Chicken Cacciatore
I found this recipe in the March 2012 Cooking Light that looked too good to resist. The recipe was fairly quick and simple to make and turned out delicious. I adapted the recipe a bit by using boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and using basil instead of rosemary. I served the chicken and sauce over orecchiette pasta which was really tasty. My kids both said they liked it and my husband and I really enjoyed it. I can’t believe it took me so long to try making chicken cacciatore!
How to Make Chicken Cacciatore
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large OVEN proof skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season each side of the chicken thighs with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, garlic powder, and dried basil, to taste. Cook one side of the chicken thighs for 4 minutes then flip the chicken and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet and place it on a plate.
Add the other 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet then add the peppers and onions. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes then add the mushrooms. Continue cooking, stirring often, for 6 minutes. Add the minced garlic, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce; cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken thighs and their juices back to the OVEN PROOF skillet or Dutch oven. Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese on top. Serve with pasta if desired. Enjoy.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil divided
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
- Garlic powder to taste
- Dried basil to taste
- 1 ½ cups of orange, yellow, and red baby bell peppers, sliced
- 1 small sweet yellow onion diced
- ½ tsp dried basil
- 8 oz button mushrooms quartered
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 ⅓ cups of marinara sauce
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
- Fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Season each side of the chicken thighs with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, garlic powder, and dried basil, to taste. Cook one side of the chicken thighs for 4 minutes then flip the chicken and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet and place it on a plate.
- Add the other 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet then add the peppers and onions. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes then add the mushrooms. Continue cooking, stirring often, for 6 minutes. Add the minced garlic, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
- Add the marinara sauce; cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken thighs and their juices back to the OVENPROOF skillet or Dutch oven. Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese on top. Serve with pasta if desired. Enjoy.
Looks delicious. This is one of my favorite dishes. I should really make this one weekend. Now that Im cooking only for myself a baked potato is usually my go to.
Chicken thighs simmering in marinara with a bunch of veggies?! Yum! Will have to try this soon!
this looks absolutely delicious. how about adding potatos to it? thanks. cant wait to try it.
This looks delicious and its very colorful.
Combination of chicken that is in marinara and those veggies are irresistable.
Chicken cacciatore is a favorite in my family… a tradition. Yours looks amazing, Pam!!
Going on my menu next week….
Great meal for any night of the week!
What a delicious meal! I have made Roman chicken before, but I have never made chicken cacciatore. I am going to recitify that problem a.s.a.p. by making this dish! Thanks, Pam!
Pam, this looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it. Sorry to hear about the trouble you’ve had with your site. In the spirit of keeping you informed, I’m not getting the RSS feeds I usually get. They seem to have stopped on Feb. 16. I’ll try to set up a new one, but I”m not sure if anyone else is having that problem too.
A2ZMommy and What’s In Between
I love Cooking Light and saw this in there. Now, after seeing it here, I have to try it. Great colors too!
I prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs, too. They seem to me to have more flavor and be less dry. Looks like an excellent meal!
Hi Pam! Looks like I popped in just in time for dinner! I haven’t had Chicken Cacciatore in ages. (it usually seems to be too much work these days) However, these steps and ingredients seem to over come the work and that, dear Pam is always a good thing!
Thank you so much for sharing…A keeper!
Looks fantastic!
This looks so wonderful. This would be something I would really enjoy eating.
I love chicken cacciatore! My grandma used to make the best (although not a drop of italian blood soi don’t know why lol) it always reminds me of her. I haven’t made it myself in years. Maybe I’ll try this tomorrow 😉
I admire the adventurous eating of your kids! Mine are 5 and 7 and they are soooo picky…I definitely don’t cook the same way as I did before having them, much to my husband’s chagrin!
This was wonderful for dinner last night. I used a whole bottle of marinara so there was more sauce to spoon over the mashed potatoes I made to go with this (Classico Tomato & Basil, 24 oz.). Yum – and so easy it could be for any night of the week.
Hi Pam, when I first started out in my foodie adventures, one of the first recipes I prepared was your chicken parmesan recipe, and recently rediscovered your site. Since then, I’ve gained a little more experience with Italian dishes. Your cacciatore recipe looks good, but give Michael Chiarello’s version a try. I like it better because he uses , bone-in pieces which are more flavorful, and he’s able to get it done in one pan so it’s easier to clean up.
Cheers!
DB, The Foodie Stuntman
Fremont, CA
Hello Pam,
I just stumbled onto your website and what a find! I wanted to make chicken cacciatore but never did before. This recipe surprised me at how easy and delicious that it was. My family loved it!! I feel like I’ve found a treasure of wonderful recipes and am going to make the soy-sesame asian chicken meal tonight, I can’t wait!
Thanks again,
Petrina
This is my absolute favorite chicken cacciatore recipe! I double it up so I can eat it again through the week as a lunch. I like to make creamy mushroom & onion polenta as the base. It is so delicious and hearty. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
this is good! Boned or boneless just as good. Instead of the mushrooms I added a can of artichokes. Now we’re talking!