so, don’t expect this to be thick like other chilis. Enjoy!
Carol says
Delicious! Third time making it tonight.
I’ve never been to the Cincinnati area, never tried Skyline Chili, so I’m happy to spare you the disparaging comparison comments. 🙂
Keep up the good work!
Brandon Smith says
Next time, just make a bigger batch!
Chelsea says
After ordering the cans of Skyline Chili for years, this recipe is SO good! I do about 2.25 lbs of meat, then make a roux to thicken it. My 3 boys used to beg for the canned, and my husband (who also loves skyline) is allergic to something in the canned Skyline. He is not allergic to this and it is SO good! We freeze about half of the “sauce” to use on busy nights. Wonderful!
Kathy says
Way way too much water. After cooking, I got rid of about half the liquid. Also too tomato flavored. It came out red. I added beef bouillon to help take away the tomato taste.
The Chunky Chef says
The consistency is supposed to liquid-y, but glad you were able to modify it to your tastes.
Disappointed says
This recipe is trash. Way too bland. I had to doctor it and it still wasn’t good. Spent $30 on groceries for this for nothing. Don’t waste your time.
EMILY says
Maybe you have damaged or dampened your flavor palate, or maybe you didn’t give the spices time to do their thing. Perhaps drinking coffee that is too hot, or using hot sauce too much. Also, 30$ isn’t that much in the grand scheme.
Heather says
What a d*ck!!! @disapointed
this is the closest I’ve found to skyline chili recipe I had years ago and taste great! Especially next day. I guess some people have no taste or tact!
Marion says
Love it . I add a little more of the recommended spices , it’s super lecker .
We live in Germany nothing like it here .
Best copy cat skyline ever 😀