Description
Chicken Cacciatore is a classic Italian dish featuring tender chicken pieces braised in a rich tomato sauce with bell peppers, mushrooms, olives, and aromatic herbs. This recipe combines savory flavors with a hint of red wine and turmeric, perfect for a comforting dinner served over noodles, rice, or polenta.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Chicken
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 pounds chicken wings and drumsticks
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
Vegetables & Aromatics
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 1 pound white mushrooms (cleaned and chopped)
- 1 medium green bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 medium red bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper (chopped)
Seasonings & Sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons oregano (dried)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes (1 can)
- 3/4 cup Kalamata olives (pitted)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit to prepare for baking the chicken cacciatore.
- Sear Chicken: Heat the olive oil and butter in a large oven-safe skillet with a lid until the butter melts. Add the chicken pieces, seasoning generously with salt and pepper. Fry chicken on each side for about 4 minutes until golden brown. The chicken does not need to be fully cooked at this stage. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Sauté Vegetables: In the same skillet, add minced garlic and chopped onions. Sauté for 2 minutes until the onions are translucent and the garlic is aromatic. Stir in chopped mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until they release their moisture and begin to brown. Add the chopped green, red, and yellow bell peppers and cook for a few more minutes until peppers soften slightly.
- Add Seasonings and Liquids: Stir in turmeric, dried oregano, and bay leaves. Pour in the red wine, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes. Mix well and bring the sauce to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits for added flavor.
- Combine and Bake: Return the chicken pieces to the skillet, nestling them into the sauce. Cover the skillet with a lid and place it in the preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Finish and Serve: Remove the skillet from the oven, top the cacciatore with pitted Kalamata olives and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Serve the dish hot over noodles, rice, or polenta for a complete meal.
Notes
- Use bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces such as thighs, wings, or drumsticks for best flavor; boneless chicken cooks faster but has less depth of taste.
- Cooking mushrooms before peppers allows browning and enhanced flavor instead of steaming.
- Substitute red wine with dry Chianti, Pinot Noir, or other dry reds; if avoiding wine, use low-sodium chicken broth with a splash of balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar.
- This dish can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; flavors deepen when reheated.
- Deglaze the pan thoroughly when adding liquids to incorporate all the flavorful browned bits from the skillet’s bottom for richer taste.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 390 kcal
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 480 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
