Italian Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
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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 stovetop, bake it in the oven or slow cooker.
I brought us an easy, authentic Italian chicken cacciatore recipe straight from Italy. How could I not, right?! Especially since this is a regular at the shack, healthier, light, gluten free and oh so easy to make. Not to mention perfect for a crowd too! There Is no browning, no frying and no flour involved either.
What is Chicken Cacciatore and Where Did it Originate From?
In a nutshell it’s 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! Nowadays it is more commonly made with chicken or hen and some type of wild mushrooms, simmered down in a wine tomato sauce with herbs and aromatics.
About the Wine
- Option a) – A red wine sauce base
- Option b) – A white wine sauce.
Being that I’m using sweet flavorful San Marzano tomatoes 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 if your heart so desires. I’m particularly fond of red, and look at that beauty, right? Whatever the case, the more you reduce the wine sauce the more it will thicken.
I absolutely swear by this easy recipe, it’s not just delicious but also healthier. I skipped browning the meat and skipped on the flour, it really isn’t necessary and not at all that healthy.
When you braise the drumsticks or thighs, you won’t end up with crispy skin regardless if you brown it first or not. This is a tender fall of the bone stew after all.
Ideally this would be served over creamy polenta, but egg noodles pasta, potatoes and rice are also common side dishes.
Tips for Making the Best Chicken Cacciatore
- Mushrooms – Splurge just a little bit on wild mushrooms at the market. Because flavor, flavor and more flavor! These will change with the seasons of course, but usually you’ll be able to find some variety throughout the year. I like using the Oyster variety as a base as they are readily available year round, however on the rare occasions when I do find Chanterelles at a decent price, I’m all over those!
- Olives – Traditionally you would throw a handful of black olives on top just before serving, but you can add some steamed artichoke hearts instead as I did.
- Bruschetta – To take your Italian chicken cacciatore over the top you’ll want to serve it over creamy polenta with lots of garlic rubbed bruschetta to melt into that red wine tomato sauce. Forget about it! Mangia Bene!
Italian Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
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
- Preheat your oven to 375”F
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.
- Serve hot garnished with the Italian parsley and sprinkled with the olives or steamed artichokes on top.
Stove Top Method:
- 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:
- 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.
Glorious recipe. I love the artichokes instead of the olives, but still added a few black olives.
I’m with you on the no-flour, but I’ve made cacciatore (not your recipe, but close) with both unbrowned thighs and browned, and to my taste, the browned chicken has a rounder flavor in general because of the browning. It always does seem a waste to braise beautifully browned chicken, but I’ve found that browning always adds something. If you flour it does help thicken the sauce but I don’t need the carbs and reduction gives a better flavor.
I do appreciate comments about saving time BUT, if you really want well-developed flavor I think it is essential to brown the chicken first. My Nonna always did that and I think it improves the recipe.
Great recipe! I made this for dinner the other night and used a red wine base and it turned out really well. I simmered it on low heat on the stove top as instructed and the sauce thickened even more as it cooled a bit. I would say it even tasted better the next night. I put it over some rice and my bf who is reluctant to eat anything with any kind of sauce loved it!
Pleas can you tell me what I can substitute the wine with! Thanks
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 🙂
do you use canned artichoke hearts?
Hi dave, you may use canned or steamed artichokes, I prefer the marinated ones myself 🙂 You can also go for the classic black olives instead.
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
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
I’m going to make it and put it on polenta
Glad the weather is cooling off soon so we can all make this!
I just love a good rustic Italian dish like this! 🙂 Looks & sounds amazing!
What an amazing dish!! Its a family favorite!
Thanks Katerina, we can’t go wrong with a pot of chicken cacciatore.
What a pretty dinner! Exactly my cup of tea.
I just adore peasant food. It’s always so rustic, comforting and economical. This looks incredible!
This looks so rich and flavorful, like total comfort food!
One of my favourite dishes, everyone in our family loves chicken cacciatore. Love that the tomatoes thicken it without flour too.
Wow! Looks gorgeous. This reminds me I have to make some 7for my meat-a-holic soon. I made this Hunter Style Chicken several years ago once and he loved it!
If I could reach through the screen with a spoon this would be gone.
O this sounds delicious, my friend! Totally a dish I know my family would love!
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!
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
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
This sounds fantastic and easy! Also, I keep looking at the le cruset Dutch ovens, but haven’t spent the money on one yet. Maybe if I had recipe bookmarked before I shopped it would help!
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
I love dishes like this, as you can just throw everything in to the pot. It looks so full of flavour!
absolutely love this recipe and cento tomatoes.
This looks really yummy and I like the idea of using wild / oyster mushrooms as I’ve not really seen that in a Cacciatore recipe before!
I just love meals like this. Everything in a casserole dish and it looks after itself. It really looks wonderful.