An Italian style chicken and tomato stew that is super easy to make and packed with flavour!
Today I have a simple and tasty recipe for you, chicken cacciatore aka. Italian hunter style chicken stew. This is basically a chicken and tomato stew where the chicken is browned and set aside before cooking the vegetables, typically onions, pepper and mushrooms before the tomatoes and chicken are added and everything is simmered or braised until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is nice and tender. You can serve this chicken stew by itself, with crusty bread, over pasta or rice, etc. and no matter how you enjoy it it’s pure comfort food in a bowl!
Chicken Cacciatore
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Servings: 4
An Italian style chicken and tomato stew that is super easy to make and packed with flavour!
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 chicken thighs (bone in and skin on)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 bell peppers (any colour), diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes (or marinara sauce)
- 2 teaspoons italian seasoning (or oregano)
- 1/4 cup olives, pitted and coarsely chopped (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken (seasoned with salt and pepper) and brown, about 3-5 minutes per side, before setting aside.
- Add onion, peppers and mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes and cooking until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the broth and deglaze the pan by scraping the brown bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon while the broth sizzles.
- Add the tomatoes, herbs, chicken and olives, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15-60 minutes, before seasoning with salt and pepper and enjoying over pasta or rice! (Cook longer if you have the time to bring out more flavour!)
Tip: Start cooking some pasta or rice before you start making this recipe and it will be done in time for the chicken cacciatore.
Option: Start by cooking bacon or pancetta in the pan, cook the chicken in the bacon grease and add the bacon to the pasta sauce!
Option: Replace the chicken thighs with drumsticks, legs or breasts.
Option: Use boneless and skinless chicken.
Option: Add extra veggies like diced carrots and/or celery
Option: Add a splash of white wine!
Option: Add 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
Option: Add 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste.
Option: Start by cooking bacon or pancetta in the pan, cook the chicken in the bacon grease and add the bacon to the pasta sauce!
Option: Replace the chicken thighs with drumsticks, legs or breasts.
Option: Use boneless and skinless chicken.
Option: Add extra veggies like diced carrots and/or celery
Option: Add a splash of white wine!
Option: Add 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
Option: Add 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste.
Nutrition Facts: Calories 301, Fat 8.9g (Saturated 1.7g, Trans 0), Cholesterol 87mg, Sodium 256mg, Carbs 18.9g (Fiber 5.1g, Sugars 10.5g), Protein 38.2g
Nutrition by: 
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I love chicken cacciatore, in any version. It’s the winter stew type dish that I crave, even more than chili. I’ll have to give this a try.
Beautiful! Cacciatore is a wonderful meal!
Delicious! This makes me want to defrost a piece of frozen chicken thigh that I have up in my freezer for the past 3 months, I have been wanting to do something nice with it and this must be it!
Such a classic chicken dish. This is delicious, Kevin!
The sauce and chicken looks great!
Your cacciatore turned out really nicely!
I love this – good and hearty!
-DTW
http://www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com
That looks yummy, just like everything else you make. I love your pictures!
Wow I can almost imagine how this will taste like!
That name always makes me smile– hunter -> catcher -> cacciatore 🙂 Looks really delicious– very well done for making risotto too! I find it difficult to divide the chicken near the backbone and center, but thankfully someone gifted us with Henckels poultry shears and it's really easy with that!
oh yumm Kevin!!! I really love your cooking….this reminds me of a dish my Mom makes for my Dad all the time…it is one of his comfort foods….
Great post!!!
Hugs
Diana
This looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
My brother made a chicken cacciatore, years ago, and I really liked it. This is a really good winter meal. Yours look so delicious Kevin.
That’s what I call man food. Perfect for wintery nights.
That looks absolutely delicious Kevin!
This is such a perfect dish for these cooler autumnal days – fab!
So beautifully presented and extremely yummy looking!
Cheers,
Rosa
A great dish! Looks wonderful!
awww kevin, how come you don’t gain weight? lovely meal… 🙂
Another chicken cacciatore lover, looks yummy 🙂
My kinda food – filling, warm and delicious! Well done Kevin and thx for sharing.
I’m a big fan of Chicken Cacciatore since I had a go at making it a while ago. Yours looks delish!
this chicken caccitore looks great! what a great winter warming dish!
Wow – this looks delicious and perfect for chilly fall weather. I ‘ll definitely try it out!
Would you believe this dish is my family’s favourite? With me it’s always extra stronger in spice – the chilli part. When I’m bored with rice, I serve it with thick cut bread, naan or chapati with sometimes potatoes as side dish… yummmm! Thank you for sharing! Keep the recipes and (great photos) coming in.
I must say…your dishes look fabulous but I’m more in awe of your pictures! The lighting is perfect and the food is so detailed…love your blog!
That plate just screams: confort!!!
What a nice picture. Looks delicious.
THIS IS SERIOUS COMFORT FOOD
You do know my bookmarked section is overflowinf from your delicious recipes. Most of the time i come here i tend to bookmark them.
This looks really yummy.
When i am going to make this i am sure my family would really enjoy it.
Nice take on a great dish!
I have never had this in my life, but I have heard of it! Yours looks delish and I am gonna try it!
I love chicken cacciatore – I never thought to serve it with cheesy risotto. I’ll have to try that.
I’ve been wanting to make a chicken cacciatore, and this has me craving it now!
What a plate! Nice looking meal!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I admit I’m not much of a cacciatore fan but this recipe sounds delicious and I might just have to try it!
Yes, that does look like a really good hearty sauce.
I know what you mean… I got my slowcooker out for such wonderful comfort foods as this chicken cacciatore. Great recipe!
If you cook the chicken in enough liquid, once it’s done braising you can actually use that broth to make your risotto–I have done this a few times, and the result is a full-flavored, boldly-colored risotto. Mm. You’re making me hungry!
This is one of the go to dishes that I really love and what I absolutely adore is all that saucy goodness on the plate. Yum.
hunter-style, eh? what’s that about? this is too good a dish to be used to feed those animal killers. 🙂
delish!
Anna at Mediocre Chocolate: Using extra liquid in the sauce and then using it to cook the risotto sounds goo, I will have to try that next time.
One of my all time favorite meals! I haven’t fixed it in a while.. so I’ll have to put it on my to do list! I’m off to read your risotto recipe…
I’ve tried chicken cacciatore before and didn’t really like it all that much. I’m going to have to give yours a try!
My grocery store sells whole chickens cut into pieces, so I always take the lazy way out! This looks so comforting.
This looks lovely. It looks like the perfect meal. Excellent photo.
Great dish Kevin, and it’s always been a favorite of mine!
wow, your cacciatore looks so colorful and delicious!
i am very very partial to anything red…cant get my eyes off this one ^_^
Wow…this looks great!
This looks so awesome I’m going to make it tonight. Found you on foodgawker and can’t wait to check out the rest of your site.
We made this for some guests a month ago, and we all really really enjoyed it! Thank you!
It was delicious!
Your site is the best and it's my favorite recipes blog.
Thank you!
Cheers from Romania!
looking forward to making your chicken cacciatore…yum.
I made this dish for a dinner party I hosted over the weekend and it was such a beautiful dish! The chicken pieces fell off the bones so I think I didn't score that well in terms of presentation but my guests were too busy slurping the stew down to notice anyway! I also had a couple of portions of leftovers and it tastes much better the next day!
This is one of the most visually stunning food photos I have ever seen. I cannot wait to make this. Thanks.
What a gorgeous recipe!!!
This could not look more delicious!! I love the colors and flavors!
Looks like a winner !
These looks completely amazing!