One-Pot Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti Bake

I’ve been a fan of Cincinnati-style chili ever since going to college in Ohio, but recently I started thinking maybe it could all be cooked together with the pasta and turned into a casserole of sorts and this One-Pot Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti Bake was born. If you’ve never had Cincinnati chili, it’s packed with smoky, spicy chili flavor, has no beans and is served on top of spaghetti and underneath a pile of cheddar cheese. It’s delicious and definitely one of my favorite ways to eat chili. Obviously to make the normal version you’d cook the chili and spaghetti separately, but this one-pot version is a fun twist that leaves you with less dishes to clean!

Back when I first started this blog, I made a version of Cincinnati Chili that I slightly adapted from the Weight Watchers website and the flavors were spot on. I used that recipe again to create this dish, adapting it to be a one-pot meal, and I loved it just as much! Not only is this One-Pot Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti Bake full of flavor, but a super filling serving of 1 1/3 cups is just 8 Green, 8 Blue or 5 Purple Weight Watchers SmartPoints or 377 calories. To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

Looking for more lightened up comfort food pasta dishes? Check out the pasta section of my recipe index for favorites like Beefy American Goulash, Beef Stroganoff, Slow Cooker Kickin’ Chicken Pasta, Beef and Sausage Manicotti, Pumpkin Alfredo Tortellini Skillet, Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna Roll Ups, Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Bake, Tomato Soup Mac & Cheese, Spaghetti Pie, Sausage Tortellini Skillet, Buffalo Chicken Lasagna Roll Ups, Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Shells, Spicy Sausage Pasta and many more!

One-Pot Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti Bake

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Yield: 6 (1 1/3 cups) servings

In this one-pot version of Cincinnati Chili the spaghetti cooks right in the same pot!

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 oz can diced mild green chilies
• 6 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 lb raw 95% lean ground beef
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup chunky salsa
• 1 cup low sodium beef broth
• 1 cup water
• 8 oz uncooked thin spaghetti, broken in half (use whole wheat spaghetti if following the myWW Purple plan)
• 3 oz 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar, shredded

Instructions

 

• Pour the oil into a dutch oven or large, deep, oven-safe skillet or pot and bring to medium heat. Add the green pepper, onion and garlic and stir to coat. Cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened. Add in the chilies, chili powder, cocoa powder, cumin, cinnamon, sugar and salt and stir to combine. Add the ground beef and stir to coat. Cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon until browned, about 8 minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salsa, beef broth and water to the pot and stir together, using your cooking spoon to scrape up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil and then add the spaghetti pieces. Stir to combine and make sure the pasta is covered by the liquid. Reduce heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer covered for 15 minutes, removing the lid to stir every five minutes (to break up the pasta and scrape anything sticking to the bottom), until pasta is cooked.
• Stir the chili/pasta mixture again and place it uncovered into the pre-heated oven. Bake for 20 minutes and remove from oven. Sprinkle the shredded cheese all over the top of the chili and return it to the oven for another 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and the chili has firmed up, soaking up much of the excess liquid. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

Nutrition Information per (1 1/3 cups) serving:

377 calories, 47 g carbs, 9 g sugars, 10 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 29 g protein, 8 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

MyWW SmartPoints per (1 1/3 cups) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Green: 8 SmartPoints/ Blue: 8 SmartPoints/ Purple: 5 SmartPoints (if using wheat pasta, if not then use the Blue points)

Weight Watchers Points Plus:

10 per (1 1/3 cups) serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

adapted from Weight Watchers

Calories: 377kcal

Author: Emily Bites

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

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