Learn how to make a delicious chicken cacciatore! A rustic Italian stew made of tender braised chicken thighs cooked in tomatoes, a medley of vegetables, fresh herbs, and vibrant aromatics for deep flavor.
If you’ve never had chicken cacciatore (also known as Pollo alla cacciatora in Italian), you’ll find that everyone makes it a bit differently, but the ingredients are all very similar! The word cacciatore means “hunter” so the dish is prepared hunter-style. This makes the dish rustic and more flexible to add whatever you like.
Traditionally, chicken cacciatore (pronounced “chicken catch-a-tori”) is made of braised chicken thighs, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and carrots with aromatics (onions, garlic, and herbs). Adding white or red wine to this stew is also not uncommon. This recipe is simple Italian cooking, but how you prepare it is where all the flavor comes from!
This hearty Italian chicken recipe originated in central Italy, but this specific recipe is more true to a northern Italian chicken cacciatore, which uses onions, celery, and carrots for the base of flavor. If you were to make one more traditional to southern Italy, you would find ingredients such as anchovies, capers, or olives.
Whenever we have a special occasion or even a Sunday dinner as a family, this is the recipe my mom will make. It’s cozy and hearty, and everyone devours it!
Recipe Highlights
HEARTY & COMFORTING. This dish is filling and hearty while being ultra comforting! It’s the perfect meal for colder weather because it will warm you from the inside out.
WHOLESOME & FRESH. While it’s a delicious comfort-food recipe, this dish is surprisingly wholesome and fresh! It’s dairy-free, gluten-free, and filled with fresh wholesome ingredients.
A CROWD-PLEASER. It’s hard not to love a dish made of tender braised chicken in a richly flavored tomato-herb sauce. My family often serves this dish for company and guests; it is always raved about and loved!
Ingredients – What You Need
Chicken thighs: to add deep flavor and have moist chicken, I recommend thighs (boneless and skinless) rather than chicken breast.
Bell pepper: we like to use red bell peppers for sweet flavor.
Celery: to add the perfect flavor to the base!
Carrot: for sweet flavor!
Tomatoes: I recommend crushed for a thicker consistency.
Mushrooms: even if you don’t love mushrooms, don’t skip out on them! They are chopped very small so you can’t even tell and they add tons of flavor.
Onion & garlic: to add lots of flavor to the base! I also like to layer fresh garlic with garlic powder for deep flavor.
Tomato paste: to help thicken the stew.
Fresh herbs: for this recipe, we used a blend of rosemary, sage, and basil. Fresh is best for flavor!
Red pepper flakes: for a little spice – nothing too intense!
White wine: I like to include a small amount of dry white wine for flavor and to help deglaze the pan after sautéing the vegetables.
How to Make Chicken Cacciatore
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1
Season and brown the chicken thighs. First, season the chicken thighs with a healthy pinch of salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a large skillet or sauce pan, drizzle with olive oil, and brown the chicken thighs on both sides for 3 minutes per side. Transfer the browned chicken to a clean plate.
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2
Sauté the vegetables. In the same pan as the chicken, without cleaning the pan, sauté the onions, diced peppers, celery, and carrots for 3 minutes with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Then add the chopped mushrooms and garlic, and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the veggies are soft and cooked down.
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3
Add the tomatoes, seasonings, and chicken. Next, add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes with the vegetables. Then deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup of white wine and cook for another 2 minutes with the vegetables. Then add the tomatoes, fresh basil, rosemary, sage, tomato paste, 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a healthy pinch of black pepper. Add the chicken thighs.
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4
Bake. Do your best to nestle the chicken into the vegetables and tomatoes, and spoon the sauce over the thighs. Cover and bake at 350F for 50 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 20 minutes. Then serve with fresh basil and parmesan cheese!
Recipe Variations
If you want to add different flavors or ingredients, here are a few recipe variations we love for chicken cacciatore!
Add sausage. My mom often makes this recipe with added sausage links – like spicy or sweet Italian sausage. Leave them whole and tuck them into the sauce when you bake the chicken. It adds delicious flavor to the sauce and pairs wonderfully with the chicken!
