Chicken Cacciatore (Italian chicken stew)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour & 15 minutes
Servings: 5 people

You’re going to adore this hearty, rustic chicken cacciatore recipe! It’s packed with mushrooms and bell peppers, all swimming in a delicious tomato sauce. The chicken is so tender it practically falls apart, and it’s infused with all those comforting Italian flavors that the whole family will love. Plus, you can whip it up on the stovetop or toss it in your crockpot for an easy meal!

Cacciatore is one of those dishes that doesn’t have strict rules, which means there are endless regional variations and family recipes throughout Italy and beyond. Today, I’m excited to share my take on it, which is a classic version that features chicken, onions, mushrooms, and capsicum (that’s bell peppers, by the way).

The tomato-based stew is enhanced with red wine, rosemary, bay leaves, and dried oregano, along with the savory goodness from the chicken, veggies, and whole olives (trust me, don’t skip the olives!). Everything simmers together for about 30 minutes, allowing the flavors to blend beautifully and the chicken to cook to juicy perfection. It’s a lot quicker to make than a slow-cooked beef stew, too!

About Chicken Cacciatore:

Cacciatore: Actually translates from Italian to “hunter.” And chicken cacciatore is a rustic, hunter-style braised chicken with onions, herbs, tomatoes, and sometimes chopped vegetables.
It is one of those classics my Italian-American friends grew up with. And true to hunter-style cooking, almost every household has their own version of it. This is because you are meant to use what chicken (or rabbit), herbs and other items you have on hand to create this comforting one-pot meal.
Aside from the chicken, the basic ingredients in chicken cacciatore are: onions, herbs, tomatoes and sometimes mushrooms. Some variations will call for carrots and celery, while others call for bell peppers or other vegetables. Some even flavor the tomato sauce with anchovies, which I haven’t tried yet.

Ingredients:

Chicken:

5 bone in chicken thighs large (1,3Kg)
4 chicken drumsticks
0.5 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
0.25 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Cacciatore:

1 onion , halved, finely sliced
2 rosemary sprigs (about 15 cm long), or 1 tsp dried rosemary
2 bay leaves , preferably fresh else dried
3 garlic cloves , finely minced
3 anchovy fillets (or 1 tsp anchovy paste), optional
250g mushrooms , sliced
2 red capsicum , sliced 8 mm thick (medium, not giant)
90 g tomato paste
180 ml pinot noir or other dry red wine
500 ml chicken stock/broth , low sodium
450g canned crushed tomato
16 whole kalamata olives , pitted, drained
0.25 tsp salt
0.5 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano

Serving:

Mashed potato or polenta
Finely chopped parsley , for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

Chicken:

Season: Spread the chicken out on a tray. Sprinkle both sides with the salt and pepper.
Brown skin: Heat the oil over high heat in a large, deep, heavy based pan, preferably one with a lid. Place the chicken thighs in the pan, skin side down, and cook until the skin is golden brown, around 6 minutes. Turn and cook the flesh side for just 1 minute, then remove the chicken onto the same tray. Then add the drumsticks and brown each side as best you can, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side (the shape makes it awkward). Remove onto the tray.

Cacciatore:

Onion: Pour off and discard all but about 2 tablespoons of fat. Turn the heat down to medium and let the pan cool slightly. Add the onion, rosemary leaves, bay leaves and dried oregano. Cook for 3 minutes until the onion is starting to soften.
Garlic and anchovies: Clear a space in the middle of the pan. Add the anchovies and garlic, cooking, mashing up the anchovies, until the garlic is light golden, then stir it into the onion.
Vegetables & tomato paste : Turn the heat back up to high. Add the mushroom and capsicum. Stir until softened: about 5 minutes (the mushrooms will go watery then the water will evaporate). Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes to cook out the sour flavour: do not shortcut this.
Sauce: Add the wine. Stir, bring to simmer then allow to reduce by around 75%. Add the stock, canned tomato, salt and pepper. Stir, bring to a simmer.
Simmer: Then carefully place the chicken into the sauce (skin side up) and pour any juices on the tray in as well. When the liquid returns to a simmer, cover, reduce the heat to medium then simmer energetically for 20 minutes. Remove lid, add olives, simmer for a further 10 minutes (no lid). This will reduce and thicken the sauce.
Serve: Serve the chicken with plenty of sauce over mashed potato or polenta, sprinkled with parsley if desired.

Tips & Notes:

Chicken : Bone-in, skin-on chicken is best here so the flesh is beautifully juicy at the end of the simmering time and the sauce gets flavour from the fat rendered out of the chicken skin. Chicken marylands/quarters would also be ideal.
Boneless cuts: If you opt to use boneless thighs instead, sear the surface briefly then add into the sauce for the last 10 minutes of simmering time. For chicken breast, use 4 to 6, pound to even 1.5cm thickness, sear then and return into the sauce for the last 5 to 8 minutes of simmering time until the internal temperature is 70C. Remove chicken from the sauce and rest for 3 minutes before serving with sauce.
Anchovies are a well documented provider of extra flavour into dishes, and when used correctly (like here!) you can’t taste any fishiness at all. Trust me! But, if you simply can’t do it, substitute with 2 tsp fish sauce (add with canned tomato) or as a last resort, add an extra 1/2 tsp salt into the sauce.
Wine: For non alcoholic, use more chicken stock.
The pot you see pictured is 30cm wide, if you don’t have a lid, just pop a baking tray on the pan during the simmering phase. It’s ok if the chicken isn’t fully submerged, just do the best you can. Any exposed parts will steam-cook.
Leftovers will keep for 4 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.

Nutrition:

Serving:1, Calories: 495cal, Carbohydrates:15g, Protein:37g, Fat:30g, Saturated Fat:8g, Polyunsaturated Fat:6g Monounsaturated Fat:13g, Trans Fat:0.1g, Cholesterol:185mg Sodium:976mg, Potassium:1035mg, Fiber:4g, Sugar:8g, Vitamin A:1747IU, Vitamin C:63mg Calcium:68mg, Iron:3mg.