Healthy Chicken Cacciatore
Traditional Chicken Cacciatore calls for peppers and mushrooms. By all means, add mushrooms to this recipe below! We are mushroom-free house most days, but this simple recipe can be enjoyed as is or adapted to your taste buds. Chicken Cacciatore is light enough for a spring or summer meal and warm enough to cozy up in autumn and winter. Serve this with a Sunday spread or on a weeknight when you only have an hour to cook. Enjoy!
Jump to RecipeThis post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Why will you this Chicken Cacciatore?
The best Chicken Cacciatore is smothered in not-yet-a-sauce but also not a gravy. The tomato and peppers are slightly sticky sweet and meld with the chicken, making it a delicious and easy one-pot soup. It is even better the next day, or the day after. Don’t waste a morsel of this meal!
You may also be interested in….
What are the Main Ingredients?
The most important ingredient are chicken thighs. If you don’t have thighs, use chicken drumsticks. But by all means, do not use chicken breast. You need the bones for this!
Your vegetables include a big can of plum tomatoes, onions, celery, garlic, and sweet bell peppers. In lots of olive oil.
For the finish, have a few handfuls of parsley.
This Chicken Cacciatore also uses basic seasoning – just salt, pepper, and thyme.You can use both fresh and dried thyme, though I prefer thyme that I hang up myself to dry.
I serve this with white rice, but you can put this over pasta or next to potatoes. Or enjoy it as is!
Which Feast Days can you make this Chicken Cacciatore for?
This is a traditional Italian dish, so it can be served to celebrate any Italian saint feast day or memorial that calls for a little something special.
In August, you can serve this for the Feast of the Assumption or the Feast of Saint James, as many Italians would as they enjoy the season of ferragosto.
You can absolutely make this for The Feast of Saint Joseph, also celebrated widely in Italy and among Italian-Americans. This meal is light enough to balance those zeppole you would probably enjoy among other Italian delicacies.
Finally, I like to make this as a traditional Sunday supper, served with homemade crusty bread or pasta, a side salad, and a simple cake or cookies for dessert.
Products I Recommend for this Recipe
The real, every day products I really use to make real food!
Cuisinart Chef’s Classic 11-Piece Stainless Steel Pots and Pans Set – the set of pots I received at my wedding (many) years ago and they are still going strong!
McCook® Knife Sets,German Stainless Steel Knife Block Sets with Built-in Sharpener – the most similar to the current Ailuki brand I have
John Boos R-Board Series Rectangular Wooden Maple Cutting Board 24”x18” – 1.5” Thick – solid, long lasting, and full of knife marks
Have you made this Healthy Chicken Cacciatore? Let us know below!
Healthy Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
- 6-8 Chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 sweet bell peppers, sliced use more if you like extra vegetables
- 1 28 oz can plum tomatoes smushed by hand
- 1/4 cup red wine or red wine vinegar
- handful thyme, fresh or dried
- handful parsley
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Season chicken generously with salt and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a deep bottom pot on medium heat. Brown the chicken, skin-side first, in batches if needed. Set aside.
- Add onions, garlic, celery, and peppers to the pot and stir occasionally to release their juices. Sprinkle a bit more salt to help caramelize and soften the vegetables.
- Open the can of plum tomatoes and pour into a bowl. Use your hands to break down the tomatoes into smaller pieces of pulp.
- Once vegetables are softened, pour in the red wine or red wine vinegar to deglaze the pot.
- Once the red wine or vinegar is evaporated, add the tomatoes and stir.
- Season more with salt and pepper. Add in thyme and parsley and stir.
- Add in the chicken thighs and nestle them in and under the vegetables.
- Cover and simmer on medium-low for 45-50 minutes, or until done to your liking.
- Serve on it's own or with rice or pasta!
