Have You Had This Culinary Combo? By Pam Crooks

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Chili and Cinnamon Rolls!

We’re smack-dab in the middle of winter, many of us are suffering from the cold and snow, and that means it’s soup and chili time!

It’s funny how different parts of the country have their renowned favorites that others who live even a few states away have never heard of. Remember Runzas that I blogged about several months ago? (You can view it HERE if you haven’t already.) Many of you were unfamiliar with such a thing even though Runzas are hugely popular in the Midwest.

Chili and Cinnamon Rolls are another phenomenon around here, one I hadn’t heard of myself until a number of years ago. Since then, I’m learning how hugely popular the unusual combination is, especially in school cafeterias, as a fundraiser feature, in restaurants, and even at Nebraska Husker football tailgates.

The first reference was found in 1905, and then another popped up in California in 1953. They were noticeably not common at the time, however, until Congress passed the National School Lunch Act in 1946, whereby the USDA included chili in its recipes-for-schools collections. Shortly thereafter, schools in Greeley, Colorado, were the first to serve the combo to their students. There’s even a story told that loggers had a bowl of chili poured over a cinnamon roll in the morning before they headed out for a long day of logging.

My husband and I grew up in Nebraska during this time, and neither of our schools’ cafeterias offered the pair. It was likely not until the advent of folks raving online decades later that spurred the popularity of such an unusual combination.  That and word of mouth from popular local restaurants.

Never heard of them? What is the appeal, you ask?

It’s all about the contrast of the salty, slightly spicy texture of the chili with the soft dough sweetened with sugar and cinnamon. If you want to get scientific about it, the sugar and butter cool the chili’s capsaicin, and the sweet-and-salty elevate the taste of the cinnamon.

There are several ways to eat the pairing:

  1. Eat them separately with the cinnamon roll as dessert. My daughter will let her kids have half the cinnamon roll first, then once their chili is gone, they can have the other half of the roll. 🙂
  2. Use pieces of the roll to dip into–or scoop up–the chili.
  3. Simply alternate bites of chili and cinnamon roll.
  4. Crumble the roll like a cracker and sprinkle on top or stir into the chili.
  5.  Or (and this is what I like to do) put the cinnamon roll in a bowl and pour the chili on top.

I have eaten them every way except #4. But trust me, the combo is delicious any way you do it.

Have you ever heard of Chili and Cinnamon Rolls? Have you had them?

What is the strangest food combo you’ve tried – and liked?

 

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Pam has written 30 romances, most of them historical westerns, but she's proud of her contemporary sweet romances featuring the Blackstone Ranch series published by Tule Publishing, too! Stay up on the latest at www.pamcrooks.com

50 thoughts on “Have You Had This Culinary Combo? By Pam Crooks”

    • Good morning, Denise. Were you taken aback about the combo when your friend told you about it? 🙂 I know I was – I even made a face about it. Until I tried them, of course!

      I hope you get the chance to give them a go. You’ll be surprised, I think.

      • Initially it seemed odd, but some people put cinnamon or cocoa/chocolate in their chili, so I decided it’s probably not bad.

  2. I am familiar with the chili and cinnamon roll combo. It’s not something I would eat as I do not like cinnamon. Having eaten many odd combos around the world that were quite good, I can’t say there is a favorite. However, the one I dislike the most is one my Mom made – a casserole of Lima Beans and Ham – totally gross!

  3. I have not heard of this. I think it would be neat to try it. I cannot think of any strange combinations I have tired but I am very timid with new food as I have so many food sensitivities.

    • Hi, Debra. Maybe chili is too spicy for you? If not, the cinnamon roll really does tame the taste. Fingers crossed you dare to try the combo – it’s just so unusual.

  4. I have heard of this, it started getting popular in my family some years ago, I personally don’t like the cinnamon roll with the chili, I prefer a dinner roll with butter, or bread and butter, and the cinnamon roll for dessert.

    • Bridgette, crackers are good with chili, too. My husband likes to crumble them up and sprinkle on top. Of course, oyster crackers saves on the crumbling. And don’t forget the sour cream, shredded cheese . . . 🙂

    • Ooh, that’s a new one for me, Karijean!!

      I actually have both popcorn and ice cream right now – I’ll have to give that combo a try!

      Fun! Thanks for sharing.

  7. Never heard of this but sounds interesting, I do enjoy a good bowl of chili and who can resist a gooey cinnamon roll? I normally serve my chili with cornbread.

  8. Yes, I have had chili and cinnamon rolls. When I was in grade school, it was served every Thursday. I love French fries and a chocolate shake together.

  9. My mom worked in our high school cafeteria when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, and chili and cinnamon roll day was always a favorite among the students. Their cinnamon rolls didn’t have icing though. One of the strangest food combos I’ve tried and liked was onion rings with a chocolate shake.

    • Hi, Kim! I’m sure those kids will always have memories of chili and cinnamon rolls. I was in high school in the 70s, and we never had them!

