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Italian Chicken Cacciatore Recipe

Easy Italian Chicken Cacciatore recipe, an authentic Hunter Style Chicken Stew in Red Wine Sauce with Italian San Marzano Tomatoes and Wild Mushrooms! You can finish it on the stove top, bake it in the oven or the slow cooker. 

Big Pot of Italian Chicken Cacciatore with Wild Mushroom in Red Wine Gravy

You knew I was gonna bring an authentic, easy Italian Chicken Cacciatore recipe from Italy for you. How could I not, right ?! Especially because this is a regular at the shack, healthy, light, gluten free and so easy to make. Not to mention perfect for a crowd! There is no browning, no frying and no flour involved either you guys.

So what is chicken cacciatore and where did it originate from?

It is an authentic Italian hunter style chicken stew, which originally was made with whatever the peasants would hunt that day: pheasant, rabbit, wild stuff, you name it! But nowadays it is more commonly made with chicken, or hen and some type of wild mushrooms, in a wine tomato sauce with herbs and aromatics.

Big Pot of Italian Chicken Cacciatore with Wild Mushroom in Red Wine Gravy

Which wine should you use?  Your choice:

  1. a red wine sauce base
  2. in a white wine sauce

Being that I am using flavorful San Marzano tomatoes (<–amazon link) to create a thick sauce without any flour addition, I opted for the red wine in my recipe. Feel free to go for a dry white wine if your heart so desires. I’m particularly fond of red, and look at that beauty, right ? In any case, the more you reduce the wine sauce the more it will thicken.

Orange Pot of Authentic Hunter Style Chicken Cacciatore

 I absolutely swear by this easy recipe, it is not just to die for delicious but it is also healthy. I skipped browning the meat and skipped on the flour. It really isn’t necessary and not all that healthy.

When you braise the drumsticks or thighs cacciatore style, you won’t end up with crispy skin regardless if you brown it or not, and that is fantastic news in a tender fall off the bone stew, right?!

Just trust me on this one, I’ll throw down with Mario Batali, Giada or Rachel Ray any day and not even worry about it ! 

Ideally served over creamy polenta, but egg noodles pasta, potatoes and rice are also common side dishes. 

Orange Pot of Authentic Hunter Style Chicken Cacciatore

Tip for making the best Italian Chicken Cacciatore:

Splurge just a little bit on wild mushrooms at the market. Because flavor, flavor and more flavor!

These will change with the the seasons of course, but usually you can find some variety throughout the year. I love using the oysters as a base in this dish, however when I find wild chanterelles at a good price, I’m all over those.

Traditionally you would throw a few black olives on top just before serving, but you know how the BatMan is not on good terms with the olives, so I add some steamed artichokes as a final touch. Your call!

In any case, I know your Italian Chicken Cacciatore is gonna be the bomb, especially if you listen to me and serve it with lots of bruschetta and crostini to soak up that red wine tomato gravy. Or spoon it over a bed of creamy polenta, just because everything is better over polenta, right? Forget about it, Mangia! Florentina xo’s

Orange Pot of Authentic Hunter Style Italian Chicken Cacciatore

 

5 from 12 votes
Italian Chicken Cacciatore Recipe ( Hunter Style Chicken )
Print
Italian Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
1 hrs 20 mins
Total Time
1 hrs 30 mins
 
Easy Italian Chicken Cacciatore Recipe or Hunter Style Chicken cooked in a rustic red wine sauce with San Marzano tomatoes and wild mushrooms. Sprinkle with black olives or artichokes to your preference.
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6
Calories: 229.4 kcal
Author: Florentina
Ingredients
  • 4.5 lb chicken legs drumsticks or thighs or a mix
  • 1 oz x28 can San Marzano tomatoes lightly crushed
  • 1 1/4 c red wine or dry white wine
  • 1 lb oyster mushrooms
  • 1/2 lb wild mushrooms mixed
  • 1 large leek sliced
  • 8 cloves garlic whole
  • 1 bell pepper sliced
  • 1 carrot chopped
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 tsp sea salt + more to taste
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes + more to taste
  • 2 tbsp Sicilian oregano crumbled or 1 sprig rosemary 10 thyme sprigs
  • 2 leaves bay
  • 1/3 c Italian parsley roughly chopped
  • 2 c Artichoke hearts steamed, optional
  • 1 c black olives optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 375”F
  2. Slice the leek in half lengthwise and then thinly slice it crosswise. Rinse well in a bowl of cold water, allowing all the dirt to fall to the bottom of the bowl. Gently scoop out all the leeks and lightly pad dry on paper towels.
  3. Heat up a large cast iron dutch oven over medium flame. Add the olive oil and the garlic cloves and sear them until golden all over. Add the leeks with a pinch of sea salt. Sautee for about 10 minutes then stir in the oyster mushrooms and carrots. Toss to coat and cook for a couple of more minutes to create layers of flavor.
  4. Add the chicken legs to the pot and sprinkle with the sea salt, then toss to coat well. Pour in the red wine and bring to a simmer. Allow it to reduce a little, about 5 minutes. Add the sliced bell pepper, bay leaves, thyme, red pepper flakes, and tomatoes to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cover with a tight lid.
Oven Method:
  1. After you brought the chicken cacciatore to a simmer on the stove top cover it with a tight lid.Transfer the pot to the preheated oven and cook for 50 minutes. Remove the lid and add in the remaining mixed wild mushroom. Adjust seasonings to your taste and cook an additional 20 minutes uncovered, until the gravy has reduced to your liking and the chicken falls of the bone, tender.
  2. Serve hot garnished with the Italian parsley and sprinkled with the olives or steamed artichokes on top.
Stove Top Method:
  1. Continue cooking the chicken cacciatore covered, on low flame for 50 minutes. Remove the lid, add the remaining mushrooms and continue cooking an additional 20 minutes until the chicken falls off the bone and sauce has reduced to your liking.Taste and adjust seasonings and serve.
Slow Cooker Method:
  1. Add all the ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Remove the chicken and mushrooms and continue reducing the sauce until concentrated to your liking. Adjust seasonings and serve sprinkled with fresh parsley.
Recipe Notes
Serve with nice rustic chunks of garlic bruschetta or over a bed of polenta.
Nutrition Facts
Italian Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
Amount Per Serving (2 legs g)
Calories 229.4 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10.0 gg 15%
Saturated Fat 1.7 gg 9%
Trans Fat 0gg
Polyunsaturated Fat 5.7 gg
Cholesterol 46.8 mgmg 16%
Sodium 1.798.2 mgmg 0%
Total Carbohydrates 18.1 gg 6%
Dietary Fiber 5.1 gg 20%
Sugars 6.4 gg
Protein 17.2 gg 34%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Comments

