A Classic, Hearty Chicken Cacciatore
Break out your red checkered tablecloth, light some drippy candles and pour some good red wine—it’s time to feast like you’re at your favorite Italian restaurant (except you’ll be even more comfortable, because you’re at home in your soft pants). Shallots, garlic, red wine, tomatoes, olives and peppers swirl together to make an ultra-savory braising liquid for tender chicken thighs in this classic Italian dish. It’s a winter (or fall) warmer that we grew up eating and never get tired of. Grab some crusty bread to sop up all of those gorgeous juices, and let’s get cooking.
What Is Chicken Cacciatore?
And what does cacciatore mean? Chicken cacciatore originated in Italy, and is called chicken alla cacciatora, meaning “hunter-style chicken,” and was alternatively often made with rabbit. Marcella Hazan—we always, always turn to Marcella when we need to know the history of an Italian recipe—writes that because “there has always been a hunter in nearly every Italian household, every Italian cook prepares a dish with a claim to that description” chicken cacciatore can be prepared in a number of ways. But, it always involves tomatoes, onions, and other vegetables. Check, check and check! Sounds like even Marcella would consider our version of chicken cacciatore to be authentic, and that’s good enough for us.
Ingredients For The Very Best Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
You’ll notice that we’ve listed some of these ingredients as optional. In line with the Marcella Hazan quote above, this is a forgiving dish that’s meant to be made however *you* want to make it. Make it your own! Mold it to suit the tastes of your home. There’s no wrong way. What could be more inviting than that? Here’s everything you’ll need to make chicken cacciatore:
Chicken thighs. We’re calling for bone-in, skin-on thighs for this recipe.
Red bell pepper
Shallots
Crimini mushrooms
Garlic
Chicken stock
Red wine. We like to use something light, like Pinot Noir.
Italian seasoning
Canned crushed tomatoes
As for those optional ingredients we mentioned, they are:
Black olives, optional
Red pepper flakes
Fresh basil
Parmesan
Flour
How to Make Chicken Cacciatore
Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
*Optional step!* Dredge the chicken in flour.
Brown the chicken to get a nice crisp on the skin, and set it aside.
Sauté the bell pepper, shallots and mushrooms for a bit, then add the garlic.
Pour in the stock, red wine (some recipes call for white wine) and Italian herbs. If there’s any browned bits left on the bottom of the pan from cooking the chicken and veg, use your spoon to scrape them up and stir into the liquid to add flavor to your sauce. Add the chicken, and bring the whole thing to a good simmer. Reduce the liquid by about half.
In go the tomatoes and olives to make your tomato sauce. Simmer the whole pot until the internal temperature of the chicken thighs registers 165°F on an instant read thermometer.
*Optional step!* Garnish with fresh basil and optional parmesan cheese before serving.
*Not-optional step!* Mangia! That means eat up!
If you have leftovers, and that’s a big *if*, you can reheat in the oven or microwave until warmed through.
What to Serve With Chicken Cacciatore
Clearly, this is a hearty meal as-it, maybe served with just a basic green salad. But if you’re serving it to company—or just to a household with big appetites—you’ll want to add a few sides. Here are a few things we love to serve with chicken cacciatore:
Some More Of Our Favorite One-Pot Chicken Recipes
Once you one-pot, you can’t stop!
One-Pot Chicken with Creamed Kale which we love serving over White Rice
One Pot Creamy Mediterranean Chicken Pasta is made with chicken breasts and spaghetti noodles and has tons of flavor
One Pan Honey Mustard Chicken and Vegetables for a zesty and super healthy meal.
One-Pot Chicken Meatball and Green Curry Rice for a meatball variation!
There’s Pesto Zoodle Salad with Chicken for a fresh meal alternative with zucchini noodles.
And if you don’t feel like chicken tonight, you can make our Vegetable Lasagna!
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