Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Paleo, Whole30, Keto, Under 350 Calories
This beanless chili is filled with hearty chunks of ground beef coated in a rich, flavorful sauce. It's spiced with an earthy blend of herbs and spices that's slightly sweet from a touch of cinnamon. Plus, a hint of heat from crushed red pepper flakes and cayenne rounds out this dish. Slow cooker directions are also included below!
Why I Love This Recipe
Fall brings the much anticipated start of football season! Consequently, making this easy Cincinnati Chili recipe in honor of our favorite NFL team, the Cincinnati Bengals, has become a household tradition. WHO DEY!
Cincinnati Chili is simple to make with only 25 minutes of hands on time. It's made from typical household ingredients: ground beef, garlic, onion, green bell peppers, celery, crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth and pantry spices.
Ground beef and vegetables are slow simmered in a blend of earthy spices with a hint of sweetness and heat. These all meld with crushed tomatoes and broth to create a deep, rich sauce. While this dish has a touch of heat that rounds out the flavors nicely, it is still mild enough to be kid-friendly.
Not only it is kid-friendly, it's also under 350 calories per serving and has 14g carbs, 10g net carbs per bowl!
The traditional way of serving Cincinnati Chili is either in a bowl like typical chili, on top of spaghetti, or as a hotdog sauce all topped with cheddar cheese and/or diced raw onions.
However, my personal favorite allergy friendly way to serve this recipe is over spiralized butternut squash or sweet potatoes. The tomato based meaty sauce over either of these veggies is a match made in heaven. See cooking tips below for how to make your own roasted vegetable noodles.
Cooking Tips
The longer you allow this chili to simmer the more depth of flavor it will have.
Also, toasting the spices and tomato paste is a quick and easy way to create a deep rich flavor in this chili.
Do you prefer your chili to have even more of a kick? Increase the amount of cayenne or add some hot sauce to your individual bowl.
Tips for spiralized vegetables
To make a roasted vegetable noodle base, start with a medium butternut squash or 3lbs of sweet potatoes. Peel them and spiralize them with either a manual or electric spiralizer. I drizzle the vegetable noodles with light oil. Then, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-18 minutes. Flip once halfway through. Then add them to the bottom of a bowl, top with chili, dairy free cheese and/or guacamole.
If you've never used an electric spiralizer, I highly recommended getting one. Especially when trying to spiralize harder vegetables like these, it literally takes less than a quarter of the time. This is the electric spiralizer I have, but it's currently unavailable. I linked a similar one above.
Slow cooker/crockpot instructions
- Follow steps 1-5.
- Then, add all ingredients to a slow cooker: browned beef and accumulated juices, sautéed vegetable, tomato paste and spice blend, crushed tomatoes, and vegetable broth.
- Either cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
- This slow cooker method would be the perfect way to cook a double batch of this recipe.
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📖 Recipe
Cincinnati Chili {Paleo, Whole30, Keto}
Equipment
- 1 large deep skillet or 3.8 quart braiser
- 1 large wooden spoon or silicone spatula
Ingredients
- 1½ tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 lb ground beef 85/15 or 80/20
- 2 pinches salt
- 3 dashes black pepper
- 1 medium onion small diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper small diced
- 3 stalks celery small diced
- 3 pinches salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano crushed between fingers to release the oils
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- scant ⅛ tsp cayenne
- 1 medium bay leaf
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 15oz can crushed tomatoes
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
Instructions
- In a large deep skillet or 3.8 quart braiser heat oil over MEDIUM heat until skillet is very warm.
- Add ground beef to skillet, breaking up with wooden spoon. Sprinkle with 2 pinches of salt and a couple dashes of black pepper. Cook stirring occasionally to break up the meat until meat is mostly browned. About 5-7 minutes. Some remaining pink is ok as meat will continue to cook. Use a slotted spoon to remove meat to a bowl. Leave meat drippings in skillet.
- In the same skillet with meat drippings add diced onion, celery, and green bell peppers. Add 3 big pinches of salt to help soften the vegetables. Sauté stirring occasionally until very tender and onions are starting to become transluscent. About 5-7 minutes.
- Add chili powder, salt, cumin, oregano, paprika, garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes, cinnamon, cayenne, bay leaf, and minced garlic. Sauté stirring frequently until spices and garlic are fragrant about 30 seconds.
- Add tomato paste, stir to combine. Cook stirring frequently to toast the tomato paste about 1-2 minutes.
- Return ground beef and accumulated juices to the pan. Stir to combine. Add crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Cover with lid and reduce heat to LOW. Simmer 30 minutes- 1½ hours. Serve warm.
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