Chicken Cacciatore

What is Chicken Cacciatore?

Chicken cacciatore means chicken prepared ‘hunter-style’. It’s a dish from Tuscany, Italy and it’s also very popular in the US. Chicken cacciatore is a tomato-based dish, as the chicken is first browned and then braised in either tomato sauce or marinara and vegetables. The dish is often cooked for an hour on a low simmer with dry red wine, with a mix of Italian herbs.

Serve with rustic bread, creamy mashed potatoes, rice, or spaghetti for a hearty meal that the whole family will love!

How to Make Chicken Cacciatore

It’s an easy to make meal, and all you need to do is prep the ingredients, brown the chicken, then throw everything together in a pot or skillet and slowly cook on a low simmer.

The Ingredients

For the chicken, you will need: Skin-on and bone-in chicken thighs, salt and pepper, and flour.

And here’s what you’ll need for the sauce:

• The mushrooms and carrots are optional, but they add a lot to the flavor so I recommend that you add them.
• I recommend dry red wine for chicken cacciatore, I used Merlot. But in some versions dry white wine is used, so if you prefer a milder flavor then use white wine instead of red. If you can’t/don’t want to use wine, substitute with chicken broth, unsweetened grape juice, or apple juice. It won’t have the same flavor, obviously, but it will give some flavor and help you deglaze the pan.

How to Make It

This is quite simple if you follow the instructions:

1. Season the chicken pieces and dredge in flour, then brown it and set aside.
2. Saute the vegetables in olive oil.
3. Deglaze with red wine and allow to reduce.
4. Add diced tomatoes and olives.
5. Add the chicken back in, cover, and simmer on low for 50 minutes stirring occasionally or until the chicken is cooked. Finish off with grated parmesan cheese if desired, and serve warm.

What you’ll end up with

• Seriously juicy chicken infused with Mediterranean flavors.
• The chicken isn’t fully submerged in sauce, so the skin stays nice and crispy.
• Fall off the bone tender chicken as it’s braised on a low simmer for almost an hour.
• Insanely delicious sauce with the best flavors ever. Herbs, mushrooms, olives, tomato, bell peppers, and juicy chicken. What’s there not to love?
• The sauce is spicy, not too hot, just spicy enough. The red pepper flakes are optional, but I love adding them to the sauce.

What to Serve Chicken Cacciatore With

I like to keep things simple, and serve chicken cacciatore with crusty bread or breadsticks on the side. It makes a complete meal. But you can also serve it with one of these simple sides:

• Creamy mashed potatoes
• Garlic butter noodles
• Plain white rice
• Cauliflower rice
• Zucchini noodles

Storing Tips

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Recommended Tools

For tomato-based dishes like this, I don’t recommend using a cast iron skillet or pot because I found that cooking tomato dishes for long in cast iron results in an unpleasant metallic taste.

So I use my stainless steel pan instead. It’s a great pan and I use it all the time, plenty of surface area, cooks very evenly and I love the helper handle.

Try this easy chicken dinner, and I’m sure you will love this recipe! It will definitely become a family favorite. Also make sure to check out my baked chicken and rice, an amazing family-friendly meal that’s made in one pan.