Last updated on June 1st, 2018 at 09:01 am
This Chicken Cacciatore is a rustic, hearty chicken dish, a classic Italian comfort food made easy. It’s bursting with bright colors and fresh flavor.
I have a great recipe for you today that’s perfect for this time of year. Chicken Cacciatore is a classic Italian dish and cacciatore actually means hunter in Italian. Alla cacciatora referrs 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.
I love these types of rustic meals because they’re loaded with flavors and are so hearty and comforting. This chicken cacciatore is actually perfect over noodles or rice or even some nice creamy polenta.
You can use any part of the chicken you wish here, I chose some chicken wings and chicken drumsticks, but breasts or thighs would work just as well too. You do want to sear the meat first 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 chicken later in the oven. That’s the beauty of this dish, the chicken will cook with the veggies and everything else in the oven for 45 minutes until the chicken will literally fall off the bone. It’ll be crazy good.
To me this dish is also pretty healthy because it is loaded with veggies like mushrooms and lots of bell peppers. I used red, green and yellow bell peppers here for all the bright colors mostly, but obviously that’s optional and you can stick to just green bell peppers or whatever is cheaper.
There is a lot of flavor that also comes from the red wine, white wine would also work, I would go with a dry wine here. Then of course we have diced tomatoes, some tomato paste and herbs and spices. Delicious!
After you braise this in the oven, you will want to add those Kalamata olives to this dish because they will provide that extra saltiness and I simply love olives and will pretty much add them to anything.
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
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 onion medium, 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 dried oregano
- 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.
Video
Notes
★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
Originally shared Sept 17, 2013.
This. Looks. Incredible. Love all of the bold, rich flavors in here, and the olives are such a nice addition! Saving now!
Thanks, Karly!
I made this and then asked my husband if he liked it. I then kicked myself because he always says yes whether he likes it or not. I was impatient. If I really want to know if he likes something I have to wait for the unsolicited feedback or the trip for seconds. Well halfway through the bowl he said, “This is really good.” Cue the fireworks?
So I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, a 28oz can of tomatoes and a fennel bulb I needed to use up, and only one teaspoon of oregano? I also put mine over some leftover spaghetti squash (regular pasta for my hubs)
Great recipe! Thanks for another keeper!
LOL thanks for the giggle! Glad you guys liked it. 🙂
Totally wonderful – so many fabulous flavors –
This is the second recipe (first was pesto asparagus shrimp pasta) I have used from you this week and my husband and I have been extremely satisfied again! I used leftover fried chicken from the night before and it worked perfectly. Also, I was low on mushrooms and bell peppers but I added some French cut string beans and broccoli and they were a great addition to add more veggies to the dish!
Glad you liked it Becky!
I am going to make a substitute low sodium tomato sauce and no salt diced tomatoes. That will cut some of the salt as I have to watch sodium. Thank you for posting the nutrition on the recipe. It really helps me with substitutions.
Can you make this with chicken thighs? I’m not a huge fan of wings. Thank you!
Sure you can. Would turn out great. Changing up chicken pieces for what you like is always an option. Hope you try this and know you will enjoy it!
I love love love chicken cacciatore. Thanks for sharing this recipe =)
What wine did you use?
It doesn’t matter, you can use any white or red wine.
Question. If I want to roast a chicken tomorrow with frozen veggies – green runners and broccoli could I put balsamic over the veggies when roasting?
You probably could, should be fine. 🙂
hi, can i simmer this in a pot instead of popping it into the oven? because i dont have an oven! 😛
Sure you can, might want to cover the pot, so that the cheese melts, if you’re adding cheese.
Jo. I really need to know about the flour in the chocolate magic cake
Hi Judy
I answered your comment about the flour here http://www.jocooks.com/bakery/cakes/chocolate-magic-cake/#comment-27199