Quick Summary
Chicken Cacciatore- a rustic Italian chicken dish made with onion, garlic, bell peppers, mushrooms, and simmered in a rich tomato sauce. This easy one pot meal is a family favorite.
This classic Chicken Cacciatore recipe, sometimes called Hunter’s chicken, is an easy one pot meal that the entire family will love!
The juicy chicken thighs are smothered in a rich tomato sauce with onion, garlic, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, capers, olives, and herbs. The flavors are perfection!
You can serve the chicken with pasta, rice, polenta, potatoes, or with a simple salad on the side. The dish is hearty, comforting, and will make your kitchen smell amazing.
This is one of those dinner recipes that you will make over and over again.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
- Chicken thighs– we use bone-in and skin-on, but you can use boneless or remove the skin. You can also use chicken breasts.
- Olive oil– for sautéing!
- Veggies– onion, carrot, red pepper, and mushrooms
- Garlic– we use 6 cloves of garlic and that might seem like a lot, but I promise you want a lot of garlic in this dish.
- Red wine– the wine makes the sauce rich and luxurious. You can swap white wine or if you don’t want to use white wine, you can use chicken broth.
- Crushed tomatoes– use fire roasted for more flavor!
- Olives– use pitted black olives or Kalamata olives, whatever you prefer.
- Capers– salty, zingy, and so good in this dish!
- Dried oregano– we use dried because we always have a bottle in our pantry.
- Crushed red pepper flakes– for a little heat.
- Fresh basil– fresh basil is the BEST! It makes the dish pop!
- Garnish– finish the chicken with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese!
How to Make Chicken Cacciatore
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Place the chicken thighs into the hot pan, skin side down, and sear for 3 to 5 minutes, without disturbing. Flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add the onion, carrot, red pepper, and mushrooms to the pan and sauté for 5 or until the vegetables are softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, olives, capers, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Use tongs to return the chicken thighs to the pan, making sure they are covered in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook on medium-low for 20 to 25 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and the internal temperature of the chicken thighs is 165°F.
- Stir in the fresh basil. Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese.
What to Serve with Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken cacciatore is usually served with pasta, but you can also serve it with spaghetti squash, polenta, zucchini noodles, mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes, rice, quinoa, or mashed cauliflower. Crusty bread is also a good idea, for sopping up all of that delicious sauce.
If you want to serve a few dishes on the side, here are some suggestions:
How to Store & Reheat
How to Store: Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
How to Freeze: Let the dish cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, place in the fridge overnight to thaw before reheating.
How to Reheat: I recommend reheating the chicken cacciatore in a a 350ºF degree oven. Place in a baking dish, cover with foil, and reheat until heated through, about 20 to 25 minutes. You can reheat in the microwave, but the chicken might dry out a bit.
More Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Easy Skillet Chicken Thighs
- Honey Mustard Chicken
- Lemon Butter Chicken
- Chicken Penne Pasta
Find all of our chicken recipes HERE!
Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup dry red wine
- 28 ounces crushed fire roasted tomatoes
- 1/2 cup pitted black olives or Kalamata olives
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- Garnish: fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Place the chicken thighs into the hot pan, skin side down, and sear for 3 to 5 minutes, without disturbing. Flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add the onion, carrot, red pepper, and mushrooms to the pan and sauté for 5 or until the vegetables are softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, olives, capers, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Use tongs to return the chicken thighs to the pan, making sure they are covered in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook on medium-low for 20 to 25 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and the internal temperature of the chicken thighs is 165°F.
- Stir in the fresh basil. Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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So perfectly cooked.
I made this yesterday, its so good! I swapped the wine for beef broth. My husband loved it.
Perfect! Thanks for reporting back.
Currently making. Should I make sure the chicken is 165 after I sear it and set it aside?I cooked the chicken thighs for 5 minutes on each side, but still saw some pink, which made me wonder if they are supposed to be fully cooked by searing or finish cooking while simmering in the sauce. Thanks!
Absolutely delicious. I didn’t have tomatoes so I used tomato paste and extra . Yum
Oops extra red wine. Yum