Add a splash of wine. To add richness to the sauce, you can add some vino! In northern Italy, it’s common to add a generous splash of white wine to cacciatore, while in southern Italy, it’s more common to use red wine. So you can use either red or white, though I don’t recommend cooking with sweet wines – dry to semi-dry wines are best for cooking!
Switch up the herbs. If you don’t have sage and rosemary, or you want to switch of the flavors, cacciatore can also be made with oregano, parsley, or thyme!
Try it with olives, anchovies, or capers. It’s more common in a southern Italian cacciatore to use ingredients that give a tangy flavor, such as green olives, achoves, or capers. If you use capers, we recommend rinsing them before adding them to this dish since the brine they marinate in is quite salty.
Tips for Success
Use dark meat for cacciatore. Since this recipe is braised for quite some time, dark meat (chicken thighs and legs) will be more forgiving. They can handle being cooked for an extended period; the results are tender and perfect. White meat, such as breast or chicken cutlets, can produce a dry chicken. For more flavor, you can use bone-in chicken thighs.
I recommend fresh herbs for the best flavor. Dried herbs are fine, but they don’t have fresh herbs’ brightness and savory flavor. This is why I highly recommend using fresh herbs versus dried in this recipe!
Layering fresh garlic with garlic powder is key. I learned this trick from a family friend who is an amazing cook. Layer fresh garlic and garlic powder to get the most flavor in a dish. The powder is more concentrated and will add the perfect punch along with the fresh cloves – both ingredients are key for developing rich flavor.
If the dish is too liquidy once it’s done, try this. Whether the tomatoes created a lot of liquid or you decided to add some wine, a liquidy cacciatore can happen. To fix this, add a little bit more tomato paste, then keep the cacciatore uncovered and bake it until most of the moisture has been absorbed/reduced.
If it needs more flavor, add more salt. This dish heavily relies on salt for flavor. If you find the dish lacks flavor once it’s done, sprinkle a little salt at a time and do your best to mix it thoroughly into the whole dish. Taste and adjust as needed.
Best baking dish for braising. I like to use a heavier cast iron pan for braising cacciatore; it develops a faster and more even heat than glass, and I find it creates a richer consistency in the sauce too. But if you don’t have a cast iron pot or baking dish, you can use a glass or stainless steel baking dish!
How to Freeze Leftovers & Freeze
Keeping leftovers fresh: the best way is to let the chicken completely cool, then refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freezing chicken cacciatore: let the chicken cool completely, then store the chicken and the sauce in a freezer-friendly bag. Remove all the air and seal tight, then freeze for 1-2 months.
What to Serve it With
Pasta (and lots of parmesan). A very traditional pairing is serving cacciatore with pasta and lots of fresh parmesan! Any shape of pasta works, but we love small shapes that catch the sauce well, like small shells, radiatore, or reginetti (pictured in the recipe). To make it healthier, we serve it with whole wheat pasta, but you can also use your favorite gluten-free pasta too!
Potatoes. We’ve had readers share how much they loved this dish with potatoes – roasted or boiled. We think this is a delicious pairing and a healthy alternative to pasta!
Salad. For a side salad, we love to pair it with this Tuscan artichoke salad, our go-to Greek chickpea salad, or this Italian salad.
Bread. Crusty bread is a must with cacciatore! We love it with sourdough, a crusty Italian loaf, or a french baguette.
More Italian Classics
If you love this Italian classic, you might also be a fan of these recipes too!
