This easy Chicken Cacciatore recipe is a rustic, hearty chicken dish, and a classic Italian comfort food made in one pot. It’s bursting with bright colors and fresh flavor.
I have a comforting recipe for you today that’s perfect for this time of year. It’s filling, full of awesome flavor, and loaded with veggies. This is one of those recipes that you can use up pretty much any of the leftover veggies that are hanging around in your fridge. Did I mention it’s also all done in one pot? Score!
What Is Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken Cacciatore is a classic Italian dish. Cacciatore actually translates to hunter in Italian. Alla cacciatora refers to a meal prepared “hunter-style” with tomatoes, onions, lots of herbs, bell peppers and wine. So there you have it, Chicken Cacciatore, hunter-style chicken.
How to Make Chicken Cacciatore
You can use any part of the chicken you wish here, I chose some chicken wings and drumsticks, but breasts or thighs would work just as well too.
You’ll start by seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper and searing the meat in the butter and oil until the chicken is nice and golden. But don’t worry about the chicken being cooked through because we are going to be braising this whole dish later in the oven. That’s the beauty of this dish, the chicken will cook with the veggies and everything else in the oven until the chicken literally falls off the bone. It’s so good!
Once the chicken has a nice sear, remove it from the pot. Add the onions and garlic and coon for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, or until they soften and shrink. Now you can add those beautiful peppers and cook them down for a few minutes until they soften.
Now you can dump the rest of the ingredients into the pot and stir well to combine. Add the chicken back and disperse each piece evenly. Cover your pot, and bake for 45 minutes.
Garnish this work of art with some Kalamata olives and parsley, and there you have it! Chicken cacciatore.
What Type of Wine Should I Use for Chicken Cacciatore
There is a lot of flavor that comes from the red wine in this dish. I like to use drier wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, or Zinfandel. White wine would also work, again I would go with a dry wine here like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay.
But wait, I don’t want to use any wine! Well, that’s totally okay. Use a cup of chicken broth with a tablespoon of vinegar. Any type of vinegar will work, however I prefer to use a red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar.
What Can I Serve With Chicken Cacciatore
This chicken cacciatore is actually perfect over noodles/pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, or even some nice creamy polenta.
Looking for a low carb option? Try it over zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice, or mashed cauliflower.
How to Store Chicken Cacciatore
Transfer any leftovers to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-4 days. If you plan on freezing this dish, I would suggest that you freeze it in individual servings. This is such a great way to have lunch or dinner prepped! Pop it in the microwave, and it will taste just as good as it was fresh out of the oven. Leftovers will last in the freezer for 3 months.
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Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 lb chicken wings and drumsticks
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 lb white mushrooms cleaned and chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper chopped
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp oregano dried
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes (1 can)
- 3/4 cup Kalamata olives pitted
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
- Add the olive oil and butter to a large oven-safe skillet with a lid, and heat until butter has melted.
- Add the chicken to the skillet and season generously with salt and pepper. Fry the chicken on both sides until golden, about 4 min per side. The chicken doesn't have to be cooked through, as it will continue cooking while in the oven. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add the garlic and onions to the skillet and saute for 2 minutes until the onion is translucent and the garlic becomes aromatic. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for 5 min until the mushrooms cook down then add the peppers. I like to cook my mushrooms first, but you could add the mushrooms and peppers all at once. Stir and cook for a couple more minutes until the peppers soften a bit.
- Add the turmeric, oregano, bay leaves, red wine, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes. Stir well and bring to a boil.
- Add the chicken back to the pot, cover with a lid and place in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour.
- Top with whole Kalamata olives and garnish with fresh parsley before serving.
- Serve over noodles, rice or polenta.
Easy and delicious!! I used 3lbs chicken (half thighs and half breasts and substituted black olives baked a little over an hour.
I followed the recipe exactly and my finished result ended up really watery, even though I let the skillet boil for quite some time before putting it in the oven. After pulling it out of the oven, I had to give it at least 15 mins extra on the stovetop to evaporate the excess liquid. I also added an extra tablespoon of tomato paste at this point to help thicken the sauce. The sauce eventually thickened up and the flavours were fantastic and the chicken was really moist, although the veg ended up a bit mushy with my extra sautéing. Next time I think I’ll leave the skillet uncovered for at least a portion of the time in the oven, or just let everything slow-simmer on the stovetop uncovered instead of using the oven. Thanks for the recipe!