Crockpot Cincinnati Chili
For starters, you don’t eat it out of a bowl. Instead, it’s usually served as a topping for spaghetti. The classic “Cincinnati 3-way” is a plate of spaghetti with Cincinnatichili and loads of shredded cheddar cheese. You can add onions to make it a “4-way,” or onions and beans for a “5-way.”
What’s even weirder, to most people, is the spices. This Crockpot Cincinnati Chili has a blend of Mediterranean seasonings – cumin, cinnamon, allspice, and even cocoa. For people used to Texas-style chili, this is a real flavor shock.
But once your taste buds adjust, you can start to appreciate this exotic flavor combo. It has a certain fragrant, pungent taste that has attracted loyal followers not just in Cincinnati, but all over the country. And to them, the only problem with this dish is how hard it is to find in most places.
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Until now, that is. Because I’ve come up with a super easy recipe to bring this classic Cincinnati dish to your own kitchen – in the Crockpot, of course.
Just brown some ground beef with garlic, mix it with tomatoes and all those weird, wonderful spices, and cook it in the crock for 4 to 5 hours on low. Then, to make this a 5-way, stir in some beans and give it 10 more minutes before serving it up over spaghetti, with red onion and cheese. LOTS of cheese.
And presto – the flavor of Cincinnati, anywhere you want it.
How to Make Crockpot Cincinnati Chili
lean ground beef
garlic
crushed tomatoes
chili powder
salt
pepper
apple cider vinegar
hot sauce
Worcestershire sauce
ground all spice
cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
cocoa powder
brown sugar
beef broth
bay leaves
red kidney beans
Serve with:
1 box of spaghetti noodles, prepared
Toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, and red onion
Directions:
- Brown ground beef and garlic together. Place in crockpot.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the bay leaves kidney beans spaghetti and toppings.
- Stir to combine and add in bay leaves.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4- 5 hours. One done cooking, removed bay leaves. Stir in red kidney beans and recover, cooking for 10 mins more.
- Serve over spaghetti noodles and top with cheese and red onions.
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Corey, Darryl, Big D & Little D
Crockpot Cincinnati Chili
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground all spice
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce, more or less depending on how hot you like it
- 2 14 oz cans of red kidney beans
- Toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, and red onion
- 1 16oz box of spaghetti noodles, prepared
Instructions
- Brown ground beef and garlic together. Place in crockpot.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the bay leaves kidney beans and toppings.
- Stir to combine and add in bay leaves.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4- 5 hours. One done cooking, removed bay leaves. Stir in red kidney beans and recover, cooking for 10 mins more.
- Serve over spaghetti noodles and top with cheese and red onions.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Make sure to share it with me below!
This Chili sounds awesome, Corey …. so I’m going to make it (side dish) for our end of the summer cookout next weekend. I’ll double the recipe, maybe even triple it. I always use low sodium products whenever I can. I’m sure that everyone will enjoy this Chili. I haven’t yet made it, so I can’t fairly rate it, but I’m sure that it will be at least 4 *s.
My grandmother was from Northern Kentucky but had relocated to Indiana. Every summer we would visit her sisters, my great aunts. I always looked forward to visiting Skyline or Gold star chili.
This is what I call a regional dish. It’s absolutely amazing. I’d leave out the hot sauce and add it to your individual plate. Add a ton of finely shredded cheese. The photo isn’t even close.
I’m off to the grocery store as my dinner plans have changed. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
This looks great. I’m confused about the all spice. There are two entries. Should I use 1 tsp or 1 1/4 tsp? Thank you.
I am so sorry for the confusion Tracie. It is 1 tsp 🙂
I’m a Cincinnati girl, so I was very skeptical when I saw this recipe. So many places name things Cincinnati Chili, and it’s always terrible! I had to give this a try since I make so many of your recipes. Even my husband was scared when I said we were having homemade Skyline tonight. We were both very surprised at how close it was! I think the crushed tomatoes in the recipe threw me off, since you don’t taste anything tomato-y. It was a hint too sweet, I think next time I’ll try 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Yes that’s right, I’ll be making this again! It definitely passed the test for this Cincinnati girl!
My 3 rd time making this recipe. I make a double batch freeze for chili dogs. My brother and sister in- law just asked for the recipe must be good ?
Thank you for sharing!
Yay! I am so happy to hear everyone is loving it!