My Family’s Chicken Parmesan
Classic Eggplant Parmesan
Secret Ingredient Italian Meatballs
Lemon Chicken Piccata
Mom’s Easy Chicken Cacciatore
Video Tutorial
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 6 skinless chicken thighs
- 1 medium to large onion, diced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced small
- 4 oz white mushrooms, cleaned and diced very small
- 4-5 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 2 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup dry white wine, I used Pinot Grigio
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped (for dried rosemary use 1 teaspoon)
- 2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped (for dried sage use 1 teaspoon)
- 2 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 28 oz diced, whole, or crushed tomatoes with the juices
- 3/4 teaspoon salt divided (plus more salt for seasoning the chicken)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Parmigiano Reggiano, for serving
Instructions
- Brown the chicken: Season both sides of the thighs with a healthy pinch of salt and black pepper. Heat a large skillet or braiser (I recommend using a pan that has a lid and is also oven safe). Once the pan is hot, add the olive oil, and brown the chicken thighs on both sides for 3 minutes per side. After they're browned, transfer the chicken thighs to a clean plate.
- Saute vegetables: In the same pan as the chicken (without cleaning it), saute the onions, celery, carrot, and pepper for 3 minutes with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Add the diced mushrooms and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, then add the minced fresh garlic and cook for the last minute with the vegetables. Note: if the pan is too dry before adding the vegetables and has a lot of chicken bits on the bottom, you can deglaze the pan with a splash of water or chicken stock before adding the vegetables.
- Cook the tomato paste, then add the wine: Once the vegetables are soft, add the tomato paste and cook with the vegetables for about 2 minutes. Then add the fresh rosemary, fresh sage, garlic powder, fresh basil, and red pepper flakes. Add the white wine and cook with the vegetables until the wine has mostly absorbed (about 1-2 minutes). Note: I have recently updated this recipe to include wine. If you'd prefer to leave it out, you totally can. Instead, deglaze the pan with a splash of chicken stock.
- Add the chicken and bake: Stir in the crushed tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Nestle the chicken thighs into the sauce and vegetables, trying to cover them with the sauce as much as possible. Cover the dish with a lid and bake at 350°F for 50 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and serve with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano!
This chicken cacciatore recipe from A Simple Palate looks amazing. The combination of tender chicken, rich tomato sauce, and fresh vegetables seems perfect for a comforting meal. I love how easy the instructions are to follow, and the tips for using different ingredients make it very versatile. Can’t wait to try it for dinner this week! Best Regards Disaster Cleanup
I’ve made her meatballs. Secret ingredient ricotta cheese. Followed to the T. Sooo good. Will always use this recipe. T
This looks absolutely amazing. I have some special guests coming in a couple of weeks and I already have these ingredients on the Kroger shopping list……Looks yummy!
I was just curious what was the size of the pan you used in this video?
Ahh, should’ve mentioned that in the video it’s a 3 1/2 quart (12 inches in diameter). Hope this helps, John!
Loved it!! Used dried herbs at 1/2 measures. Served over large rigatoni. Can’t get enough. I did not add celery, didn’t have any. Yummy.
That means so much! 🙂 So glad you loved it.
This is the most delicious easy one pan chicken dish. I served over large rigatoni and loved it. You can adjust the herbs and use dried if that’s what you have. Use 1/2 of the measurement in dry herbs for fresh.
That means so much, Laura! My mom often uses dried herbs, so yes they completely in this 🙂 Thank you for sharing!!
I made this yesterday and it was delicious! As with so many others here, I tweaked it, but only just a bit. Instead of using canned tomatoes, I used fresh tomatoes from my garden. We have six plants, so I used whatever was the ripest. Only one of the tomatoes was a Roma, so they were pretty juicy. I blanched and peeled the big tomatoes and just washed the cherry tomatoes. I ended up using 32 oz instead of the 28 oz called for in the recipe. I simmered them down while I prepped the other ingredients, which reduced them to 28 oz. I served it over potatoes and look forward to trying it with pasta. Wonder what it’d be like with polenta!
Kathy, I’m so glad this could work with your fresh garden tomatoes! How delicious! And I know a lot of other readers have enjoyed this over potatoes, I will have to try that myself. So glad you enjoyed it!!
My family absolutely loved this recipe. I doubled the chicken thighs and served it with rice. Yum.
That’s wonderful to hear, Suzanne! I’m so glad your family enjoyed the dish 🙂 Rice sounds like a great starch to pair with it!