Skyline Chili

  4.4 – 99 reviews  • Chili Without Beans Recipes

The robust flavor of this skyscraper chili is sure to whet appetites.

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 12 hrs
Total Time: 12 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  1. 2 ½ pounds lean ground beef
  2. 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
  3. 1 ⅓ (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
  4. 5 tablespoons chili powder
  5. 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  6. 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  7. 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
  8. 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
  9. 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  10. ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  11. 1 teaspoon onion salt
  12. 2 teaspoons steak sauce
  13. 1 quart water

Instructions

  1. Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a crock pot.
  2. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, cinnamon, allspice, salt, vinegar, pepper, garlic powder, onion salt, steak sauce, and water to the crock pot; mix well.
  3. Cook on Low for 12 hours.
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Nutrition Facts

Calories 574 kcal
Carbohydrate 16 g
Cholesterol 142 mg
Dietary Fiber 5 g
Protein 37 g
Saturated Fat 16 g
Sodium 1680 mg
Sugars 8 g
Fat 41 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Barbara Anderson
Not my favorite take on chili. If you are looking for good southern chili look elsewhere. Without the pasta, it is just about inedible, it’s like a really concentrated chili mix, but watery.
Luke Cooper
Horrible. Dont try it. Too much liquid. Many better recipes on other sites. Not what I remember Cincinnati chili to be
Robert Cuevas
I don’t add steak sauce but I add Tabasco sauce
Heather Hunt
This is absolutely horrible. My friends in Cinci like this so I won’t trash it too much. If you are looking to make a true CONEY DOG, make it Flint style with a recipe similar to Angelo’s and use Koegel hotdogs.
Jason Morales
Awful recipie. Not at all like true Cincinnati Chili.
Emily Johnson
For true Skyline Chili, the ground beef is boiled and has chocolate in it. Ways to serve – in a bowl Chili Spaghetti 3-way: on spaghetti with finely grated cheddar 4-way: on spaghetti with finely grated cheddar with onions or beans 5-way: on spaghetti with finely grated cheddar with onions and beans
Kathryn Anderson
I boiled the hamburger to give it the consistency as you get when you visit Skyline. Also cut down on the cinnamon to match the flavor of Skyline’s rival Dixie Chili.
Nicole Gonzales
i love this recipe and have used for years. recently, i used it and noticed that when i change the servings quantity, the math is not done correctly and the last ingredient, water, is reduced by about 90%. what a fail on allrecipes part. there’s no way to contact them either. so be warned that if you mess with the servings, double check the math.
Kenneth Weaver MD
The crew loved it.
Jeremy Joseph
When I wanted to learn how to make Skyline, years ago, I did some research. There was an article with the inventor in the Cincinnati Enquirer in their archives that included the recipe. In the late 1940’s he opened the Skyline Chili chain. A point of emphasis was that the ground beef was boiled, cooled and the fat skimmed. There is NO chili powder in the original recipe. Ingredients included onion, garlic cloves, tomato sauce, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, allspice, ground cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon, cumin, red pepper and 1 oz of bakers chocolate. When Cincinnati chili hit the area many variations came and went as places opened and closed across SW Ohio and N. Kentucky. I believe this is why you see so many variations and co-mingling of both recipes. So find a recipe that includes these ingredients and eliminate all the extras. Hope this helps you guys who want to try the original Skyline.
Brittany Gutierrez
This was really good, I did what some people suggested And blended the ground beef after it was browned. I’ve never had Skyline chilli before and never heard of it before I saw this recipe but I can say it had a great flavour to it and was super simple to make.
Mark Coleman
This is the only skyline recipe that I wwill use! My husband grew up in Cincinnati and loves skyline, he loves this recipe!
Joseph Bradley
It’s authentic to Skyline indeed. Also tried it with ground turkey and worked too.
Barbara Casey
A really good Cincinnati chili recipe. I am a native Cincinnatian, and this This has all of the components of good Cincinnati chili. It is more sauce-like as opposed to a hearty, chunky Texas-style chili. The spice profile is there. I followed the recipe as is except for two things- I added the bittersweet chocolate that others mentioned. This is a must! I also rounded up to 3 pounds of ground beef (90/10). I did not brown the beef at all. I broke it apart while adding it to the slow cooker. After six hours, I mashed around with a potato masher to break up the remaining chunks, but I probably could have gotten by without it. It was plenty spicy. Maybe 4 TBS of chili powder would be enough. Make a classic five way with a bed of thin spaghetti, a ladle-full of chili, a layer of cooked and drained dark red kidney beans, some diced onion, and some mild cheddar cheese shredded as finely as possible. Substitute rice or a baked potato for the pasta.
Jesus Lowery
I haven’t lived in Cinti for 30 years; however I dream about Skyline chili still. So, finally I tried this recipe. I think it’s wonderful. The only changes I made were adding 3 tbl cocoa and a little sugar to the pot at the end and 1 can of kidney beans. We like the thin spaghetti with it and thin shredded cheese. We ate it 5 way for 5 straight days. We just couldn’t get enough. I will make this regularly and will never be without some in the freezer. I can’t believe it took me so long to make this myself. BTW, my husband had never tried Cinti chili and he loves it as much as me. Thanks so much for this recipe.
Stacey Brown
I followed the recipe exactly, except I made it in a dutch oven on the stove rather than in a crock pot. I bought all the ingredients before realizing I’d need one 🙂 After bringing to a boil, I simmered it on very low for five hours, and it turned out great. Husband and teen daughter enjoyed it and said they would eat it again, giving it a rating of 6 out of 10. However, after the first few bites, I found it to be too sweet and rather one-note.
Theresa Orr
I didn’t cook the meat before I threw it in the crockpot though or else it becomes clumpy and isn’t as smooth as normal skyline chili is. Perfect though!
April Lopez
I have never had skyline chili, so I can’t vouch for authenticity, but I thought this was very tasty. I used a 90% lean ground sirloin for the meat, because it was on sale. I didn’t bother with blending it or anything, I thought the texture was fine as is, I just broke it up into small pieces while browning. Somewhat similar to the meat sauce on the chili mac at steak n shake, but without the flavor of the red sauce. Will definitely make again.
Carol Marshall
I have used this recipe for years. It is quick and easy to put together. I do substitute real onions for the onion salt. I tend to like that flavor better. Then, at the end when it is done, I put shredded cheddar cheese and cut up fresh onions on top of it and the spaghetti. Also, when made following the directions, it tends to be more watery than I like, so I have reduced the water or added a thickening agent depending upon when I remembered. Skyline is supposed to be runny, this is just a personal taste issue. Great for kids and getting them to eat.
Erica Wright
This is THE Skyline Chili! I usually double the recipe and freeze some. But I do NOT double the chili powder. And I always add a little extra cinnamon – and add a couple of tablespoons of sugar. This is a sweet chili, but all that chili powder makes it too much like regular chili. The secret is in constantly stirring the beef while it is browning so it turns out very fine.
Amy Rogers
Everyone in my office raved about how this smelled when I made it. Tastes better the next day after all the spices have a chance to really mingle.

 

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