Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Cincinnati Chili–Cincinnati chili is a Mediterranean-spiced meat sauce used as a topping for spaghetti. There are many ways to make it but in this recipe we’re going five way: spaghetti, chili with beans, shredded cheese and diced red onions. You can make the chili that starts with dried beans in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker, it’s your choice. Big thanks so Hurst’s Beans for sponsoring this post.
Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Cincinnati Chili
My husband grew up in Ohio and we even lived there together after we were married for a short time. I always remember seeing Skyline Chili restaurants around town but I never ended up going to one. Big mistake. Big big mistake. Skyline Chili is famous for their “Cincinnati Chili” which is basically a meat sauce chili served over spaghetti. Toppings are added according to your desire. Beans, cheese and onions can be added to make the chili “5 way chili.” To me, there’s no other way to get it besides “5 way.” It makes the whole experience complete.
Today I’m going to be sharing a recipe for instant pot/slow cooker cincinnati chili that starts with dried beans. Pintos, black beans and kidney beans to be exact. I started with a package of Hurst’s Slow Cooker Chili which contains the dried beans plus a gluten free and low sodium seasoning packet. I love cooking with Hurst’s beans and have found the Instant Pot an amazing tool to get them on the table in a short amount of time.
I always like to soak my beans in a salty solution before I cook them. This just produces a better textured, cooked bean. If you forget to soak the beans overnight you can use a quick soak method that I outline in the recipe below.
After the beans have been soaked you’ll cook them in your Instant Pot or slow cooker until they are tender with some browned ground beef, beef broth and some of the seasoning packet. You never want to cook dried beans with anything acidic or they won’t get soft. So no tomatoes are added until later.
After the beans are cooked you’ll add in tomato paste, diced tomatoes, the rest of the seasoning and a bit of cinnamon (it’s the secret ingredient of this chili). Then comes the fun part! You’ll spoon a pile of spaghetti onto a plate, scoop some chili on top and then pile grated cheddar and diced red onions on top. If you’re a sour cream lover like me you may even put a dollop of sour cream on top. This isn’t authentic to the Skyline chili but it sure is good! Maybe I’ll name my creation 6-way chili.
More Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Dried Beans Recipes You’ll Love…
Instant Pot Bean and Bacon Soup
Instant Pot Tex Mex Beans
Slow Cooker Chili with Shredded Beef
Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup
Follow Hurst’s Beans on Facebook or visit their website for more recipe inspiration!
Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Cincinnati Chili
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes (plus time to come to pressure and time to release pressure)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
Description
Cincinnati chili is a Mediterranean-spiced meat sauce used as a topping for spaghetti. There are many ways to make it but in this recipe we’re going five way: spaghetti, chili with beans, shredded cheese and diced red onions. You can make the chili that starts with dried beans in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker, it’s your choice.
Ingredients
For soaking:
- 8 cups water
- 1 (15.5 oz) package Hurst’s Slow Cooker Chili
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
For the chili:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp Better than Bouillon Beef Base
- 5 cups water
- Seasoning packet
- 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
- 1 tsp cinnamon
For serving:
- Hot cooked spaghetti
- Grated cheddar cheese (I used medium cheddar)
- Diced red onion
- Optional: sour cream
Instructions
For the Instant Pot:
- Soak the beans in 8 cups of water and 1 1/2 tsp salt overnight. If you forget to soak the beans you can do the quick soak method (look in the notes below for instructions).
- Turn the Instant Pot to the saute function (on the middle setting). When it’s hot add in the ground beef. Break the beef up with a wooden spoon. Add in the salt, yellow onion and minced garlic. Brown the ground beef and saute the onions. Drain off any extra grease.
- Add the soaked, rinsed and drained beans to the Instant Pot. Add in the beef base, water and half of the seasoning packet. Cover the Instant Pot and secure the lid. Set the valve to “sealing.” Set the timer on manual high pressure to 20 minutes. When the timer beeps let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes then release any remaining pressure by moving the valve to “venting.” Remove the lid.
