Rustic Chicken Cacciatore

a reliable Chicken Cacciatore recipe in a rich and rustic sauce with chicken falling off the bone is simple Italian comfort food at its best!

Authentic Chicken Cacciatore is an Italian classic, and you'll never get a more succulent home cooked meal than this recipe! Easy to make and loved by the entire family, Cacciatore aromas fill your entire house with comfort and warmth as it cooks itself on the stove or in the oven!

Chicken Cacciatore

This is one of those dishes we found years ago in an old, tattered Italian cookbook. Every time we'd remake it through the years, we'd adjust something to eventually reach a reliable chicken cacciatore recipe! It is so good, it's one your entire family will look forward to.

This rustic chicken cacciatore is so good that we even created a slow cooker chicken cacciatore version to make it completely effortless.

What is chicken cacciatore?

Derived from the word 'caccia' cacciatore means 'hunter' in Italian, and alla cacciatora translates to a 'hunter-style' meal dating back to the Renaissance. This classic Italian dish has become a true Italian-American favorite, made with chicken (or rabbit), onions, tomatoes, herbs, vegetables, and usually wine or vinegar. It is good for serving alongside some crusty bread.

Pro Tip: This tomato sauce is incredibly versatile. If you have any leftovers, you can easily reuse it later in the week to bake over some spinach and ricotta stuffed pasta.

Ingredients for Chicken Cacciatore

• Chicken Thighs: Bone-in chicken thighs, or 'chicken thigh cutlets,' are our favorite choice here. When cooking Italian dishes with breaded chickenwe always go for chicken thighs since they are so much juicier without losing the tenderness of the meat.
• Mushrooms: We used brown mushrooms when cooking a creamy Stroganoff once, and we decided to add them to this cacciatore recipe too. You can skip them if you want, but we fully recommend adding them since they add an earthy taste and fit so well in the tomato sauce.
• Crushed Tomatoes: Italian canned tomatoes are our pick when creating the sauce because they have a naturally deep flavor. Passata is also a great option, but we'll stick with the crushed tomatoes for a better texture.

Note: See full list of Ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below.

How Do You Make Chicken Cacciatore?

This Chicken Cacciatore recipe is an easy throw-together meal with a good sauce full of good flavors! Garlic, bell peppers, onions, carrots, and olives swim in a rustic tomato cacciatore sauce, simmering and soaking into juicy chicken thighs until they fall off the bone and melt in your mouth.

We like to start by generously seasoning bone-in, skinless chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat up olive oil in a heavy cast iron skillet and get a good sear on both sides until a golden crust forms. Set the chicken aside on a plate.

In the same pan, sauté the diced onion until transparent. Toss in the garlic and let it cook just until fragrant. Next, stir in the bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, and herbs, letting the vegetables cook down until they soften.

Pour in the red wine to deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape up all those good browned bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Let the wine reduce.

Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Roma tomatoes, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Nestle the chicken pieces back into the skillet, making sure they are well coated in the sauce.

Cover the skillet, lower the heat, and let it simmer on the stove until the meat is incredibly tender. In the last ten minutes, stir in the black olives, garnish with fresh parsley, and serve right away!

Oven Method

If using the oven, preheat it to 375°F (190°C). Transfer the covered skillet to the oven and cook for 50 minutes. Uncover, stir in the black olives, and bake for an additional 20 minutes. This method helps thicken the sauce and ensures the chicken is exquisitely tender.

My Best Tips For Chicken Cacciatore

• Select the right chicken: We highly recommend using bone-in, skinless chicken thighs for the deepest flavor and juiciest meat. If you prefer to use chicken breasts, just keep a close eye on your cooking time so they do not dry out, as breast meat cooks much faster.
• Get the good sear: Make sure your skillet and oil are nice and hot before adding the chicken. Do not overcrowd the pan! If you pack too many pieces in at once, they will steam instead of getting that gorgeous golden brown crust.
• Thickening the sauce: If your sauce feels a little too thin for your liking, stir in two extra tablespoons of tomato paste while it simmers to thicken it right up.

Serve it with

Because this cacciatore has such an good tomato sauce, you definitely need something to finish every drop. For a classic dinner, we love serving it over pasta, simple rice, or a scoop of creamy mashed potatoes.

And, if you are like us and you love a low-carb option, we'll recommend pairing this recipe with zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice, or a few steamed vegetables.

A good Italian dinner is never complete without wine, so for wine we highly recommend pouring a glass of Chianti Classico, Pinot Noir, or Lambrusco.

Cook notes

Traditionally, it's served with rustic starches so they absorb the sauce, like crusty Italian breadpolenta, or just simple pasta.

Yes, Chicken Cacciatore can be made without wine. Wine helps to enhance the taste of the aromatics and tomato sauce, but nothing else. Just switch it with the same amount of chicken stock.

If your sauce is looking a little too thin, our favorite trick is to let it simmer a bit longer uncovered so it naturally reduces. You can also whisk in a pat of cold butter, or stir in a quick slurry made from cornstarch and cold water to thicken it right up!

What you need

• 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
• 6 bone-in skinless chicken thighs
• 1 pinch salt to season
• 1 pinch pepper
• 1 medium onion diced
• 2 tablespoons garlic minced, or 6 cloves
• 1 small yellow bell pepper diced
• 1 small red bell pepper diced
• 1 large carrot peeled and sliced
• 10 ounces mushrooms sliced
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives
• 8 sprigs thyme
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley plus more to garnish
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 150 ml red wine
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 7 ounces Roma tomatoes halved
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Method

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy cast iron skillet. Sear chicken on both sides until golden, about 3-4 minutes each side. Remove from skillet and set aside.
3. Add remaining oil to the pan. Sauté the onion until transparent, about 3-4 minutes. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the peppers, carrot, mushrooms and herbs; cook for 5 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.
4. Pour in the wine, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook until wine is reduced, about 2 minutes.
5. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Roma tomatoes and chill flakes. Season with salt and pepper to your tastes. Return chicken pieces to the skillet and continue to cook over stove top OR in the oven following the instructions below.
6. Mix all of the ingredients together; cover with lid, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer (while stirring occasionally) for 40 minutes or until the meat is falling off the bone. Add in the olives, allow to simmer for a further 10 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
7. Transfer the covered skillet to a preheated oven at 375°F (190°C) and cook for 50 minutes. Remove the lid, add in the olives and cook for an additional 20 minutes until the chicken is tender and falling off the bone, and the sauce has reduced.