This chicken cacciatore recipe is simple—it’s just chicken simmered with onions, bell peppers and mushrooms in a robust tomato sauce. But the ingredients combine to create a rustic stew with hearty, rich, complex flavors.
Chicken cacciatore embodies simple, rustic Italian comfort food at its best. This classic recipe is guaranteed to warm your soul even before you taste it. The enticing aroma of chicken simmering with tomatoes, red wine, and Italian herbs fills the kitchen and sets the stage for a delicious meal. After about 90 minutes, the chicken becomes tender and the sauce develops a rich, savory flavor.Despite its complex taste, this hearty stew is surprisingly easy to prepare at home. Enjoy it as a comforting Sunday dinner, or elevate the dish by pairing it with homemade pasta for a truly special meal.
Dust the chicken with flour, and season with salt and pepper.
Chicken Cacciatore Ingredients
- Bone-in chicken: We recommend using bone-in chicken for this chicken cacciatore recipe. The bones add incredible depth to the sauce, and you won’t get the same result with boneless chicken. Instead of buying chicken pieces, try cutting up a whole chicken at home. It’s more economical than buying chicken pieces, and you’ll end up with a nice assortment of white and dark meat.
- All-purpose flour: Dusting the chicken pieces with flour gives them a lightly breaded texture. The flour also helps thicken the sauce to the perfect level.
- Vegetables: We use onion, celery, green pepper and mushrooms. If you’re not a fan of green pepper, feel free to substitute a red, yellow or orange pepper.
- Herbs and garlic: Dried thyme, rosemary, oregano and basil, along with minced garlic cloves, lend classic Italian flavor to this savory recipe for chicken cacciatore.
- Tomatoes: A combination of chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste creates a layered texture in the sauce. You can substitute diced tomatoes or stewed tomatoes if you don’t want to chop whole peeled tomatoes.
- Red wine: You can use water if you prefer not to cook with alcohol, but red wine deepens the sauce’s rich character.
Directions
Step 1: Brown the chicken
Dust the chicken with flour, and season with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet, brown the chicken on all sides in oil and butter over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken to a platter.
Editor’s Tip: Even if you can fit all the chicken pieces into the skillet, it’s better to work in batches. If there isn’t enough room between the pieces, the chicken will steam instead of brown and caramelize.
Step 2: Make the sauce
In the same skillet, cook and stir the onion, celery, pepper and mushrooms for five minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, wine, thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil, garlic and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil. Then, reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Simmer the chicken
Return the chicken to the skillet. Cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
Serve the chicken and sauce with Parmesan cheese and hot pasta.
Recipe Variations
- Add olives or capers: To give the chicken cacciatore recipe a briny finish, add chopped olives or drained capers during the last 10 minutes.
- Kick up the heat: Add a little spice with crushed red pepper flakes or chopped Calabrian chiles.
- Finish with fresh herbs: Garnish the chicken with fresh herbs like chopped basil, parsley or oregano.
Ingredients
- 1 broiler/fryer chicken (3-1/2 to 4 pounds), cut up
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, sliced
- 1 large green pepper, cut into strips
- 1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes, drained and chopped
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
- 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine or water
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Hot cooked pasta
- Grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
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- Dust chicken with flour. Season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, brown chicken on all sides in oil and butter over medium-high heat. Remove chicken to platter.
- In the same skillet, cook and stir the onion, celery, pepper and mushrooms for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, wine, herbs, garlic and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Return chicken to skillet. Cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until chicken is tender. Serve over pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition Facts
1 serving: 517 calories, 25g fat (8g saturated fat), 112mg cholesterol, 790mg sodium, 28g carbohydrate (13g sugars, 6g fiber), 39g protein.
