You can elevate your chili-making game to a delicious new level by making this irresistible Slow-Cooker Cincinnati Chili. It has ground beef, onion, and garlic, tomato sauce and spices set it apart from traditional chili recipes. Plus there are a variety of ways to serve it!

Let your slow cooker transform tasty pantry ingredients into a rich and flavorful chili sauce. It’s perfect for a family meal, game days, and cookouts. Use it for meal planning and more. The savory sauce is delicious over spaghetti noodles or hot dogs. The variety of toppings makes this Slow Cooker Cincinnati Chili a fun and iconic way to serve it. Make this crowd-pleasing chili soon!

Ingredients Needed

Ground Beef – browned and drained.
Small Onion – finely diced.
Water – to help thin out the sauce.
Tomato Sauce – to add flavor.
Baking Chocolate – unsweetened. This ingredient adds a unique flavor that’s characteristic of Cincinnati chili.
Spices – chili powder, ground cinnamon, garlic powder, cumin, allspice, ground cloves, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt.
Sugar – to help sweeten the chili.
Vinegar – add a slight acidity to balance out the other ingredients.
Toppings – shredded cheddar cheese, red kidney beans, diced white onion.
Cooked Spaghetti Noodles – serve the chili and toppings over this pasta base

What Is Cincinnati Chili?

This hearty sauce is different from traditional chili sauce. It contains some spices and ingredients you wouldn’t think of putting in chili. These include cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and a little unsweetened baking chocolate. This tasty sauce is served over spaghetti noodles or hot dogs and topped with kidney beans, onions, and shredded cheese.

Why Is It Called Cincinnati Chili?

This unique recipe was brought to life in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was first served at the Empress Chili Parlor in the early 1900’s. A few years later, a rival restaurant, Skyline Chili, also began serving this tasty dish. Today, this popular recipe for making chili has made its way into home kitchens across the country.

How Do I Thicken Or Thin Out The Chili?

If the chili sauce is too thick, add a splash of water and stir it to combine. If it is not thick enough after the total cooking time, make a cornstarch slurry. Add a tablespoon of cornstarch to 1/4 cup of cold water. Then add that to the chili and stir until you get your desired thickness.

Can I Add Raw Ground Beef To The Slow Cooker?

I would not for this recipe. Just brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain any fat before adding it to the slow cooker.

How To Serve Slow Cooker Cincinnati Chili

This is the fun part! Once the slow cooker chili sauce is made, you can serve it with various toppings. Here are the popular ways to order or serve Cincinnati chili, based on which toppings you prefer.

One-way: Just this chili sauce in a bowl.
Two-way: The chili sauce over spaghetti noodles.
Three-way: Spaghetti noodles topped with chili and garnished with shredded cheddar cheese.
Four-way onion: Spaghetti noodles topped with chili, cheddar cheese, and diced onions.
Four-way beans: Spaghetti noodles topped with chili, cheddar cheese, and kidney beans.
Five-way: Spaghetti noodles topped with chili, cheddar cheese, onions and kidney beans.

This chili sauce is excellent for serving over bun hot dogs. Use the same as above for the cheese, onions, and beans toppings. And don’t stop there—it’s also the perfect topping for chili fries!

Is This Freezer Friendly?

Yes. Place the cooked and cooled chili sauce in a freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag. It will keep for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating on the stovetop.

Storage

Store leftover chili sauce in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop.

More Delicious Chili Recipes

Slow Cooker Chili Mac
Sweet And Smoky Crockpot Chili
Slow Cooker White Bean Chili
The Best Chili
Chili Cheese Fries

Serves- 6

Slow Cooker Cincinnati Chili

If you're looking to take your chili-making game to a delicious new level, you'll want to make this irresistible Slow-Cooker Cincinnati Chili. It's full of ground beef, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, and a host of spices that set it apart from traditional chili recipes. Oh, and you'll love the variety of ways to serve it!

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef, browned and drained
Half of a small onion, diced fine
1 cup water
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
Shredded cheddar cheese for topping
Red kidney beans for topping
Diced white onion for topping
Cooked spaghetti

Instructions

in the slow cooker add the browned beef, onion, water, tomato sauce, chocolate, chili powder, cinnamon, garlic powder, cumin, allspice, ground cloves, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, sugar and vinegar.
Stir it all together and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-4 hours.
Serve over hot dogs or spaghetti noodles.
You can serve this in several ways: just on the noodles, topped with kidney beans, topped with onions, or topped with cheese. Any combination of those is equally delicious.

Notes

Tips and Tricks

Depending on the slow cooker, this can either get thick or thin. If it gets too thick, add a splash of water. If you want it thicker, add a tablespoon of cornstarch to ¼ cup cold water until you get your desired thickness.
Store this chili in the fridge for up to 3 days.
This freezes beautifully, so place it in a gallon bag in the freezer to have this delicious chili anytime!