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.
Brad says
Cincinnati chili is one of my families favorite. I’ve tried alot of different recipes and yours is by far the best one yet! I’ve done the skyline canned and chili seasoning mixes and this is spot on. Will definitely be using this recipe from now on. Thanks!
Joe T says
Making it right now, a triple batch. It smells good.
S Ward says
I visited Cincinatti in April/ May 2019 (my first trip to the US) and after a very tiring day of sightseeing and walking for miles without food (long story) we arrived back in the city centre starving hungry. I thought it would be the perfect time to try our first ever SKYLINE So pleased we did. We loved it! We had the three-way
So, it’s now the end of July, on a thoroughly wet UK afternoon and I planned chilli, but instead of the Mexican style one I usually do, I fancied having a go at a Skyline. I googled and ended up here
So pleased I did. I made your recipe and it’s better than I expected It really took me back to downtown Cincinatti. I’m feeling quite nostalgic now. Sigh. maybe I’ll return one day. I will definitely keep making this recipe
Thank you
Trevor says
Cheese- I learned that the trick for the shredded cheese is to sprinkle it lightly with corn or potato starch that is very fine, you can use a food processor. Shake it up and this will keep the cheese you hand shredded from sticking Together and clumping.
JoAnn SkyWatcher says
I am a California Girl, and didn’t know this dish. However, it’s comfort food for my partner. He had these packets with the magic ingredients plus some bad ones like MSG. I didn’t like the idea of eating chemicals.
So, I found this recipe and he loved it!!! But, it takes a lot of futzing around to measure out the ingredients each time. To make it easier, I multiplied by 6, sifted it all together, and then divided by 6 for one pot of Cinicinati chili.
For your information, I used raw cacao powder instead of Baker’s chocolate with good results.
First I would recommend you make there original recipe to see how you like the spiciness. Also, make sure you have enough ingredients to multiply by 6 after you try the recipe for the first time because there are different heat levels if chili powders and red pepper powder.
I used cayenne powder instead of the red pepper flakes because I wanted to sift all the lumps out (with a cake sifter). Even though I used less than the recipe called for, my entire recipe was hotter than the times I had made it before. If I had it to do again, I would leave the red pepper out, and add it to the recipe if needed. You decide…
After mixing it together and divided by 6, I put the amount to use on top of the can. I also put the recipe on the side of the can. I didn’t have an appropriate scale–which would work better–because of settling of ingredients…
Something else that I did differently, is I roasted a spaghetti squash and used that instead of pasta or spaghetti noodles.
RYAN says
Glutamate is one of the most abundant amino acids on Earth it’s part of the mother. MSG is not bad for you.
Missy says
Ryan, Apparently MSG is different than naturally occuring glutamate because MSG makes me have instant diarrhea, and I don’t suffer with it otherwise nor have to watch out for natural sources.
Ron says
I made this recipe without alteration and it came out fantastic. It was just as I remembered all my trips to Cincinnati and enjoying skyline chili. I always wondered what was in that chili and now I found out. You have nailed it perfectly. I can’t imagine tweaking the recipe since the whole intent was to “copy” the skyline chili taste. I am also amazed at how economical it is to fix it yourself rather than to buy the ready-made skyline chili in the grocery store. I am born and raised in Texas and I think it’s inaccurate to try to compare skyline chili with Texas Red chili. They may be both called chilli but they’re different and both are delicious.
Lori says
I’m from Houston, TX. We heard about this while watching the Astros play the Reds in Cincinnati. It was clear that our Houston reporter who tried it didn’t care for it, and by the sounds of the ingredients, I couldn’t imagine it being any good. However, my husband is a big fan of spaghetti, chili, and cheese and begged me to try this. I was skeptical that he would like it because he is not a big fan of an over abundance of chili powder so I did half that. Upon tasting it after mixing everything, I thought it was awful. But being an experienced cook, I knew it was unfair to judge it without letting it simmer for at least an hour. After I let it simmer for 2 hours, it had definitely improved but still overall weird combo of flavors. My husband did not like it because of the chili powder. I went ahead and added another 3 oz of tomato paste. After another half hour of simmering, I thought it was darn good. My husband thought it was better. I served it over spaghetti with a ton of cheese on top. My husband was won over with it served this way. However, a very rich dish. A small amount goes a long way. I have had a cup of the just the chili for the last couple of days, and I prefer it just plain. I do think the flavor improves when the spices are given a few days to meld. In the future, I will make it at least two days in advance of serving it.
