Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken Cacciatore and lasagna are among the dishes my husband, who is part Italian, requests most often. Cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian, and it's said that if a hunter comes home empty-handed, this dish is a consolation prize of sorts, using chicken in place of the wild game that got away. Hunters would throw in wild mushrooms they had collected from a day in the forest, to flavor the tomato-based sauce.
There are many variations of chicken cacciatore depending on the region. In Southern Italy, red wine is used to boost the flavor of the sauce, while Northern Italians use white wine. The classic dish uses bell peppers and mushrooms, but you could also add zucchini, potatoes, carrots, or a host of other vegetables.
If you're in a hurry, you can get away with cooking the chicken just 30 minutes. But if you have the time, I prefer to let it simmer away for an hour or more (the actual cooking time is rather forgiving) for more tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken. I find that boned chicken is juicier in this dish, but you can substitute boneless breasts and thighs; the searing in step 1 will help lock in juices so they don't dry out. The sauce is a bit runny, so I serve with a crusty bread for mopping. But you can also thicken the sauce at the end by stirring in 1-2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in a little water. Serve over pasta, polenta, or rice.
Note: to make this recipe gluten-free, omit the coating of flour, but don't skip the searing in step 1.
Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
1 whole, cut-up chicken (skin removed if desired)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed, or 2 cubes frozen Crushed Garlic
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 large bell pepper, chopped (any color)
1/2 cup white or red wine
1/3 cup olives
1 tsp dried oregano
1 (8 oz) pkg mushrooms, halved
Chopped basil or parsley for garnish
1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven, and fry chicken pieces for 3-4 minutes on each side, until browned. Remove from skillet.
2. Add onion and garlic to skillet and saute for 5 minutes, until onion is slightly browned. Return chicken to the skillet and add tomatoes, bell pepper, wine, olives, and oregano. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes (or up to 1 hour) over medium-low heat.
3. Add mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 more minutes.
4. Remove from heat, and sprinkle on fresh herbs right before serving.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Hands-off cooking time: 30-60 minutes
Serves 6
There are many variations of chicken cacciatore depending on the region. In Southern Italy, red wine is used to boost the flavor of the sauce, while Northern Italians use white wine. The classic dish uses bell peppers and mushrooms, but you could also add zucchini, potatoes, carrots, or a host of other vegetables.
If you're in a hurry, you can get away with cooking the chicken just 30 minutes. But if you have the time, I prefer to let it simmer away for an hour or more (the actual cooking time is rather forgiving) for more tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken. I find that boned chicken is juicier in this dish, but you can substitute boneless breasts and thighs; the searing in step 1 will help lock in juices so they don't dry out. The sauce is a bit runny, so I serve with a crusty bread for mopping. But you can also thicken the sauce at the end by stirring in 1-2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in a little water. Serve over pasta, polenta, or rice.
Note: to make this recipe gluten-free, omit the coating of flour, but don't skip the searing in step 1.
Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
1 whole, cut-up chicken (skin removed if desired)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed, or 2 cubes frozen Crushed Garlic
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 large bell pepper, chopped (any color)
1/2 cup white or red wine
1/3 cup olives
1 tsp dried oregano
1 (8 oz) pkg mushrooms, halved
Chopped basil or parsley for garnish
1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven, and fry chicken pieces for 3-4 minutes on each side, until browned. Remove from skillet.
2. Add onion and garlic to skillet and saute for 5 minutes, until onion is slightly browned. Return chicken to the skillet and add tomatoes, bell pepper, wine, olives, and oregano. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes (or up to 1 hour) over medium-low heat.
3. Add mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 more minutes.
4. Remove from heat, and sprinkle on fresh herbs right before serving.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Hands-off cooking time: 30-60 minutes
Serves 6
Or...you could just use TJ's Chicken Cacciatore sauce from the bottle- my kids practically lapped up the sauce from the skillet and they tend to hate sauces and are even picky about spaghetti sauce!
Reply to this
Hey Wona
This is one of my favorite dishes and I will be making your recipe this weekend. TJ's discontinued the Chicken Cacciatore sauce, and your recipe sounds even better than the jarred sauce, and not that much more time and work. Thanks for a yummy dish. M
Reply to this
Sounds like a great recipe! Any ideas for substitutions for the wine for someone who doesn't use alcohol in cooking? Thanks!
Reply to this
Meg, you can simply omit the wine and add extra chicken broth. Enjoy!
Reply to this
Chicken, mushrooms, olives, in a tomato-y sauce. Mmmm... Doesn't get much better than that. I'm most certainly making this the next time I'm close to a stove.
Reply to this
Yummy I love this recipe cant wait to try it
Reply to this
I love mushrooms with chicken wanna try this recipe
Reply to this
This recipe turned out REALLY well. I forgot to dredge the chicken ahead of time in flour, but it turned out just fine (I will dredge it next time though, just helps keep things together and juicy).
Wife loved it, leftovers the next day were great. AND I have a big frozen chicken carcass waiting for the stock pot still left over!
Reply to this
This recipe turned out delicious. I cooked it for my husband, kids and parents, and they all loved it. I used one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in place of the whole chicken, and served the dish with cooked pasta. For the olives, I used Trader Joe's green olives stuffed with garlic cloves. YUM. The chopped fresh basil on top was beautiful and gave it a little extra kick of fresh flavor. This recipe is going into my usual rotation; I'll be making it often.
Reply to this
I really loved Deborah's idea using the garlic stuffed olives. I believe this is the best Chicken Cacciatore recipe since I made it from the recipe book
Reply to this