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?
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I’m not sure this is going to pass the test for this Cincinnati girl. Authentic Cincinnati Chili is made by boiling the meat with a bag of spices. The beans are also never mixed it. They are a topping like the cheese and onions. Nevertheless, it’s in my crockpot now for supper tonight so we shall see!
Oh I hope it passes the test Kathryn 🙂
Corey, I too was borne and raised in Cincinnati. I saw the comment from Kathryn, and I must echo her comment about the beans. They are not part of the chili, like the cheese and onion, they are added as an accompaniment. This gives you the 3, 4 or 5-way chili combos. The Cincinnati Coney is a hotdog with mustard, chili, onion and cheese added to the bun.
I would like to share with your readers something else they might like to try. Serve the chili over Romaine lettuce, top it with cheese, onion, (and beans if desired), with a dollop of sour cream. You could even add black olives to the mix if you like for a really tasty salad. Serve with soup crackers or tortilla chips.
Ok, my hubby LOVES Skyline chili so I’m gonna attempt to make this. My question is if I want to omit the beans, do I need to change anything else?
Thank you so much!
You might want to add in a little more meat to beef it up.
So good I make it once a month!! Just the three of us so I only make half the recipe – on top the stove – in a 2 1/2 quart pan —and it has become a favorite!
My girlfriend and I are addicted to this recipe. I’m always experimenting with chili and this has become one of our main go to chili’s over the last couple years. Also perfect for chili dogs!
Yay! so happy you love the recipe Kyle! Yes!! Love this recipe for chili dogs 🙂