- Add in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon, and the rest of the seasoning packet. Stir.
- Serve the chili over hot spaghetti and top with cheese and onions and sour cream (if desired).
For the Slow Cooker:
- Soak the beans in 8 cups of water and 1 1/2 tsp salt overnight. If you forget to soak the beans you can do the quick soak method (look in the notes below for instructions).
- Brown the beef in a pan on the stove–Break the beef up with a wooden spoon. Add in the salt, yellow onion and minced garlic. Brown the ground beef and saute the onions. Drain off any extra grease. Add beef to the slow cooker.
- Add the soaked, rinsed and drained beans to the slow cooker. Add in the beef base, water and half of the seasoning packet. Cover the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
- When beans are tender, add in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon, and the rest of the seasoning packet. Stir.
- Serve the chili over hot spaghetti and top with cheese and onions and sour cream (if desired).
Notes
How to quick soak dried beans on the stovetop: Use a colander to rinse the beans. Place the beans in a colander and run cool water over the top of the beans. Discard any dirt or stones. Add the beans to a saucepan. Cover the beans completely with water. Sprinkle in the salt. They will soak up a lot of the water so make sure to get about 2 inches of water over the top of the beans. Bring the beans to a boil over high heat. Let the beans boil for one minute and then remove the pot from the heat. Cover the beans with a lid and let them soak in the hot water for one hour. Use a colander to drain the water off of the beans. Now they are ready to be used in your recipe!
Quick Soak Method in the Instant Pot: First just pour the beans into a colander and rinse them off. Sometimes dried beans have a little dirt and debris in them. Once they have been rinsed you can add the beans to the Instant Pot. Next you’ll cover the beans with water. Now you’ll add in salt. The salty solution is essential to getting the beans the right consistency. Now you’ll bring the pot to a boil by using the the “sauté” function on your Instant Pot. Once the water comes to a boil you will cover the pot with the lid and set the valve to “sealing.” Then you’ll set the manual pressure cooker button to 2 minutes. When the timer beeps you can open the valve very slowly. If foam begins to exit the valve stop releasing the pressure and wait for 30 seconds before you try again. Once the lid is removed go ahead and drain and rinse the beans in a colander under cool running water. Now you can proceed with the recipe that requires pre-soaked beans.
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Another Cincinnatian weighing in. I agree with the other comments and red onions are never used. Recipe sounds good. Just not Cincinnati Chil,
Is there a substitute for the Hurst’s Slow Cooker Chili Beans? They are hard to find and quite expensive for a chili dish.
★★★★★
You can just find regular chili beans in the dried beans section of your grocery store.
This may be perfectly good chili but it is NOT Cincinnati style chili. First of all, the ground beef is not browned in Cincinnati style chili. It is cooked in the liquid and seasonings which causes it to break down into very tiny pieces. Second, beans are an option when served but not in the basic recipe. And sour cream is never a topping. I love all of your recipes but this simply is not Cincinnati chili! It is served either as a bowl of chili; spaghetti topped with the chili; spaghetti topped with chili and piles of finely shredded Cheddar cheese (a 3 way); spaghetti topped with chili, cheese and your choice of diced onions OR beans (a 4 way) OR spaghetti topped with chili, cheese onions and beans (a 5 way). As you can see, we take our chili very seriously here in Cincinnati!!
I have to agree with Linda — Cincinnati Chili is not just a regular chili recipe with cinnamon added. It is a full-fledged Greek-style meat sauce, not unlike what is used in the recipe for Pastitsio. Sorry to be so negative, but I can give you a much better recipe than this one.
I have lived in Cincinnati or Greater Cincinnati my entire life, and have eaten Skyline my entire life. 1) Two things: I agree with Linda and Guy; and 2) the cheese is ALWAYS the last topping added.