No Beans Chocolate Chili

Cold winter days are the perfect days to eat chili for dinner. My family likes their chili “Cincinnati-style”, or without beans. Authentic Cincinnati chili is really a meat sauce eaten over pasta. I guess you could make this recipe to serve over pasta, but we eat it like traditional chili, in a bowl with some shredded cheese and sour cream, with a side of corn bread and tortilla chips.

The ingredients are simple:

Ground beef, onions & garlic

Spices: oregano, chili powder, cumin, allspice, salt and….cocoa powder!

Sauce: tomato paste, diced tomatoes and beef broth

Just be sure to allow 2 hours to simmer for all the flavors to infuse and I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Enjoy and stay healthy!

No Beans Chocolate Chili

Beanless ground beef chili with surprise chocolate ingredient

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • I large onion diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 lbs ground beef
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 2 tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1-1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 can tomato paste 6 ounces
  • 1 can diced tomatoes 14.5 ounces
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 1 cup water

Instructions

  • In a large pot, add olive oil and heat to medium-high. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When onions are translucent, add ground beef and crumble and cook until no longer pink.
  • In a small bowl, combine oregano, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, allspice and salt. Add to ground beef and stir.
  • Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, beef broth and water and stir well to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Continue simmering, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

2 Comments

    1. I personally haven’t done it in a crock pot, but I don’t see why not! Maybe try a low 4 hours since the beef is pre-cooked? It’s more about infusing the flavors so a crock pot may work perfectly! Let us know how it goes if you give it a try.

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