A Cincinnati-style chili (a Mediterranean-spiced meat sauce) that’s perfect served over spaghetti or as a hot dog topping!
As far as comfort food goes, it’s hard to compete with a Cincinnati-style chili served over spaghetti with plenty of shredded cheddar cheese! Cincinnati chili is a little different from other chili recipes; instead of focusing on plenty of chili peppers, it focuses more on Mediterranean style spices including cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Other meat sauce recipes usually brown the meat before simmering it and this recipe cooks the meat in the sauce as it simmers, making it as easy to make as throwing everything into a pot and cooking! Cincinnati chili is usually served over spaghetti often with shredded cheese, diced onion, and/or beans.
Two Way: Chili served on spaghetti
Three Way: Chili served on spaghetti with cheese
Four Way Onion: Chili served on spaghetti with cheese, onions
Four Way Bean: Chili served on spaghetti with cheese, beans
Five Way: Chili served on spaghetti with cheese, onions, beans
Cincinnati Chili
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 2 hours Total Time: 10 minutes Servings: 6
A Cincinnati-style chili (a Mediterranean-spiced meat sauce) that’s perfect served over spaghetti or as a hot dog topping!
ingredients
- 1 (5.5 ounce) can tomato paste
- 4 cups beef broth (or water)
- 2 pounds ground beef*
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 tablespoons chili powder (such as ancho chili powder)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (optional)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Mix the tomato paste into the broth in a large saucepan, over medium heat, add the ground beef and break it apart.
- Add the onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar, mix well, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours, before skimming off any fat if desired.*
- Season with salt and pepper to taste!
Note: *Since the ground beef is cooked directly in the broth, there is no opportunity to drain off the grease, so you will have to skim the fat off of the top as it cooks. Another option is to cook the chili the day before and place the whole pot in the fridge overnight where the fat will float to the top and solidify, making it easy to lift off. Medium ground beef will have both more flavour and more fat, and lean or extra lean ground beef will have a little less flavour and less fat.
Option: Add 1 teaspoon paprika.
Option: Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce.
Option: Add 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder or 1/2 ounce dark chocolate at the very end.
Option: Add 4 ounces of diced bacon.
Option: Serve over spaghetti!
Option: Serve topped with diced onions!
Option: Serve topped with red kidney beans!
Option: Serve topped with shredded cheddar cheese!
