What is Chicken Cacciatore?

Chicken Cacciatore is a rustic Italian chicken dish made with mushrooms and bell peppers simmered in rich, robust tomato sauce, enhanced with wine, capers and herbs. Cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian and this stew was often cooked over an open fire with whatever the hunter caught, such as rabbit, game birds, or pheasant. All parts of the animal would be used. Often a long cook time to tenderize the wild meat. This is another classic Italian dish that has a lot of variations.

Can Chicken Cacciatore be made vegan?

Sure! The sauce is so good that you could leave the chicken out, double up on the mushrooms and serve over roasted or grilled eggplant.

What is traditionally served with Chicken Cacciatore?

Polenta, pasta, rice, potatoes, and risotto.

Chicken Cacciatore

Name: Chicken Cacciatore
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or 4 large chicken breasts, or whole chicken parts: legs, wings, breast, and thighs, feel free to use skinless.); 1 yellow onion, sliced in half-moon slices with the grain; 10 ounces mushrooms, sliced thin; 6 cloves garlic (about 1/2 of a medium garlic head), coarsely chopped; 1 bell pepper, cut in approximate 2-inch strips; 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1/2 cup red wine (or skip the wine and use 2 tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar); 28 ounces crushed tomatoes; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped; 1/2 cup mixed pitted green olives and kalamata (swap out with your favorite kinds; 1 teaspoon capers, unrinsed; 1 teaspoon sea salt (more or less to taste); 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, roughly chopped; a few fresh basil leaves

Description

Hearty and satisfying, Chicken Cacciatore is a rustic Italian classic. Serve on its own with crusty sourdough, pair with creamy polenta or over your favorite pasta. An easy comforting, meal the whole family with enjoy!

Ingredients

Units Scale

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or 4 large chicken breasts, or whole chicken parts: legs, wings, breast, and thighs, feel free to use skinless.)
1 yellow onion, sliced in half-moon slices with the grain
10 ounces mushrooms, sliced thin
6 cloves garlic (about 1/2 of a medium garlic head), coarsely chopped
1 bell pepper, cut in approximate 2-inch strips
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup red wine (or skip the wine and use 2 tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar)
28 ounces crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 cup mixed pitted green olives and kalamata (swap out with your favorite kinds
1 teaspoon capers, unrinsed
1 teaspoon sea salt (more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, roughly chopped
a few fresh basil leaves

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Instructions

Pat the chicken dry. Season with salt and pepper. With a tablespoon of olive oil sear chicken on medium high heat 3 minutes each side, until a gold crust forms. Set chicken aside. (If using chicken with the skin on, it will produce more oil, you can drain oil from pan, if needed, leave about a tablespoon or two in the pan.)
In the same pan, sauté onions, mushrooms in olive oil (or use left over chicken oil) for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add garlic, bell pepper and red pepper flakes, saute for 1 minute more.
Lower the heat and add wine, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, rosemary, olives, capers, salt and pepper. Stir to fully combine.
Place seared chicken in the sauce. Simmer 25 minutes. Leave uncovered, though splatter screen is nice as it will sputter a bit. Test the internal temperature of the chicken, we are going for 165F. Simmer longer if needed. Bone-in thighs may take up to 35 minutes. Chicken breast will cook faster, 15-20 minutes.
Stir in fresh parsley and scatter fresh basil leaves over the top. Serve over pasta, creamy polenta or just enjoy with a crusty loaf of bread!

Notes

Leftovers keep well in the fridge for 3 days.

Use chicken thighs, breast, or even the whole bird. Leaving the skin on can create a more tender moist meat, but really it is quite delicious with skinless chicken breast as well. If going for the whole bird you will want to wait to add the breasts near the end to avoid overcooking and drying out.

Nutrition

Serving Size:
Calories: 472
Sugar: 9.7 g
Sodium: 697.6 mg
Fat: 26.6 g
Saturated Fat: 4.5 g
Carbohydrates: 18.4 g
Fiber: 4.6 g
Protein: 41.6 g
Cholesterol: 167.9 mg