This easy Chicken Cacciatore recipe makes a delicious, comforting meal of tender chicken in a rustic tomato sauce. It’s a classic Italian favorite that’s simple to prepare in less than an hour.
Savory Chicken Cacciatore features browned chicken that’s then simmered until it’s fall-off-the-bone tender in a mouthwatering sauce of tomatoes, mushrooms, and fresh herbs and spices. Serve over brown rice, white rice, noodles, on top of mashed potatoes, or with a slice of crusty bread!
Chicken cacciatore is a delicious one-dish meal of chicken and a rustic cacciatore sauce. Cacciatore, an Italian word meaning “hunter” or “hunter-style”, is traditionally chicken (or rabbit) cooked in a rich, simple sauce. It’s usually made with chicken thighs, but use whatever type of chicken your family loves – chicken thighs, legs, breasts, or even a combination.
The aroma of this classic chicken cacciatore bubbling away on the stove will entice everyone to the table. It is the best chicken cacciatore!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- Delicious Dinner Recipe – This recipe makes a flavorful meal great for serving as a family meal or when serving guests.
- Easy One Dish Meal – Ready in less than an hour, this is an easy meal made in one skillet!
- Make Ahead and Freezer Friendly – Perfect for making ahead to have on hand for a busier weeknight or to freeze for later.
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
- Olive oil
- Chicken – use whatever cut of chicken you prefer. I love to use chicken thighs, legs, or breasts.
- Salt and pepper
- Onion and Celery – add texture and flavor.
- Garlic – this recipe uses minced garlic cloves. You can substitute the garlic, salt, and pepper with 1 1/2 teaspoons of Stone House Seasoning if you prefer.
- Parsley – you can use fresh chopped parsley or dried parsley.
- Rosemary – you can use fresh rosemary or dried rosemary.
- Red pepper flakes – add flavor and a bit of warm spice to the recipe. If you are sensitive to it, you can leave it out.
- Mushrooms – sliced mushrooms add to the rustic, rich flavor and texture.
- Bell pepper – adds flavor and texture to the recipe. I prefer to use green bell pepper in this dish.
- Chicken stock or broth – adds a rich, deep flavor to the final dish.
- Crushed tomatoes – These are preferred, but if you don’t have crushed tomatoes, you can use small diced tomatoes or even tomato sauce.
How to Make Chicken Cacciatore
Brown the chicken. Start by adding olive oil to a large skillet. Add chicken to the skillet and brown it as directed. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate and set aside.
Saute the onion, celery, and garlic according to the recipe. Then, add the remaining ingredients for the sauce to the skillet.
Reduce the sauce. Cook until the sauce has reduced by half.
Add back the chicken. Reduce the heat to low, add the chicken and juices from the plate back into the skillet.
Cover and cook the chicken until it’s done as detailed in the recipe instructions. Then, remove the skillet from the heat and serve.
Recipe Tip
Make it Ahead! While this only takes a bit under an hour to cook, you may want this comforting meal on a busy weeknight. After you cook and cool it completely, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four to five days. Then reheat according to recipe instructions when ready to serve.
What To Serve With Chicken Cacciatore
- Rice – either white rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice
- Mashed potatoes
- Pasta – Wide noodles or zucchini noodles
- Bread – Crusty bread or dinner rolls – You’ll want to sop up this delicious sauce!
Storage Tips
To make ahead. Prepare the recipe as instructed. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four to five days. When ready to serve, reheat on the stove or in the microwave until the chicken registers 165º F when checked with an internal meat thermometer.
To store leftover chicken cacciatore. Allow to cool and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for four to five days. When ready to serve, reheat on the stove or in the microwave until the chicken registers 165º F when checked with an internal meat thermometer.
To freeze chicken cacciatore. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Label and freeze for up to three months. To serve, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat and serve following the instructions for make-ahead chicken cacciatore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken Cacciatore is a classic Italian comfort food. Cacciatore means “hunter or huntsman” in English. This generally means a rustic meal of tomatoes, onions, and peppers, along with chicken or rabbit.