  1. We’ve got just enough cool weather to make a pot of your Italian chicken cacciatore before summer hits. I LOVE these photos and I’m very hungry now.

    Reply

  2. I made this dish last week for some dinner guests and they could not stop raving about how good it was. One even asked for the recipe and I gave it to them and also signed them up for the ciaoflorentino recipe newsletter. I could not find wild mushrooms or the oyster mushrooms so I substituted white button mushrooms and bella (young portebello) mushrooms. OUTSTANDING recipe.

    Reply

    • I am doing the happy dance over here, I am so happy to hear. You made my day. I go for whatever mushrooms I can find at the market and that changes with the seasons which i find kind of nice actually. So glad you enjoyed it xo’s

      Reply

  3. Oh, my that looks really good. I’m with you on skipping the browning before braising since it’s going to be melt in the mouth soft and tender and…. aaaahhhh I’ll take a plate thank you.

    Reply

  15. Hi. I can’t wait to try this. Now. What type of red wine? And, What if I need to add a couplebof breasts? Do I add these at a later time so they don’t drybout ir will the juicy goodness keep them moist?

    Reply

    • Hi Mirtha ! You can use whatever red wine you have leftover from the night before, something you actually like. Definitely not the most expensive wine, but certainly something you like to drink on its own. You can also add some chicken in there, but i would wait to add it until half way through cooking time. Using a bone in cut would also help keep that moisture during the long cooking time.

      Reply

  18. Hello Florentina I was just subscribing to your newsletter and saw the chicken cacciatore recipe and was wondering can this meal be made in a crock-pot as I do not have a cast iron dutch oven I was going to do some of the beginning of the cooking in a saute pan then transfer the rest to the crock-pot and cook on high for, I would imagine 6-8 hours I am Italian and wanted to try my hand at some of your recipes they all sound delicious Thank you Sincerely Robert

    Reply

  19. Hello Florentina
    can this recipe be done in a slow cooker I do not have a dutch oven yet

    What setting would I set it to and for how long should I let it simmer

    Thank you

    Amanda

    Reply

    • Hi Amanda, I suspect you could. Personally I don’t use a slow cooker but If I did, I would just cook it on the same setting you do a bone in chicken. Hope you give it a go, and any heavy bottom pot works her 😉

      Reply

    • haha, yes, I have all the motivation you need to treat yourself a Le Creuset dutch oven LOL ! I mean how about this chicken cacciatore for starters ? 😉 ~ Florentina

      Reply

  27. Hello,
    So delighted I found your blog. The recipes all look delicious.
    I would love to make this but my children will not eat any type of chicken apart from breasts – and skinless and boneless breasts to make things a little more challenging.
    How would I make this gorgeous dish with chicken breasts…and to guard against them ending up like boot leather?
    Many thanks,
    Angela

    Reply

    • Thank you so much Angela, and welcome, so happy you are here !
      You can definitely make the chicken cacciatore with chicken breasts only. I would however cook them bone in and skin on to keep them from drying out, and once the chicken is cooked to your liking remove it from the sauce and discard the skin and bones before the kids sees it 😉
      Continue to reduce the sauce until concentrated to your preference then add the chicken breast back into the pot. Let me know if that trick works ~ Florentina

      Reply

  28. We made this chicken cacciatore a few times now, the red wine gravy is my favorite. I like the white wine version too but the red wine has more depth in my opinion. I also added a bunch of black olives because we are olive lovers. Probably our most favorite recipe to date. Incredibly delicious!

    Reply

  39. Florentina,
    This is the absolutely best recipe for chicken cacciatore that I have ever encountered. But, a question: if the batman liked olives, would you use green or black? And what about capers?

    Yours faithfully,

    B J

    Reply

    • Awww you totally made my day you know that ? Thank you, I’m so glad to hear. Re: the olives, definitely black and salty. You can add some capers If you like as well, they add a nice little saltiness to the final pot of cacciatore. That is the beauty of this dish, you can make it your own. Thanks so much for stopping by with your great review, you rock ~ Florentina

      Reply

    • Hi janine, you could substitute with vegetable or chicken stock but honestly it won’t be the same. Chicken cacciatore gets its magic from that wine sauce reduction, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you without the wine 🙂

      Reply

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