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Chicken Cacciatore is an Italian tomato based “hunter style” stew. This easy homemade stove top recipe is incredibly rich, flavorful, and makes for a hearty dinner.
Boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced vegetables, red wine, tomatoes, and capers come together to make this mouthwatering meal. I prefer to serve it over polenta, but you can also serve alongside homemade pasta noodles or potatoes.
Why this recipe works:
Chicken recipes are always a popular option for dinner. When we were little, my mom used to cook chicken and add it to pasta sauce and call it Chicken Cacciatore. This scratch made recipe has so much more flavor!
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs are cooked to fork-tender perfection in the savory broth.
- This recipe uses a combination of fresh diced vegetables with canned tomatoes.
- Red wine is used to deglaze the pan and also infuse incredible flavor into this Chicken Cacciatore recipe.
- The capers add just the right amount of salty zing that this dish needs!
Ingredients needed:
There are quite a few ingredients needed to make this Chicken Cacciatore, but once the vegetables are chopped it is a very easy recipe to put together.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs that get covered with salt and pepper, dredged in flour, and browned in olive oil.
- Diced fresh vegetables that include onion, mushrooms, carrots, red bell pepper, and garlic (I use frozen garlic cubes).
- The rich, flavorful, thick and chunky sauce is completed with canned tomatoes, red wine, chicken broth, and dried Italian seasoning.
How to make this Chicken Cacciatore:
- First step is to brown the chicken thighs that have been dredged in flour in a large pan with olive oil. The chicken is transferred to a separate plate.
- In that same pan, you will sauté all of the fresh vegetables until slightly browned and tender.
- Add the red wine to the vegetables and stir to combine.
- The pan is then deglazed with red wine and cooked for a few minutes to allow the alcohol to burn off and reduce.
- The Chicken Cacciatore hunter-style stew is completed with canned tomatoes, chicken broth, and capers.
- The chicken thighs are added to the stew so that they can braise in the liquid and finish cooking.
Cooking tips:
- I prefer to trim any excess fat and skin off of the chicken thighs. This step is not necessary but is my personal preference.
- You can make the prep work easier by pulsing the vegetables in the food processor as opposed to chopping them by hand.
- Choose a dry red wine and not something sweet.
- As with any recipe, add salt and pepper prior to serving according to taste, if needed. With all of the tomatoes, additional salt might be needed to balance everything out.
Related recipes:
I do love a delicious Italian inspired chicken dinner. If you do too, be sure to check out these recipe suggestions.
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This Chicken Cacciatore, an Italian tomato based "hunter style" stew, is incredibly rich, flavorful, and makes for a hearty dinner.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 teaspoons salt plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour for dredging
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large red bell pepper diced
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 large carrot grated
- 12 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3/4 cup red wine
- 28 ounces whole peeled canned tomatoes
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons capers drained
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.
- In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add the bell pepper, onion, carrot, mushrooms, and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until they are tender and slightly browned, about 10 minutes, stirring only occasionally.
- Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add entire can of tomatoes with the juice (crushing them with your hands), broth, capers and Italian seasoning. Sir to combine. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, for about 20 minutes.
- Serve chicken with additional sauce over polenta, pasta, or potatoes.
Notes
- I prefer to trim any excess fat and skin off of the chicken thighs. This step is not necessary but is my personal preference.
- You can make the prep work easier by pulsing the vegetables in the food processor as opposed to chopping them by hand.
- Choose a dry red wine and not something sweet.
- As with any recipe, add salt and pepper prior to serving according to taste, if needed. With all of the tomatoes, additional salt might be needed to balance everything out.
Nutrition
Calories: 345kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 28g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 107mg, Sodium: 1284mg, Potassium: 1062mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 3181IU, Vitamin C: 54mg, Calcium: 83mg, Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave me a comment below
Excellent. I did substitute chopped grilled artichoke for the mushrooms because I love them and do not like mushrooms. Also used crushed tomatoes. Had over brown rice.
Loved this dish. I left out the capers and added extra salt. Nanny did not want to listen to the kids complain. Did not have anything left. Served over pasta and everyone cleaned their plate.
A great addition to our weekly favorites!!
This is excellent! So full of flavor and satisfying. My family is already requesting that I add to the menu again soon!
Such an amazing chicken dish! It is so flavorful and easy to make. Love it!
Sounds delish, however, I have 4 large bone in chicken thighs, 2.08 lbs. How long would I cook these? I would take off the skin.
Thank you, Rhonda
Even with the bone in, I don’t think the cooking time would need to be increased since you brown them first and let them continue cooking in the liquid. You can always verify doneness with a thermometer.