This is a twist on Cincinnati “five-way” chili: spaghetti and chili plus cheddar cheese, onion and kidney beans.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 50 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 medium spaghetti squash (about 3 pounds)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 pound ground beef chuck
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- Oyster crackers and shredded cheddar cheese, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Halve and seed the spaghetti squash; roast, then scrape into strands (see Cook’s Note).
- Meanwhile, put half of the onion in a small bowl and cover with cold water; set aside. Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining onion and the garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the beef, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, oregano, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beef is browned, about 7 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and 1 1/2 cups water to the beef mixture. Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chili is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes; season with salt and black pepper.
- Drain the reserved onion; pat dry. Top each serving of chili with the spaghetti squash, kidney beans, onion, oyster crackers and cheese.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 438 |
| Total Fat | 16 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 46 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 14 g |
| Sugar | 16 g |
| Protein | 35 g |
| Cholesterol | 71 mg |
| Sodium | 1857 mg |
Reviews
Thought this was great! Not too sweet, but lacking something with unction. Added some more cumin and cinnamon. Only used half of a spaghetti squash, and served with garlic knots. Had enough chili leftover to give half to my folks and the other half I’m making chili mac with.
Not Cincinnati Chili
I like the chili very much; in fact, it’s my favorite chili recipe so far. I cooked it for an hour after reading the reviews. We put it over spaghetti squash, but my husband wants to try it over baked potato. The word “Cincinnati” should be deleted though because it’s not really Cincinnati-style chili.
Loved this chili! I took into account what the other reviewers had said and cooked the chili down for about 1 hour until it came to the consistency that I liked. It is just my DH and myself, so I found that this chili made about 5 servings. I have a sensitivity to anything extremely hot, so this had the perfect amount of heat …DH had to use a bit more hot sauce. Loved the addition of the butternut squash to round out a healthy alternative to pasta
I loved this chili. I added more cinnamon and tomato paste. If you have ever had Skyline the taste is similar. One caution…the consistency is more like a stew/soup. True Cincinnati Chili has consistency more like hot dog chili.
The chili was far too bland for me. Needs more spice! Love the spaghetti squash in place of pasta.