This is the perfect Chicken Cacciatore recipe with classic Italian flavors, made in one pot in 45 minutes. Everyone loves it every time I make it! I’m so excited that you get to try it!
Chicken Cacciatore is a rustic Italian chicken hunter-style stew with tomatoes and peppers. I love it because it’s super-simple to throw together for a cozy dinner and it makes great leftovers. I serve it over pasta, polenta, risotto, or in a bowl with crusty bread to sop up the sauce.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
- What Is Chicken Cacciatore?
- What Kind Of Chicken To Use in Cacciatore
- Which Vegetables To Use
- Cacciatore Seasonings
- Type of Wine To Use And Substitutions
- How To Make Chicken Cacciatore
- What To Serve With Chicken Cacciatore
- More Cozy Chicken Recipes
- Podcast Episode: Making Chicken Cacciatore
- Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
What Is Chicken Cacciatore?
Cacciatore means hunter in Italian, so this is a rustic hunter’s style dish. It’s a meal classically made with onions, tomatoes, and herbs and sometimes includes peppers and wine. The most popular kind of cacciatore these days is definitely chicken, but cacciatore can instead be made with rabbit, lamb, or potatoes as well.
What Kind Of Chicken To Use in Cacciatore
For this Chicken Cacciatore recipe, I prefer chicken thighs but there are other options.
- Chicken Thighs: I find that boneless skinless chicken thighs are the most convenient. You get lots of juicy flavor and don’t have to worry about the skin being soggy from simmering, or about dealing with bones.
- Whole Chicken: Traditionally this is a hunter-style chicken, so it would have instead be made with a whole chicken cut into pieces. You can either remove the skin before cooking, or instead, be sure to brown the skin very well during that initial browning step. If you use a chicken cut into pieces, nothing about the recipe has to change except that you will cut up a whole chicken, and you will simmer the stew for an extra 15 minutes.
- Bone-In Chicken Thighs, Drumsticks, and Chicken Leg Quarters: Like if using a whole chicken, if using any of these bone-in cuts, you’ll also simmer for that additional 15 minutes. And, if using skin-on pieces, you can either remove the skin before cooking, or instead, be sure to brown the skin very well during that initial browning step.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: I don’t really like using chicken breast in this recipe. It’s a bit drier and doesn’t hold up as well to simmering. Having said that, when I do have boneless skinless chicken breasts and am craving this, I find it best to cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces before cooking. Then follow the recipe as instructed, browning the pieces of chicken breast, and removing, them, then adding the other ingredients and bringing it all to a simmer. Then add the chicken back in and just simmer until no longer pink inside, 4-5 minutes.
Which Vegetables To Use
I love the vegetables in cacciatore. This recipe has onions, green bell peppers, and tomatoes in it, so I really don’t feel the need to make an extra vegetable for a side dish. Some people enjoy adding in mushrooms to their cacciatore as well. If I have them, I leave the small ones whole and cut larger ones in halves or quarters. Then I add them when I add the peppers.
The tomatoes for this recipe actually come in three forms: diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.
Cacciatore Seasonings
As far as seasoning, I grab my homemade Italian seasoning blend and use 2 teaspoons of it. Store bought Italian seasoning will also work. If you don’t have one of those, use the following:
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp. dried parsley
- 1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
- 1/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Those seasonings along with the fresh garlic, salt, and black pepper, make this such a wonderfully seasoned Italian dish.
Type of Wine To Use And Substitutions
The recipe below calls for a cup of red wine. But you can use white wine instead, or I have a good non-alcoholic substitution for you.
- Red Wine: Choose a red wine that you like the flavor of, but don’t go with anything sweet. Sangiovese or Chianti are great Italian red wines to use. A merlot or a shiraz will also work though.
- White Wine: Choose a white wine that you like the taste of, but don’t go with anything sweet. A pinot grigio is a great Italian white wine to try. Or you can use a sauvignon blanc. I’d avoid an oakier-tasting chardonnay since it can be overpowering.
- Wine Substitution: If you don’t want to use wine, that’s totally fine as well. The easiest thing to do is to pour a tablespoon of red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, or balsamic vinegar into a one-cup measuring cup. Then make up the rest of the 1 cup with unsalted chicken stock.
How To Make Chicken Cacciatore
You’ll start by searing the chicken over medium-high heat in olive oil, to get some nice brown color and caramelized flavor. I find that a Dutch oven, like this works best for cooking this since it heats really evenly so the chicken sears nicely, but there’s enough room in the pot to make the sauce too. If your chicken is going to be crowded in your pot, you should do this in two batches. That way the chicken won’t steam and will be able to brown better.
Once seared, remove the chicken so that you can sauté the onion and pepper. Then add in the garlic and seasonings. Next comes the tomatoes in all three forms, and the wine, before putting the chicken back in the pot.
Once the chicken is added back into the sauce, simmer it uncovered so that the chicken finishes cooking while the sauce reduces a bit. It will take about 20 minutes.
If you like a thicker sauce, you can mix together some cornstarch and water. Then stir that into the simmering sauce and continue to stir for a few minutes as the sauce thickens. Taste the sauce and add more salt, if desired.
What To Serve With Chicken Cacciatore
Once the dish is done, I serve it over whatever I feel like, which is often rice, pasta, mashed potatoes, or polenta. It’s also great ladled into a bowl and served with crusty bread on the side. Feel free to sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top or garnish with fresh parsley. So good!
More Cozy Chicken Recipes
Browse our full collection of 70+ delicious chicken recipes or try one of the favorites below.
- Juicy Pulled Chicken Recipe
- Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan
- Chicken Thigh Curry Recipe
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Thighs
- Smothered Chicken Thighs
Podcast Episode: Making Chicken Cacciatore
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
This is the perfect Chicken Cacciatore recipe with classic Italian flavors, made in one pot in 45 minutes. Everyone loves it every time I make it! I’m so excited that you get to try it!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 2 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup red wine*
- 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch (optional)
- 2 Tbsp. water (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large sauce pot or Dutch oven until hot. Add the chicken thighs and cook until well-browned underneath, 4-5 minutes. Flip chicken and cook until brown on the other side, another 3-4 minutes. (Note that you may need to do this in 2 batches so as to not crowd the pan. If the chicken is crowded, it will steam instead of brownin. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium and add the onion and bell pepper to the pot. Cook, stirring often, until softened and slightly brown, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the garlic, salt, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Cook while stirring for 30 seconds.
- Add the diced tomatoes, wine, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Stir to combine.
- Add the chicken back to the pot, increase the heat to high, and, while stirring often, bring the mixture up to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through to 165°F and the sauce has reduced a bit, about 20 minutes.
- If you would like the sauce to be thicker, in a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water until smooth. Stir it into the pot and stir and cook until sauce has thickened, 2-3 minutes.
- Taste the sauce and add more salt, if desired.
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Notes
*Instead of red wine, you can use 1 cup of unsalted chicken stock or broth mixed with 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar.
Tasted great! Easy to make and my kid liked it 😀
Yay! Happy to hear it, Ed. 🙂