Flavorful Chili Spaghetti is a midwestern twist on a classic bowl of chili. It is hearty with just the right amount of spice!!
Chili Spaghetti is a hearty chili, made more robust by adding spaghetti!! Cornbread Muffins, Mexican Cornbread, or Cheesy Garlic Bread are absolute MUSTS when eating chili, so choose your favorite bread and start sopping.
Midwestern Chili
I love soups and chilis all year long, but especially in the fall! This tasty chili twist is perfect for a cold day, and if you’re a fan of spaghetti AND chili, then you’ll LOVE this soup recipe.
This Chili Spaghetti comes from my friend Jessica’s family and is super tasty. It was a chili her grandma from Wisconsin used to make. Apparently, it’s a mid-west thing to add spaghetti to your chili.
Honestly, I have never seen noodles in chili before, but it was the perfect ingredient for this soup. It made it that much heartier and tastier!
Cincinnati-Style Chili was created back in 1922 and includes chili seasoned with cinnamon and Middle eastern spices with cooked spaghetti in the mix. It is often topped with a generous mound of shredded cheddar cheese.
Hoosier Chili appears in an Indianapolis newspaper in 1908, which is even further back than Cincinnati Chili. The Hoosier version uses more traditional flavored chili with cooked spaghetti mixed in it. Perhaps the spaghetti was added as a cheap way to stretch out the meal or maybe it was used to “dilute” the heat of the famously spicy dish.
How to make chili spaghetti
MEAT. Brown the ground beef on the stove and add season salt and garlic.
CHILI. In the crockpot, add the browned beef, tomato sauce, whole can of stewed tomatoes, 2 cups water, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, chili powder, and chili beans. Stir. Cook on low for 2 hours.
PASTA. At the end of the chili cook time, break the pasta into thirds, and cook the spaghetti as directed. Drain and add it to the chili.
Variations
- Use ground turkey or sausage instead of ground beef.
- Add chopped jalapeños, chopped red or green peppers, or chopped onion.
- Add some heat with red chili flakes or hot sauce.
- Use elbow noodles or penne pasta instead of spaghetti noodles.
- Adjust the flavor to taste with salt and black pepper, or mix in a dollop of mustard.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons unsweetened baking chocolate to the chili. You won’t taste the chocolate, but you will notice that chilies and other spices are more accentuated.
Recipe Tips
Chili beans are pinto beans with Mexican seasonings. If you don’t have this in nearby stores I would suggest using red kidney beans or pinto beans and increasing some of the other seasonings to taste.
Stewed tomatoes. I didn’t chop the stewed tomatoes, but if you pour them in and realize that some of those tomatoes are kind of large, “squish” them with your spoon.
Make Chili Spaghetti on the stovetop. For a quicker version, follow these easy steps:
- Brown the meat with salt and garlic. Transfer to a large pot.
- Add tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, water, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, chili powder, and beans. Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes.
- While the soup is heating, break the pasta into thirds. Cook up spaghetti noodles as directed on the box, drain and add them to the chili. Serve warm.
Storing Info + SIDE IDEAS
STORE leftover Chili Spaghetti in airtight containers in the fridge for up to a week.
FREEZE. It is also freezable, just note that the spaghetti noodles will be a little softer after being frozen and reheated.
To reheat. Thaw in the fridge if applicable. If you’re in a hurry, reheat individual portions in the microwave. Larger portions are best heated on the stovetop.
Make ahead of time. This makes a great freezer meal.
- Complete step one as written.
- Using a large bowl instead of a crock pot, mix together the browned beef, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, 2 cups water, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, chili powder, and chili beans.
- Transfer the mixture to a freezer-safe container(s).
- Freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw and add to the crock pot. Finish cooking according to the directions.
Serving Suggestions:
For more chili recipes, check out:
- White Chicken Chili
- Green Enchilada Pork Chili
- Chili Verde Soup
- Fajita Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
- Wendy’s Chili
Chili Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef on the stove, add season salt and garlic.
- In a crockpot add the browned beef, tomato sauce, whole can of stewed tomatoes, 2 cups water, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, chili powder, and chili beans. Stir. Cook on low for 2 hours.
- At the end of the chili cook time, break the pasta into thirds. Cook the spaghetti as directed. Drain and add it to the chili.
This may be a silly question, but do I drain the stewed tomatoes or leave them as is?
Not silly at all! No, you don’t need to drain them 🙂 Enjoy!
This is exactly how my family makes it , I never made it any other way
It’s the only way 🙂 Thanks for sharing that!
NooDLes in chili is a kentucky thing?
It’s the best! Thank you!
I live in Indiana all my life and spaghetti and chili is not just a Kentucky thing. It’s the only way I’ve ever had it and the only way I ever want it
Our Baltimore version has chopped onions & green peppers in it. We just use can spaghetti which already has tomato sauce & saves time. No sugar.
That works too 🙂 Thank you!
I made a few adjustments. Added a large chopped onion , 2 tablespoons of tomato puree. I like a thicker sauce. I/2 package on spaghetti and cooked it on medium for 2 hours. Delicious
Sounds perfect! Thank you for sharing that!
I’m going to make this for a chili cook-off. Hopefully it’s as good as it sounds.
Thank you, Joyce.
I hope you think so too! We love it! Thank you!
Can I add tuna to this recipe? Will it still taste nice?
I’ve never tried tuna with this recipe so I’m not sure how it would turn out but if you try it let me know. I’d love to hear!
I was raised on this. Its called Cincinnati Chili! My Mom was from Ohio and made it all the time!
Excellent recipe
Thank you!! So glad you enjoyed it!
Hey there. I am going to try this recipe. My grandma use to make it this way and I have never tried. Can I put the spaghetti directly into the chili to cook it?? Im trying to take this to work tomorrow. Thanks!!!
Adding uncooked spaghetti straight to the hot sauce will thicken it….we love it like this!
Excited to try this!!! I’m trying to find a recipe for my daughters homecoming next week from Ohio. I’m hoping this will remind her of skyline chili
For years I’ve looked for a recipe that was like my mom’s. This is just like it but i added onion. Thank you love it.
You’re welcome! So happy to hear you found one similar to your mom’s!
Excellent.
Thank you for the awesome recipes.
I love this recipe, reminds me of when I was a kid on vacation with mom and dad and we would eat @ 76 truck stop. it was on the menu and was my goto every year.
I followed this recipe exactly as written except I used only one can of everything because I didn’t want a ton of leftovers. This was delicious! Plus, it gave me an excuse to use my new kitchen tool called a Meat Chopper that I’ve seen on cooking channels that I bought at Dollar Tree for $1.25!
I came back to make a rcommendation on the choice of beans. During the pandemic I’ve been experimentating with different types of canned beans in several recipes because I love beans as a filler! I can’t say I remember ever trying pinto beans though. For this recipes I used a can of Bush’s Chili Beans in Mild Chili Sauce (16 oz) and it was the perfect texture to go along with the spaghetti. Yummo!
Thanks for sharing what you did!! And so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe.
I would love to make this but sadly Mexican Style Chili Beans are nowhere to be found. Local grocery stores, Walmart, Amazon, nothing. Any substitutions maybe? Thanks much!
You could use pinto beans, black beans, or kidney beans. Or a mixture.