Always a crowd-pleasing appetizer, Cincinnati chili dip is a perennial favorite when it’s time to tailgate. A layer of cream cheese and chili is topped with beans and cheddar then served alongside chips. Cold beer optional!
Football season is around the corner, and it’s time to tailgate! To acknowledge the stretch of glutinous Sundays on the horizon, I’ve joined a group of bloggers from all over the country — all of whom are big football fans — to bring you 64 tailgating recipes for a terrific football party. You can check out their fantastic creations at the end of this post!
When the call went out to join this collaboration, my native Ohioan friends had the Browns represented in the blink of an eye. This Ohio girl’s heart, however, is with the Bengals.
Actually, that’s not entirely true. My heart lies with another Ohio team with a name also begins with a “B”, but that’s a story for another time.
Back to the pros. When Cincinnati and food come together in the same thought, I think of Cincinnati chili. I loathed Cincinnati chili day in the school cafeteria when I was a kid. Chili on spaghetti? That made no sense. I was definitely packing my lunch anytime Cincinnati chili showed up on the menu.
As I matured, I discovered Skyline chili. Suddenly, Cincinnati chili didn’t seem so bad. (For those who are not familiar, Skyline is essentially the pros version of Cincinnati chili.)
As the legand goes, Nicholas Lambrinides opened a restaurant overlooking the skyline of Cincinnati in 1949. The restaurant served, you guessed-it, the Lambrinides’ family chili.
What could its secret ingredient (cough…chocolate…cough) be? So yes, Cincinnati chili is actually a kind of Greek chili.
Cincinnati chili is not something you want to eat in a bowl by itself. The chili is essentially a saucy beef, so it’s intended to be served over spaghetti or a hot dog. Today, I’m serving it over cream cheese and calling it a dip.
You can enjoy Cincinnati chili three ways (topped with cheddar), four ways (cheddar plus beans or onions), or five ways (cheddar plus beans and onions). I’m a four-ways girl, so this dip includes beans but no extra onion.
This Cincinnati chili recipe yields more than enough chili for the dip, so plan on having leftover chili if you bake it in an 8 x 8 dish. In a twist of irony, I enjoyed my leftovers over spaghetti for lunch. Enjoy!
This crowd-pleasing appetizer stars a classic Cincinnati chili layered over cream cheese and topped with beans and cheddar. A note on the Cincinnati Chili As written, this recipe yields about twice as much chili than you need for an 8 x 8 baking dish. If you want more dip and less leftover chili, spread two, 8-ounce packages of cream cheese across a 9 x 13 baking dish and top with the extra chili, beans, and double the cheese. You can also serve leftover Cincinnati chili over pasta, a hot dog, or a baked potato. A note on the Cincinnati Chili Dip If you want to enjoy a five-way chili dip (with onions on top), add a white onion to the ingredient list and top the melted cheese layer with diced raw onions. A note on the measurements I usually make this recipe with between 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 pounds ground beef. I kept the amount of cream cheese used for the bottom layer intentionally vague. If you only have an 8-ounce package on hand, there's really no need to run to the store and buy another package. If you have more than one package available and you think you might like a thicker layer of cream cheese, go with 12 ounces. Same goes for the can of beans. You might want to use them all, or you might want to use 1/2 to 3/4 of the can.Homemade Cincinnati Chili Dip
Ingredients
For the chili
For the dip
Instructions
Notes
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Note: This post is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by the National Football League (NFL) or any of its teams. All opinions and views expressed on our blogs are our own, not that of the NFL and/or any of its 32 teams. Any team names, logos or other symbols referenced are properties of their respective organizations. We are just big fans — and we want to share our love for our teams, the game and the food that brings us all together on game day.
2019: Photos updated and recipe edited for clarity.
Yay Bengals and Cincinnati-style chili. I like that you gave the history behind it. I’ve lived in Cincinnati for over 16 years now (transplant from Springfield) and just in the last couple of years have finally converted to enjoying our chili. I’d never heard of it growing up or at least had no interest in trying it like you… even when we did visit Kings Island on occasion. Great post!
I might be from Michigan but I would still eat this dip. It looks and sounds delicious!
Love recipes with a story, my husband and I were talking about “the football season” just the other day. Can’t believe summer is almost over. Will have try this chili with spaghetti too!
What exactly is skyline chili?!!
Skyline is the restaurant that first served Cincinnati chili. Or so the story goes. 🙂