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1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes
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By: The Chunky Chefpublished: 10/11/2017
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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 NOTlike 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!
Copycat Skyline Cincinnati Chili
4.74 from 280 votesAuthor: The Chunky Chef
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes
Calories: 171
Servings: 6 -8 servings
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Homemade copycat Skyline Cincinnati chili... unique and flavorful, this regional delicacy is easy to make at home for way less than the restaurant charges!
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.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
Optional toppings include shredded cheddar cheese, diced white or yellow onion, kidney beans, oyster crackers and hot sauce.
Video
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.
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Meet The Chunky Chef
Hey there! I'm Amanda. Wife, mother, photography nerd, and bacon lover! I believe that delicious meals should be easy to make. Now that you’re here, stay a bit, browse a few recipes, and let’s get cookin’!
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Tom says
Very good recipe and very close to the original. I did double the amount of cinnamon, allspice, cloves and sugar and added another rectangle of the chocolate to get the flavor closer to the original.
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Brenda Johnson says
This recipe was great. We found my husband cannot eat the processed Skyline Chili. Effects his migraines. He really enjoyed this. I did double the recipe so I could freeze some. I only wish I had not doubled the cumin, I know a little goes a long way.
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Janice Bailey says
I just made this and I loved it. Our roommate loved it too. My boyfriend and grandson are/were like “that’s not chili”. I said it’s a special chili. Anyway, I followed the directions as written. I will make this again. So good and so easy.
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Sharon says
So so delicious !!! I make this all the time and we love it ! Tastes exactly like Skyline but made in our kitchen ! I grew up on Skyline chili and this is the best I ve found!!
ThanksReply
Nicholle says
Absolutely LOVE this copycat Skyline chili recipe for Cincinnati style chili. I’ve made it for my family well over 20 times in The past few years. MY DEVIATIONS for this recipe:
I only use 2 cups of water and add a packet of Goya beef bullion. I also double everything to make a large batch because we eat this up… QUICK! I also add 2 16oz. cans of Bush’s dark red kidney beans for an extra hearty, meaty kick and sometimes 1 can of 10oz. RoTel diced tomatoes and green chilies when whoever I’m serving is into having a little extra kick to their heat. Thank you for this recipe!!!Serve it over elbow noodles so it’s more of a chili Mac! Toss tons of shredded cheddar and a little diced white or red onions on the very top.
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Elaine says
Still missing something… it’s like Cincinnati chili but definitely not Skyline yummm but we’ll try again! Thanks for sharing!
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Pandora LiVecchi says
Love this recipe! I have made this numerous times. I actually went to Cincinnati and tried skyline Chili there and it tastes the same. I highly recommend this recipe. 🙂
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Mark says
Made this for the Super Bowl a few years ago and keep coming back to it! Making it now! Don’t change a thing on the recipe … it’s just perfect! Thanks Amanda!!
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Tammy says
Thank you so much!! I can no longer have black pepper and decided to try this recipe. It is amazing. I had it over spaghetti squash and it was perfect.
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Bob says
As a younger man I used to do a lot of traveling for my job. I used to schedule any lay over I had through Cincinnati just so I could have some skyline chili. This recipe is the closest I’ve gotten to the right taste. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
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Candace Parker says
Made this tonight for dinner. I have missed Skyline chili as I have not been in Cincinnati for years. I don’t remember the “pumpkin pie” smell (and a bit of the flavor) but over pasta and fine hand shredded cheese it was so yummy. I did kinda jump ahead and cooked my hamburger first.. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that but it was still good non the less.
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Andrea Avery says
My mom is from Cincinnati and I grew up eating this chili. When we all became vegetarian, she adapted the recipe for Morning Star Farms crumbles. She uses more cinnamon, less cumin and less garlic, no vinegar, adds a bay leaf and she uses tomato sauce with equal parts water and a little tomato paste. I’m looking for ideas to make it a little spicier for a chili cook off here in Texas. 😉 Comfort Food
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Vickie Fisher says
Dear Andrea,
I have been a vegetarian for years. So everytime I would drive past Cincinnati area highway markers (I-75) advertising Skyline restaurants, I’d be sad because I couldn’t try it.
Thank you! I am so excited to try your mom’s recipe!Reply
Lon says
I just made this for the first time and have to say, it’s pretty awesome! Left out the pepper flakes, as I don’t care for my food really spicy. Next time I’ll add a little to it. Added just a little more water-not quite 1/2 c. Put this sauce over pasta w/ shredded cheese, DELISH! Thank you for the fabulous recipe!
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Stacy A. says
I personally add in a lot more meat than this calls for, but only add a 1/2 – 1 cup extra water and let it reduce a tiny bit before adding seasonings. But every time I make it, it is delicious!
Even on days where I am experimenting with extra ingredients (I always keep the base the same). You almost can not mess this up!I started mixing the dry seasonings together just to have on hand. It is so good.
I found this recipe and have made it a handful of times before I came back and left a comment. It was worth coming back for!
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Kimberly Eccles says
The recipe came out amazing. Easy to make.
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Melissa Pyle says
I’ve made this skyline recipe twice and it’s delicious! Taste like we are back in NKY/Cincy area (actually it’s even better!). Thanks for the delicious recipe!
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Robert Nieman says
what type of chili powder do you use
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The Chunky Chef says
I normally use McCormick
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Cheryl MCormack says
can you use semisweet chocolate?
Reply
The Chunky Chef says
No you want unsweetened, as you don’t want a sweet chocolate flavor.
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