The BEST Chicken Cacciatore in a rich and rustic sauce with chicken falling off the bone is simple Italian comfort food at its best!
Authentic Chicken Cacciatore is an Italian classic and makes for an incredible dinner. You’ll never get a more succulent home cooked meal than this recipe! Easy to make and loved by the entire family, Cacciatore aromas fill your entire house with comfort and warmth as it cooks itself on the stove or in the oven!
Chicken Cacciatore
Cacciatore means hunter in Italian, and alla cacciatora translates to a ‘hunter-style’ meal with chicken (or rabbit), onions, tomatoes, herbs, vegetables, and usually wine or vinegar.
This is one of those recipes I found years ago in an old, tattered Italian cookbook. Every time I’d remake it through the years, I’d adjust something in it to eventually reach a cacciatore recipe so perfect, it’s one recipe your entire family will look forward too!
HOW DO YOU MAKE CHICKEN CACCIATORE?
This Chicken Cacciatore recipe is an easy throw-together-meal with the most delicious sauce full of incredible flavours!
Simply heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a skillet and sear chicken thighs until golden. It takes about 3-4 minutes on each side, then you’ll finish them off in the beautiful rustic cacciatore sauce.
What is cacciatore sauce made of?
Chicken Cacciatore sauce is a full-flavoured sauce using simple ingredients. Onion and garlic are sautéed in oil in the same skillet with bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms and herbs. I love using brown mushrooms in this cacciatore.
Dry red wine is then added into the skillet and gently simmered to scrape up any browned bits leftover from the chicken in the skillet. Continue cooking until the wine is reduced by at least half.
The result? The most incredible rustic tomato Cacciatore sauce simmering and soaking into juicy chicken thighs until they fall off the bone and melt in your mouth!
Wine Pairing:
- Chianti Classico
- Pinot Noir
- Lambrusco
What is a good side dish for Chicken Cacciatore
Regular sides for chicken Cacciatore:
For Low Carb:
- Cauliflower rice
- Zucchini Noodles
- Steamed vegetables
If there are any leftovers, the flavours are even better the next day! Or you can freeze it for up to three months in meal prep containers for a ready-made-meal when you need it!
More Italian-inspired recipes:
One Pan Tomato Basil Chicken & Rice
Mozzarella Meatballs In Tomato Sauce
Best Lasagna
Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 6 bone-in skinless chicken thighs
- 1 pinch salt to season
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced, or 6 cloves
- 1 small yellow bell pepper diced
- 1 small red bell pepper diced
- 1 large carrot peeled and sliced
- 10 ounces mushrooms sliced
- ½ cup pitted black olives
- 8 sprigs thyme
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley plus more to garnish
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 150 ml red wine
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 7 ounces Roma tomatoes halved
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy cast iron skillet. Sear chicken on both sides until golden, about 3-4 minutes each side. Remove from skillet and set aside.
- Add remaining oil to the pan. Sauté the onion until transparent, about 3-4 minutes. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the peppers, carrot, mushrooms and herbs; cook for 5 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.
- Pour in the wine, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook until wine is reduced, about 2 minutes.
- Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Roma tomatoes and chill flakes. Season with salt and pepper to your tastes. Return chicken pieces to the skillet and continue to cook over stove top OR in the oven following the instructions below.
FOR STOVE TOP:
- Mix all of the ingredients together; cover with lid, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer (while stirring occasionally) for 40 minutes or until the meat is falling off the bone. Add in the olives, allow to simmer for a further 10 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
FOR THE OVEN:
- Transfer the covered skillet to a preheated oven at 375°F (190°C) and cook for 50 minutes. Remove the lid, add in the olives and cook for an additional 20 minutes until the chicken is tender and falling off the bone, and the sauce has reduced.
Notes
TO MAKE AHEAD:
This chicken cacciatore can be made up to 1 day ahead, cooled, covered and refrigerated. Rewarm over low-medium heat.
TO FREEZE:
Transfer the cooled cacciatore into an air tight container and transfer to the freezer. The day of serving, thaw it out in the morning and bring to room temperature. Transfer to a skillet / pan and reheat over low-medium heat until warmed through. For the slow cooker use this Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore recipe!
Marissa says
Does the crushed red pepper make it spicy?
Ray says
Made this today. I have made chicken cacciatore before and I liked my recipe. But, I’m going to replace my old recipe with this one. This is really good. I try to follow the recipe exactly to assess it as-is. Of course, it is not always possible. I made a small batch, for two, and omitted the olives for no good reason. The result was first class, dinner guest worthy and better than that I’ve had in family owned Italian restaurants. Can’t wait to make again, this time opening up a can of olives!
Sylvia says
This recipe is great! I used pork meatballs instead of chicken, but it turned out really tasty. I drizzled a little bit of olive oil over the top as a garnish at the table, and that really gave it that extra olive flavour. This recipe is a keeper!
S Dutdra says
It’s simmering now. Sauce taste and smells wonderful. I followed recipe, used 4 bone in skin on thighs and 3 large boneless skinless breasts (cut in half). Will cool and reheat tomorrow for family dinner gathering & serve over egg noodle pasta with garlic french bread & green salad. So glad I made a day early. It did take me more time to prep all the ingredients before I started cooking (about 1+ hours) so give yourself time. Went very fast once I actually started to put it all together. Tomorrow will be a snap. Thanks for this delicious recipe.
Joanna A says
I’ve made this twice. I used San Marzano tomatoes and added another pound of mushrooms only because I like them. I grate a little parmesan cheese on top before eating. This is a great recipe. Not only is it delicious but it’s healthy and low calorie. When dieting I’ll eat this with a salad. Best diet dinner ever.
Jeff Moody says
Man, oh man, was this good. I did the slow cooker version and it wad fantastic. I left off a few things lke the mushrooms and olives and ted wine. I made some rice to go with it and boom, there you have a complete meal. This was very simple and for working people, the slow cooker version is perfect. Will definitely be doing this again.
Connie says
The sauce is a bit bitter. What can I add to counter act the bitterness?
Lucia Gibbons says
I just got a new le creuset pot and could not wait to try it with a chicken cacciatore recipe for my husband. He never had it. I am pescatarian now, but fondly remember loving when my mom made this. I have most of her recipes, but not for this. I researched many recipes and chose this one. I followed almost exactly. The only change I made was to remove the chicken at 30 minutes and let the sauce reduce uncovered for about 10 minutes before adding back the olives and chicken and letting it cook another 10 minutes uncovered. My husband said it was amazing! It looked awesome. Will definitely make again and again!
Eileen says
Definitely the best chicken cacciatore recipe I’ve found. I used to make this years ago with whole chicken parts and was looking for a recipe similar to the one I used to use. I searched lots of different web sites and this one was very true to the way I used to make it. To keep WW points down I used boneless chicken thighs and it was wonderful. The kalamata olives add so much flavor!! It was a little more watery than I wanted and since I was making it ahead of time for a dinner party I let it cook down a bit and that was perfect. This is a keeper. I will definitely be coming back to your site for other recipes. Thanks!!!!
Bernie says
I made this to your recipe and it was delicious, iused tagliatelli.