The best Cincinnati chili recipe is chock-full of ground beef and warm, savory spices served over spaghetti with cheddar cheese and all the fixins!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword chili, Cininnati chili
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 2 hourshours
Total Time 2 hourshours10 minutesminutes
Servings 8
Calories 747kcal
Ingredients
3cupsbeef broth
2pounds80% fat ground beef
2tablespoonscanola oil
1 ½medium-sized yellow onionsfinely chopped and divided
5garlic clovespressed or minced
3tablespoonschili powder
1tablespoonunsweetened cocoa powder
2teaspoonsground cinnamon
1teaspoonallspice
1teaspoonground nutmeg
1teaspoonkosher salt
¾teaspoonteaspoon ground cloves
½teaspoonground cumin
½teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
1 15-ouncecan tomato sauce(not marinara sauce)
2bay leafs
1tablespoonapple cider vinegar
1pounddry spaghetti
4cupsmild or medium yellow cheddar cheesefinely shredded
1 15-ouncecan dark red kidney beansdrained and rinsed
oyster crackersfor serving
Instructions
Add the beef broth and ground beef to a Dutch oven or stockpot and bring to a boil, using a wooden spatula or spoon to break up the meat into little pieces. Once boiling, cover with a lid and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a separate skillet over medium and add the canola oil. Once the oil is hot, add 1 cup of chopped onion and sauté, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the chili powder, cinnamon, cocoa powder, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, kosher salt, cumin, and pepper, stirring well to evenly combine, and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce and bay leaf, stirring well, and bring to a boil then add to the pot with the beef. Stir in the apple cider vinegar then simmer over medium-low for at least 1 hour up to two. Spoon off excess oil as needed.
You can either eat the chili immediately or refrigerate it. If refrigerating, you can scrape the fat cap off before reheating or leave it as is.
When ready to serve, or while the chili finishes cooking (during the last 10 minutes), bring a large pot filled with water to a boil. Once boiling, salt the water generously (like the sea) and add your spaghetti. Cook until al dente and drain.
To serve, divide spaghetti into bowls, and top with chili, shredded cheese, beans, reserved chopped onion, and oyster crackers.
Notes
If you don’t care for raw onion on top of your chili, just use 1 onion in this recipe.