      If you’ll notice in the Runza image above that their hugely popular chili and cinnamon rolls–their rolls don’t have frosting, either, but instead a nice fairly thick crust of cinnamon and sugar. Frosting or not, still delicious!

  10. I have never heard of it before and it doesn’t sound all that good to me. We are more like a peanut butter sandwich with chili or just crackers.

  12. Hi Pam!

    I’ve not heard of this before, but I’m going to try it. My family loves both of these, but I’ve never had them together. Thanks for the thought.

  13. Pam,
    What about adding Concord Grape Jelly to Chili? A friend of my husband’s always adds it to hers. I’m sure by now it’s a staple in most homes, but just in case. The amount of jelly added is your taste and size of chili pot. I can see someone adding the jelly and jalapenos.

    • Oh, this is a new one for me, s brown! I’ve heard of adding Concord grape jelly to Little Smokies and simmering them together (which is seriously good), but not for chili.

      Interesting!

  15. Wow! I have never heard of that combination before. However, I would be willing to try it:)

    The strangest combination of foods together that I have ever had is peanut butter on a ritz cracker topped with a home canned sweet pickle. My mother in law use to can sweet pickles every summer and when she was pregnant with my husband she had a craving for peanut butter on ritz crackers topped with her sweet pickles. I wasn’t sure at first but it is a delicious combination.

  16. Hi, I have never heard of the combination, I dont think I would like to try it. I like my cinnamon rolls with coffee. When I first married my husband he would make grilled cheese sandwiches and he would put jam in the middle of the grilled cheese sandwich while it was still getting done, I had never ever heard of that before, so I tried it, thinking it wouldn’t be good , just to think of jam in a grilled cheese sandwich, well , it really surprised me because it is really good! This chili and cinnamon toll combo doesnt sound very good to me, it probably is, I guess I would try it, but I like to savor my cinnamon roll with a cup of coffee. Have a great day and a great weekend .

    • Hi, Alicia. Yes! I’ve heard of jelly on grilled cheese sandwiches, but I don’t recall if I’ve ever had them that way.

      With Lent coming up, we have lots of grilled cheese sandwiches. I’m going to give the jelly add-on a try!!

      Thanks for mentioning it!

  17. I never heard of this combination. I want to enjoy my cinnamon roll on its own. I have made recipes that called for cinnamon in a ground beef mixture and a number of Mexican meat dishes have cinnamon and/or some form of chocolate in them so maybe I should try it.

    • You’re so right, Alice. My aunt added cinnamon to her lasagne, and I did not care for it at all. But I’ve heard that many Mexican dishes call for it.

      An acquired taste, I guess!

  18. I like chili with cheese and crushed saltines and then using Frito Scoops as a spoon. Way too many carbs for this type 1 diabetic but my insulin “boluses” take care of it in about 2 hours. lol I haven’t had chili in sooooo very long and miss it. Mike doesn’t eat soups, chili, stews and suc.

  19. I have never heard of this combo before! And, of course, you like option number five! For some reason, that tickled my funny bone. I would have to have chili first with a glass of milk, and then the cinnamon roll with a cup of coffee for dessert. How’s that for being plain Jane! Fun blog!

    • Ha, Kathy! The first time I poured chili over my cinnamon roll in a bowl, for some reason, I thought of it as making a bowl of cereal. It just felt so strange. But it was so easy to get a bite of cinnamon roll with every bite of chili, I just do it that way.

      I’ve never heard of drinking milk with chili! Must coat some of the spiciness, eh?

      And you’re not being a plain Jane. You’re definitely not alone in keeping your chili and cinnamon roll traditional.

      Hugs!

  21. This is a new combination for me. I usually serve chili over rice or with cornbread. I love e cinnamon rolls and can see how the two would compliment each other. I would likely just take bites of the roll after a few spoonfuls of chili.
    II am trying to think of food combinations I have enjoyed. There hasn’t been much I haven’t at least tolerated except for raw oysters. Once was enough. As a Peace Corps volunteer, I had some interesting foods and liked most of them. Several of the young teachers I worked with and I had lunch with the captain of a Chinese freighter. Don’t think anything elaborate or fancy. It was no different than bare minimum crew quarters. We had rice of course and one of the other dishes was a thick brown gravy with duck feet and bat wings. It wasn’t too bad, but there certainly isn’t much meat on either the feet or the wings.

  22. Born and raised a Hoosier – Never heard of it until now – I am not a chili fan – but love cinnamon rolls!

    • Never heard of this so I never had this odd combination. I definitely wouldn’t try it, I’m not to adventurous when come trying new foods. So i really never tried anything weird or scary. Maybe being a New England hen

  23. Hi Pam, Great minds think alike. Yes, we have chili & cinnamon rolls in the winter & sometimes other times.
    Enjoy your books & newsletters & your P & P post.

  24. Never heard of this so I never had this odd combination. I definitely wouldn’t try it, I’m not to adventurous when come trying new foods. So i really never tried anything weird or scary. Maybe being from New England we don’t have much of adventure when it comes to food, Simple taste

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