This recipe is an amazing and easy recipe that will impress everyone. The list of ingredients in this recipe seem to go on and on, but many are things you probably already have in your pantry and fridge already. You will be amazed at how easy this recipe is to put together and the amazing flavours that come out of this dish. This Classic Chicken Cacciatore is quite simple to make because most of the cooking time is spent in the oven, blending all of the amazing flavours. Try it today!
For a more detailed step-by-step procedure, scroll past the recipe card.
Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Legs, drum and thigh attached
- 1/4 cup Flour
- 2 tsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Onion, sliced or medium dice
- 1 cup Button Mushrooms, quartered
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 Yellow or Orange Pepper, sliced
- 1 Red Pepper, sliced
- 1 Tbsp Rosemary
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 tsp Thyme
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Cup Dry White Wine
- 1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 Cup Chicken Broth
- 1.5 cups Tomatoes, diced, or blitzed
- 1/2 cup Olives, black or green
- 1/2 bunch Flat-Leaf Parsley
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F
- In an oven safe, deep and large frying pan or dutch-oven, heat the olive oil and butter on medium high.
- In a large bowl, mix flour with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.
- Drench each piece of chicken in flour then sear in frying pan, turning over to brown on all sides, remove chicken.
- In the same pan, turn heat to medium, add onions and mushrooms, sauté for 5 minutes, then add the peppers and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 5 more minutes.
- Add the herbs, wine, vinegar, chicken stock and tomatoes scraping the bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the chicken back to the pan, covering with the sauce. Sprinkle the olives all over the top.
- Transfer pan to oven, uncovered and cook for 30 minutes. Turn chicken over, then bake for another 30 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven, taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if needed. Top with chopped flat-leaf parsley.
- Serve with your favourite side dish. (There are many options written below recipe!)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 749Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 378mgSodium: 698mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 4gSugar: 7gProtein: 74g
We are not certified nutritionists and make no claims to be so. The nutritional information given here is intended for informational purposes only. These nutritional calculations are rounded numbers dependant on the certain ingredients and amounts in the recipe and are by no means perfect.
What is Chicken Cacciatore?
Chicken Cacciatore is an Italian stewed chicken dish made with tomatoes, herbs, white (or red) wine, mushrooms, peppers and olives. Cacciatore means ‘hunter’ in Italian. Back when food used to be prepared in a ‘hunter-style’ it traditionally contained mushrooms and tomatoes. So basically, anything can be done ‘hunter-style’ and called a Cacciatore!
What to serve with Chicken Cacciatore?
Chicken cacciatore is an amazingly flavoured white wine tomato sauce, and because of its depth and texture, this dish can be served with a numerous amount of sides. The three main sides we would suggest serving with Chicken Cacciatore would be pasta, polenta or potatoes. You could even use a crusty french bread, to dip into the thick flavourful sauce.
Pasta: you can serve on any shaped noodles, such as spaghetti or rotini. A lighter pasta option is to serve it over buttered egg noodles.
Polenta: you could use a plain creamy polenta recipe, or try adding honey and rosemary to the finished side dish to make the Cacciatore flavours pop.
Potatoes: we would suggest using mashed so the sauce can be used as a type of gravy for the potatoes.
If you are looking for healthier options to pair with Chicken Cacciatore, maybe try quinoa, rice or steamed vegetables, like broccolini or spinach.
What Ingredients are in Chicken Cacciatore?
- 4 Chicken Legs
- Flour
- Olive Oil + Butter
- Onion
- Button Mushrooms
- Garlic
- Yellow or Orange and Red Peppers
- Rosemary
- Bay Leaf
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Red Pepper Flakes
- White Wine – Dry, not sweet
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Chicken Broth – Homemade or store bought
- Canned Tomatoes – diced, or whole and cut up
- Olives- black or green
- Flat-Leaf Parsley
Substitutes
Chicken Drums – Use Chicken Thighs, or Breasts or a combination of all 3!
Flour – Just omit the flour, the sauce will not be as thick, and the chicken not as crisp, but will still be delicious!
White wine – Use red wine, the outcome will be a deeper flavour, but just as tasty!
How to Make Classic Chicken Cacciatore:
When cooking something in the oven, always start by pre-heating it.
Pre-Heat oven to 350F
In an oven-safe, deep and large frying pan or dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter on medium-high. Heating olive oil and butter at the same time give your dish the nice buttery flavour of butter but allows you to cook at a higher heat by adding the oil, its a win-win.
In a large bowl, season your flour by mixing it with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Coat each piece of chicken well, dust off the excess, then place in the hot frying pan. Turn the chicken over to brown all sides.
The flour will help to brown the chicken and add a layer of flavour and depth to your sauce. This part can be omitted if you are gluten-free, it is not necessary, but does add to a thicker sauce and deeper flavour.
Once the chicken is browned on all sides, remove it until the rest of the sauce is made. Turn the heat to medium, add the onions and mushrooms, and sautรฉ for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and garlic, season with salt and pepper. *You want to add the peppers and garlic after these because they take less time to cook.
Sautรฉ for 5 more minutes, then add herbs, wine, vinegar, chicken stock and tomatoes. This will deglaze the pan, meaning it will help release everything that is stuck to the bottom and add those flavours to the sauce, which is exactly what we want. So make sure to scrape the bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken back to the pan, making sure each piece is covered with the liquid.
Top with the olives and transfer the pan to the oven. Cook for 30 minutes then flip chicken using tongs and bake for another 30 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if needed. Sprinkle with chopped flat-leaf parsley, and serve with your favourite side dish.
Can I make Chicken Cacciatore in the Slow Cooker?
YES! Once the chicken is browned in a frying pan, transfer it to a slow cooker. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping all of the tasty bits off the bottom of the pan, and pour into the slow cooker. Top with the rest of the ingredients and turn on low. Making this classic chicken cacciatore recipe in a slow cooker will take 5 to 6 hours on the low setting.
Doing it this way will make the chicken quite a lot more tender. You have the option to shred the meat after cooking and adding it back into the sauce discarding the bones, or you can use chicken breasts.
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