Absolutely! Let it cool completely after cooking, then put it in an air tight, freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
More Italian Style Recipes
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Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 pieces chicken, thighs, legs, or breasts
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons parsley , chopped fresh or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon rosemary , chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
- 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth, or broth
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
Instructions
- Brown the chicken. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Then, add the chicken and cook until browned on one side, about 3 to 5 minutes, before turning onto the other side and browning. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate and set aside. Repeat until all of the chicken has been browned.
- Saute onion, celery and garlic. Reduce the heat to the skillet and add the remaining olive oil to the skillet. Stir in the onion, celery and garlic and cook until the vegetables have softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients. Add the parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Add the chicken stock and crushed tomatoes.
- Reduce the sauce. Cook until the sauce has reduced by half.
- Add back the chicken. Reduce the heat to low add the chicken and juices from the plate back into the skillet.
- Cover and cook. cover and cook until the chicken registers 165ºF when checked with an internal meat thermometer. Remove from the heat and serve.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Hi Robyn I’m on weight watchers. I’m going to make this chicken cacciatore today, I’ll figure out the points. I plan to share this recipe at my meeting this evening. It looks delicious.
Thanks, Patricia, I hope everyone enjoys the cacciatore.
Delicious recipe. To add a few more veggies, I sautéd zucchini and yellow squash half moons to caramelize. This is a keeper. I love your recipes.
I like your additions of the zucchini and squash, Renee.
I made this for dinner tonight. I used all thighs. Followed recipe to a T and it came out perfect. Everyone is pleased and it is now in our meal rotation. Thank you!
Deborah, the last time I made this recipe, I used all thighs, too. So glad you loved it.
Easy to make and delicious! I used skinless thighs and it was perfect.
Hi Robyn
In regards to the question about crock pot prep for chicken cacciatore. There are a couple ways to handle the extra moisture which results from the process of the slow cooking. Many recipes for chicken cacciatore call for adding a slurry of cornstarch and water to the sauce at the end of cooking time. The other option is to create a roux of flour and butter as a thickener for the sauce. Either way, you will need to remove the sauce at the end of cooking in the crock pot to a pan to the stove top and thicken the sauce. I hope this makes sense and is helpful.
Looks great! Do you use bone-in or boneless chicken and does that affect the initial cooking time (5 minutes on each side)?
Hi Shari,
You can use bone-in or boneless chicken in this recipe, whichever you have on hand or prefer. It shouldn’t affect the initial cooking time as that is mainly to brown the meat on both sides. You’ll still have the chicken cooking for about 30 minutes at the final stage for this dish. You may want to use an internal temperature probe to verify the chicken is cooked to 165º F and adjust the final cooking time accordingly.
I hope you love it!
Robyn xo
Yum! Could you please tell me what type and style pan you are using to make this dish? Kinda looks like a grill pan. I want to buy a new enamel cast iron pan and that’s why I’m asking. Thanks
can this be made in a crock pot?
Hi Grace,
It can be made in the crock pot, but will produce a considerable amount more liquid than when cooked in the skillet. It is still delicious, but you’ll want to use a slotted spoon for serving over the rice (or at least I do!)
Thanks so much for the speedy reply
Robin, Under the ingredients, you have 1 tsp. of fresh chopped rosemary or 1 tsp. of dried parsley leaves. Is that correct or did you mean dried rosemary since you have parsley listed as the ingredient just above that?
Thanks!
Oh thank you so much for catching that, LaFern. I’d read and reread the recipe double checking it and totally missed that! Thank you for letting me know! I’ve updated it to correct. I did mean rosemary.
Made it tonight and this is so good! Thanks for the great recipe! I have way more than the two of us will eat so plan to freeze the rest in a vacuum seal bag for another meal later. 😀
Can you use skinless boneless breasts and thighs/
Hi Marleen,
You certainly can! I hope you enjoy it – it’s been a favorite of ours for a long time. Thanks!