Hallie says
So I’ve made this to the exact specifications and it comes out great!
We’ve tweaked it a bit to our personal tastes as well. The cloves I have on hand are super strong so I just add a touch and go from there. We like ours a little sweeter and hotter, so of course more sugar and red pepper flakes. I also add a few beef cubes. After it simmers for an hour or so, I use my immersion blender to chop the meat up finer.
My advice is, make it as the recipe says the first time, you won’t be disappointed, then change to taste after that!
Lisa says
What type of cheese can I buy that will taste like the delicious cheese they serve at Skyline? Also how many does this serve? Thank you!!
The Chunky Chef says
I would buy a block of cheddar cheese (my preference is a medium cheddar) and shred it yourself using the very fine holes on a box grater. Still won’t be 100% like there’s (I swear they have magic cheese!), but darn close 🙂 This recipe serves 6-8 people on average
Seth says
Colby
Seth says
I came back 4 months later to reiterate that Colby
Jenn says
I’m from Cincinnat but moved away almost 13 years ago. Several times a year I make big batches of Cincinnati chili and keep them in my freezer. I lost the recipe I use to always use, it was a mash up of 4 different Cincinnati chili recipes and made this today. The only thing I did differently was cut out the red pepper flakes and the sugar, the replace beef broth for the water. The beef broth tends to give it the flavor that most copycat recipes are missing. I put everything in the slow cooker and beat the meat so it gets that fine crumb. It smells spot on, thank you!
Geneva M Campbell says
How long did you cook in slow cooker?
ManFood says
This is pretty close to the original. One of my favorites on Google. I like to add the water and beef first and break it up and get it cooking before adding anything else.
Lloyd Harris says
I can’t wait to try Cinnicati chilli! That’s quite the list of ingredients. I bought the unsweetened chocolate and the spices I didn’t have in the cupboard and I am ready to make it on the weekend.
Ashleigh says
Growing up in Southwestern Ohio I knew moving to Las Vegas would mean leaving behind my beloved chili spaghetti. Every time my mom asks if I want anything specific from home I ALWAYS request cans of Skyline or Goldstar chili. As I opened my last can I decided, “I’m going to have to find a recipe for this and make it myself!” So excited to try this and not be left craving a four-way with no means of making one myself!
Linda says
I had never heard of Cincinnati chili but I was intrigued by the chocolate and spices. Made it last night and, oh my goodness, my kitchen smelled wonderful! And it tasted just as wonderful. I enjoyed it more than my regular chili or spaghetti. Thank you so much.
SaMo says
My husband grew up in Cincinnati and now we live far away from there. He misses Skyline Chili a lot so I tried this recipe for our anniversary. It’s easy to cook and he enjoyed ! Thank you 😀
Mari says
I never had Cincinnati chili before, as I have never been to Ohio. However, it always looked good and intrigued me. I finally got adventurous enough to try it and…..WOW! I have no other experience with Cincinnati chili to compare this recipe to, but it is fantastic!! My husband and I are completely hooked, we have made this recipe 3 times in less than 3 months. Fabulous. I didn’t change a thing.
Jan Mac Green says
I made this tonight. Followed your recipe fairly close. Added 1 tbsp. chili powder. l left out the sugar and pepper flakes, left out the salt, used 1 tsp chopped garlic, 2 lbs ground chuck. Mixed all the spices together and added them to the water, tomato paste and tomato sauce. Added the meat mashing it really good. 30 minutes in my Instant Pot and SUCCESS. Simmered till liquid cooked down. I could tell by the smell this nailed it. It has been 9 years since I have been to Cincinnati and had chili. This was great!!!!
Rachel says
Thank you so much for this! I live in Texas now and haven’t been able to replicate the taste. This is spot on.
Tommie says
I have to say, I lived in Louisville, Kentucky for a time and tried skyline chili a few times. It appears I am in the minority as I found it kind of disgusting. I love chili, I like cookies. I don’t think their flavors should meld. I do however like chili over spaghetti. So that is a positive. From what I remember your recipe would nail it though, so great job.
Lindsay Pennica says
I’m from southern Ohio and this recipe was perfection. I used it to top hot dogs and it transported me back to my childhood. Kudos.