If you’re looking for a meal that feels like a splurge, look no further! Chicken Cacciatore is a wonderfully flavorful dish that’s ready to eat in just one hour. This one-pan chicken cacciatore recipe is savory and succulent thanks to juicy chicken thighs, budget-friendly canned tomatoes, earthy mushrooms, and briny capers. It’s a real weeknight hero.
WHat Is Chicken Cacciatore?
Chicken Cacciatore is an Italian dish made from chicken braised in a tomato-based sauce with onion, garlic, mushrooms, bell peppers, wine, and capers. It’s a classic and simple dish that’s hearty enough to fill your grumbling belly!
Ingredients for Chicken Cacciatore
Here’s what you’ll need to make Chicken Cacciatore:
- Chicken Thighs: Bone-in, skin-on thighs add a lot of extra flavor to this dish, but you can also use boneless, skinless thighs.
- Salt and Pepper: Salt and pepper are classic seasonings that enhance the flavor of the chicken.
- All-Purpose Flour: A little bit of flour helps to seal in moisture and creates a crispy crust on the chicken.
- Olive Oil: Olive oil (or cooking oil of your choice– vegetable or canola can help cut costs) helps everything cook without burning.
- Onion and Garlic: Alliums are classic flavor enhancers that create a savory base for this dish.
- Baby Bella Mushrooms: These mushrooms have a mild flavor and a meaty texture that adds a wonderful earthy component to the dish.
- Bell Pepper: Red bell pepper adds a delightful crunch and a fresh and vegetal flavor. You could also use a yellow or orange pepper.
- Red Wine: Adds a touch of acidity that balances the flavor of the sauce.
- Crushed Tomatoes: A 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes forms the base of the sauce.
- Capers: Capers add a briny brightness to the dish. Chopped green olives make a great substitute in a pinch!
- Chopped Fresh Herbs: Garnishing this dish with plenty of basil or parsley is a great way to freshen things up. A pinch or two of the dried stuff will also work.
What To Serve with Chicken Cacciatore
We love to serve chicken cacciatore with plain pasta, Pasta Primavera, Mushroom Rice, Balsamic Roasted Vegetables, or over a bed of Creamy Polenta. It’s also great served with a crunchy salad and a side of No-Knead Bread for sopping up all of that delicious sauce!
Can I Omit the Wine?
You can absolutely omit the red wine to make this dish more budget-friendly or to suit your personal preferences. Red cooking wine is a great cheaper alternative that lasts for a long time in the pantry, or you can simply use chicken broth.
HOW TO USE LEFTOVER CAPERS
You’ll likely have leftover capers after making this chicken cacciatore. Leftover capers can be stored, submerged in their brine, in the refrigerator for several months as well. I highly suggest making a batch of Chicken Piccata or Pasta Puttanesca with your leftover capers, but they’re also great when added to pasta salads, tuna salad, deviled eggs, or potato salad.
How to Store Leftovers
Once cooked and cooled, this chicken cacciatore can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for longer storage. Reheat in a saucepan until warmed through and bubbling. It’ll stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months and can be thawed overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Chicken Cacciatore
Servings 6Ingredients
- 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs ($6.65)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.04)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour ($0.05)
- 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided ($0.36)
- 1/2 onion, chopped ($0.20)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced ($0.32)
- 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced ($2.69)
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced ($1.59)
- 1/2 cup red wine ($0.94)
- 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes ($1.89)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp capers ($0.42)
- Fresh basil or parsley (to garnish)
Instructions
- Place the chicken thighs in a bowl. Toss with the salt, pepper, and flour until fully coated.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once heated, add in the chicken thighs, cooking on both sides until browned. Then, transfer to a plate.
- Add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the onion, and a sprinkle of salt. Cook for a few minutes until softened.
- Add in the garlic, mushrooms, and red bell pepper. Sprinkle with more salt and cook for 3-4 minutes until the mushrooms are tender.
- Pour in the red wine and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add in the crushed tomatoes and capers.
- Return the chicken thighs to the pan, bring the mixture to a simmer, and cover the pan, cooking for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is tender. Uncover the pan, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped fresh basil or parsley.
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Nutrition
how to make Chicken Cacciatore – step by step photos
Place 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs in a bowl. Toss with 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour until fully coated.
Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once heated, add in the chicken thighs, cooking on both sides until browned. Then, transfer to a plate.
Add in 1 Tbsp of olive oil, 1/2 of a chopped onion, and a sprinkle of salt. Cook for a few minutes until softened.
Add in 4 minced cloves garlic, 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, and 1 sliced red bell pepper. Sprinkle with more salt and cook for 3-4 minutes until the mushrooms are tender.
Pour in 1/2 cup red wine and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add in 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes and 1 1/2 Tbsp capers.
Return the chicken thighs to the pan, bring the mixture to a simmer, and cover the pan, cooking for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is tender. Uncover the pan, and cook for another 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh basil or parsley, if desired.
This delectable chicken cacciatore is going to be a staple in your weekly rotation; I just know it!
What is a good Italian salad to go with chicken cacciatore? Can it be made in a crockpot?
I would go for our Caesar Salad or Antipasto Salad! I’m sure you could do this in the crockpot, but I wouldn’t skip the step of coating the chicken and browning it. You could do that in a skillet before transferring it to the crockpot and adding the rest of the ingredients. You could try cooking on high for 2 hrs or low for 4 hours, but keep in mind we have not tried this so I’d keep an eye on it the first time and make sure to test for doneness.
This dish was delicious, I would just say, the next time I make it I will individually coat the chicken in flour rather than toss them in the bowl. I like having more coating + crispy skin and I felt tossing them in the bowl didn’t give enough coating, but other than that it was amazing
Made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit! My family barely talked while we ate which says a lot haha! This recipe is definitely going in rotation!
I made this last night and served it with creamy polenta. Everyone licked their plates clean!
Delicious recipe, thank you! I was very surprised by the depth of flavor despite having no herbs (except for garnish). The wine and a good olive oil are a must. I think some red pepper flakes would go well if you like a little heat.
This is so exciting. I look forward to Krista’s recipes! I’ve made my grocery list for the week with this recipe in mind. Thank you!
I visited this website on 01/29/2024 to see if there was a recipe for chicken cacciatore…imagine my surprise when it was smack at the top of the page and published that same day! Great minds think alike