Chef John's Cincinnati-Style Chili recipe (2024)

1 hour

752.8 kcal

52.9 g carbs

You'll love this chili if you tend to like foods from the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Greek food, or Indian food, because of the spices and flavor profile. If you don't, you won't. If you finish this dish off with some diced onions and grated Cheddar cheese like I did, you'll be enjoying what they call in Cincinnati a "Four-Way," because of the four components, but feel free to serve as you like.

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• ¼ cup chili powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon allspice
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt, or more to taste
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 6 cups cold water
• 1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti
• 1 tablespoon diced onion, or to taste
• 4 cups grated Cheddar cheese, or to taste

1. 1. Combine beef and tomato paste in a large pot. Rinse out the tomato paste can with a couple tablespoons of water and add to the pot with garlic, onion, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, allspice, cloves, black pepper, bay leaf, sugar, and salt. Add apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, and cold water. Mash and stir with a potato masher or a large whisk to break up the meat into fine pieces.
2. 2. Place the pot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until flavors come together and chili reaches your desired thickness, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
3. 3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until very tender, about 12 minutes. Drain.
4. 4. Taste chili and adjust seasoning. Remove and discard bay leaf. Ladle over spaghetti into serving bowls. Top with some onions and Cheddar cheese. Cut and scoop the noodles up with a fork like you're eating a casserole.