Camp Washington Chili Cincinnati-Style Chili is a Cincinnati classic: spiced beef chili spooned over spaghetti, buried under shredded cheddar and built into a 3-Way, 4-Way or 5-Way. It is not Texas chili. It is not spaghetti sauce. It is its own glorious local thing, and Cincinnati has the fork skills to prove it.
Photo by SCRR
Copycat Camp Washington Cincinnati-Style Chili
Camp Washington Chili serves Cincinnati chili in the classic “ways” format, including chili spaghetti, 3-Way with chili, spaghetti and cheese, 4-Way with onion or beans, and 5-Way with chili, spaghetti, onion, beans and cheese. The restaurant’s version is known for thicker spaghetti, a generous mound of shredded cheddar and a chili recipe with more kick than some other local parlors.
Brown the beef with onion and garlic, then simmer it slowly with tomato paste, chili powder, paprika, cinnamon and warm spices until it becomes a loose, spoonable chili sauce. Keep it wetter than bowl chili. Cincinnati chili should flow over spaghetti, not sit there like a scoop of meatloaf wearing perfume.
Quick Recipe Overview
- Best For: Cincinnati chili nights, family dinners, game-day meals, late-night comfort food, cheese coneys and Midwest food menus.
- Flavor Profile: Savory, beefy, tomato-rich, warmly spiced, mildly sweet, peppery and cheddar-topped.
- Skill Level: Moderate.
- What Makes It Like the Restaurant: Browned beef, tomato paste, chili powder, cinnamon, paprika, thicker spaghetti, red beans, chopped onion and plenty of shredded cheddar recreate the Camp Washington Chili 3-Way, 4-Way and 5-Way experience.
Camp Washington – A Cincinnati Chili Parlor Since 1940
Camp Washington Chili has served chili from the corner of Hopple and Colerain Streets in Cincinnati’s Camp Washington neighborhood since 1940. The restaurant’s official history ties the name to the neighborhood’s role as a Mexican-American War mustering ground and later as part of Cincinnati’s stockyard and meat-packing history.
The restaurant is also one of Cincinnati’s landmark chili parlors. Camp Washington Chili says it is open 24 hours a day, six days a week, and its site notes that it earned a James Beard Foundation America’s Classics award for its regional importance and commitment to quality food.
Cincinnati Chili over Thick Spaghetti with Beans, Onion and Cheddar
Cincinnati chili is thinner and more aromatic than traditional red chili, with warm spices such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice or nutmeg often used alongside chili powder. It is served as a sauce over spaghetti or hot dogs, rather than as a bean-heavy bowl chili.
Camp Washington’s own process has a few important clues. Eater reported that the restaurant starts with oil, garlic and onions, browns the beef, then adds its spice blend, tomato paste and water. The family has identified chili powder, cinnamon and paprika as standard components, while also noting that Camp Washington does not add chocolate. That gives this home version its direction: beefy, spiced, tomato-rich and Cincinnati-style, but not cocoa-heavy.
Camp Washington Chili Cincinnati-Style Chili Recipe
Camp Washington Chili Cincinnati-Style Chili is a Cincinnati classic: spiced beef chili spooned over spaghetti, buried under shredded cheddar and built into a 3-Way, 4-Way or 5-Way. It is not Texas chili. It is not spaghetti sauce. It is its own glorious local thing, and Cincinnati has the fork skills to prove it.
Yield: 8 Servings
Ingredients
Cincinnati-Style Chili
- 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 1 large Yellow Onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 pounds lean Ground Beef
- 1 can Tomato Paste 6 ounces
- 5 cups Water
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Chili Powder
- 1 tablespoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
- 2 Bay Leaves
Spaghetti and Toppings
- 1 pound Spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 cups Red Kidney Beans or Small Red Beans warmed
- 1 cup finely chopped White Onion
- 4 cups finely shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese preferably Wisconsin Cheddar
- Oyster Crackers for serving
- Hot Sauce for serving
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add onion and cook until softened.
- Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Add ground beef.
- Cook, breaking beef into very small crumbles, until browned.
- Stir in tomato paste.
- Cook 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Add water, Worcestershire sauce and apple cider vinegar.
- Stir in chili powder, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper and bay leaves.
- Bring chili to a simmer.
- Reduce heat to low.
- Simmer uncovered 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until chili is loose, deeply flavored and slightly thickened.
- Add a little more water during cooking if chili becomes too thick.
- Remove bay leaves.
- Taste and adjust salt.
- Cook spaghetti in salted water until tender, slightly softer than al dente.
- Drain spaghetti and toss lightly with olive oil.
- For chili spaghetti, place spaghetti on plates and spoon chili over top.
- For a 3-Way, top spaghetti and chili with shredded cheddar cheese.
- For a 4-Way, add either warmed beans or chopped white onion before the cheese.
- For a 5-Way, layer spaghetti, beans, chili, chopped onion and shredded cheddar cheese.
- Serve immediately with oyster crackers and hot sauce.
Related Copycat Recipes
- Bob Evans Chili – Simple, satisfying chili built for cold days and cornbread on the side
- In-N-Out Burger Animal Style Burger – Juicy beef meets caramelized onions and bold sauce for maximum drive-thru indulgence.
- City Billiards Chili Dogs – Loaded hot dogs smothered in rich chili and built for late-night cravings
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Questions People Ask
What is a 3-Way at Camp Washington Chili?
A 3-Way is spaghetti topped with Cincinnati chili and shredded cheddar cheese.
What is a 5-Way?
A 5-Way adds both beans and chopped onion to the spaghetti, chili and cheese.
Does Camp Washington Chili use chocolate?
No. Published reporting on Camp Washington’s chili notes that the restaurant does not add chocolate.
Should Cincinnati chili be thick?
It should be looser than regular bowl chili so it can spoon easily over spaghetti or hot dogs.
How should you eat Cincinnati chili?
Cut down through the layers with a fork instead of twirling the spaghetti. That gets chili, cheese, pasta and toppings in the same bite.
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Photo of “Camp Washington Cincinnati-Style Chili” created by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes. Photos may be representative of the recipe and not the actual finished dish. All photo licenses listed were correct at the time of the posting of the page. Recipe is original to Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes. Recipe created by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes based on information from the restaurant and other sources on the internet – many courtesy of the Wayback Machine. Additional Information is from original research done by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes and/or courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission.
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