Cincinnati Chili
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Cinnamon and allspice in a pot of beef make people wander into the kitchen to ask what's going on. Tell them it's tomorrow's dinner. It needs a night in the fridge, then a ladle over spaghetti and a heap of cheddar.
The short version
Stir raw ground beef into cold water until it breaks up, add onion, tomato, vinegar and warm spices, and simmer uncovered for 2½ hours. Chill overnight, skim the fat, and serve over spaghetti with cheddar. The overnight rest is the step not to skip.
What makes ours better
what we fixed so you don’t have to
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Break up the beef in water, not in a hot pan. Raw beef stirred into liquid separates into tiny, tender crumbs instead of browned clumps. That fine texture is what lets the sauce cling to spaghetti.
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Add tomato paste, brown sugar and a little chocolate. The paste gives the sauce body, the sugar and chocolate round off the vinegar and spice, and nobody tastes "chocolate". They just taste depth.
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Chill it overnight and skim the fat. The fat rises and sets into a lid you can lift off, which leaves a clean, glossy sauce. The spices also settle in and taste more like one flavor by morning.
What you need
the usual suspects
- Ground beef chuck2 pounds
- Yellow onions2 medium
- Tomato sauce1 can
- Tomato paste2 tablespoons
- Packed brown sugar1 teaspoon
- Unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate1 ounce
- Spaghetti1 pound
- Mild cheddar12 ounces
Chili
To serve
read it twice. buy it once.
Steps
deep breath. you’ve got this.
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Break up the beef in water
Put the water in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot and add the ground beef while the water is still cold. Stir and mash with a potato masher or whisk until the meat is broken into a loose, fine slurry with no clumps bigger than a pea.
Do this before you turn on the heat. Once the meat starts to cook, the clumps set and won't break up.
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Add everything but the cheese
Stir in the onions, garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire, chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, cayenne, salt, brown sugar, chocolate and bay leaves.
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Simmer uncovered
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring, then lower to a bare simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring every 15 minutes or so, for 2 to 2½ hours. It starts out soupy. It's done when it coats the back of a spoon like a thin sauce and the surface looks glossy, with the fat pooling at the edges.
About 150 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Taste and adjust
Fish out the bay leaves. Taste and add salt, cayenne or a splash more vinegar until it tastes savory with a warm sweet edge and a little heat at the finish.
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Chill and skim
For the best chili, cool it uncovered for 30 minutes, then cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, lift off the layer of hardened fat with a spoon and discard it. If you're eating tonight, let it sit 10 minutes off the heat and spoon the fat off the top.
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Boil the spaghetti and reheat
Reheat the chili over medium-low, stirring, until steaming. Cook the spaghetti in well-salted water until tender, a minute past al dente, and drain.
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Build the plates
Mound spaghetti on each plate and ladle chili over it. That's a 2-way. Pile on the cheddar for a 3-way, add chopped onion for a 4-way, and layer warm kidney beans between the spaghetti and chili for a 5-way. Pass the oyster crackers and hot sauce.
Shred the cheese on the small holes of a box grater so it melts into a fluffy drift instead of strings.
Good to know
things I learned the hard way, so you can skip that part
- This is a thin sauce on purpose. If yours seems too loose after 2½ hours, keep simmering with the lid off, 15 minutes at a time.
- For a 3-way with more heat, double the cayenne. For less spice, skip the cloves and allspice and the sauce will still be good, just plainer.
- Pile leftovers on hot dogs for cheese coneys. See also one-pot chili mac and chili dogs with fine-texture hot dog chili.
- Storage. Refrigerator up to 5 days. Freezer up to 3 months in flat containers. Reheat over medium-low with a splash of water.
Questions, answered
the questions my cousins text me
Why is Cincinnati chili cooked with water instead of browned beef?
Simmering raw beef in liquid keeps the crumbles tiny and tender, which is what makes this a sauce rather than a chunky chili. Browning first gives you the opposite texture.
Is there really chocolate in Cincinnati chili?
Yes, a small amount, and you won't taste it as chocolate. It rounds off the vinegar and the warm spices and adds body. Skip it if you must and the chili is still good.
What does 3-way, 4-way and 5-way mean?
A 2-way is chili over spaghetti. A 3-way adds shredded cheddar. A 4-way adds chopped onions or beans, and a 5-way adds both.
Can I make Cincinnati chili in a slow cooker?
Yes. Use 3 cups of water, break up the beef in it first, then cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Take the lid off for the last hour if it's thinner than you like.
Why does my chili taste greasy?
The fat has to come off. Chill the pot so the fat hardens and lift it away, or skim the surface with a spoon before serving.
Can I use leaner ground beef?
90/10 works, but you lose some richness. Don't go leaner than that or the sauce tastes thin.
From the table
Made it? Tell me how it went, and who went back for seconds when they thought nobody was looking.
Made it?
one star means we talk. five means I tell Dad.
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Published October 29, 2026.