Easy Chicken Cacciatore with Slow Cooker Instructions

Italian comfort food at its best! Chicken Cacciatore is a stew of tender chicken and vegetables simmered in a spicy marinara and served over pasta. Use my tips and tricks to make it an easy weeknight meal that's ready in minutes!

Ingredients for this recipe: chicken (breast, thighs, or bone in), garlic, green pepper, yellow pepper, onion, Ro*Tel tomatoes, Marinara sauce ( I used Newman's Own Sockarooni sauce), mushrooms, oregano, basil, thyme, fennel, red wine, linguine or spaghetti, Parmesan cheese

I don't know anyone who could take a bite of Chicken Cacciatore and not feel all calm, safe, and snuggly on the inside. This is real comfort food - o.k. maybe not to a vegetarian...

Cozy Comfort Food

Cozy, homemade Chicken Cacciatore is one of those dishes that makes you smile no matter how bad the day has been. Tender pieces of chicken and vegetables are simmered in a spicy sauce and then served over pasta for a homey, rustic meal that's hard to beat.

This is the stuff pulled straight out of one of my vintage cookbooks. A recipe that is quick, easy, makes the house smell amazing - and will even make you feel like Donna Reed.

Cacciatore = Hunter Style Chicken

Cacciatore means Hunter Style. 

Originally it was made from stuff the hunter found while he was out gathering dinner - wild mushrooms, rabbit or game birds, wild garlic, and other things all mixed together and stewed.

Well, by the time 1950s came a long it was often an insipid mixture of chicken simmered in spaghetti sauce, at least in the middle class neighborhood I grew up in. If that's what you are thinking of please put it out of your mind...

This chicken cacciatore is comfort food with plenty of garlic, onions, and herbs in a sauce that is generous enough to dip warm bread into. You can make this on top of the stove if you want to make it quickly but you can also dump the ingredients into a crock-pot and enjoy the scent all day long.

I swear, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Tips for the Best Chicken Cacciatore Ever

You can use any chicken you like - some people use a cut up, bone-in chicken while others prefer thighs or breast.

• Thighs will be more tender and flavorful plus they cost less than breast.
• Starting with a commercial pasta sauce speeds up the process.
• If you're really in a hurry use a rotisserie chicken. Cut it into serving pieces and let it simmer in the sauce while you are cooking the pasta.
• You'll find containers of chopped peppers, onions, and other vegetables in the produce section. They can be HUGE time savers.
• Add leftover vegetables. Carrots, green beans, and peas all work well in this cacciatore recipe.
• You can use chicken broth in place of wine.
• Leftover sauce will keep about 4 days in the refrigerator (tightly covered, of course) or about 3 months in the freezer.
• Never store dishes with tomato sauce in anything aluminum. It reacts and give the dish an off flavor.

Recipe FAQs

Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.

What is traditionally served with chicken cacciatore?

This beloved Italian dish is most often served with pasta but it can also be served with polenta. Add a crisp salad, a baguette, and a bottle of red wine and you're ready to go!

How long does chicken cacciatore last in the fridge?

Tightly covered in a plastic or glass dish it will last about 4 days.

What kind of wine goes with chicken cacciatore?

A Chianti or Merlot - something red and fruity.

Chicken Cacciatore Says "You're Safe"

Here's the thing. I love this dish served on one of the first chilly nights in autumn, with the fire crackling and the family at the table. It makes me think of Badger in Wind of the Willows, the descriptions of dinners in Farmer Boy, The Hobbit, and so many other books I have loved.

I probably should have known that I was a foodie from the earliest years of my life. I always read the food descriptions over and over again until I knew them by heart. It was if I was actually in the book, smelling the aroma of the food and enjoying the company of the characters. A crackling fire always makes me think of Badger's house.

The kindly Badger thrust them down on a settle to toast themselves at the fire, and bade them remove their wet coats and boots. Then he fetched them dressing-gowns and slippers, and himself bathed the Mole's shin with warm water and mended the cut with sticking-plaster till the whole thing was just as good as new, if not better. In the embracing light and warmth, warm and dry at last, with weary legs propped up in front of them, and a suggestive clink of plates being arranged on the table behind, it seemed to the storm-driven animals, now in safe anchorage, that the cold and trackless Wild Wood just left outside was miles and miles away, and all that they had suffered in it a half- forgotten dream.

O.k... so no mention of chicken cacciatore there, but the feeling that paragraph evokes in me is the same feeling I get when I eat comfort food like this recipe. I think that is what good food is about - similar to a book or a movie it creates a moment in your life that you come back to over and over again.

What to Serve

Serve this chicken cacciatore with a good red wine, plenty of garlic bread for sopping up any extra sauce (it keeps you from actually licking the plate), some steamed and buttered broccoli, and vanilla pudding for dessert.

Don't forget to sprinkle the top liberally with Parmesan! Not quite what you're looking for? Try this Southwestern Chicken Pasta Skillet

More Great Chicken Recipes

Here are more of my favorites from Restless Chipotle!

• Smothered Chicken is a southern classic! Golden brown chicken is smothered in a savory chicken gravy and simmered until it's butter tender.
• Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili is a big bowl of creamy goodness filled with corn, chicken, white beans, and other yummy things then simmered in a creamy, rich sauce that will have your family licking their plates.
• Bourbon Chicken recipe is sweet and sticky with lots of tender, juicy chicken enveloped in a tangy, slightly spicy sauce. Make it on top of the stove or in the slow cooker.

You May Need...

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If you're going to make this on top of the stove a cast iron frying pan is invaluable!

Easy Chicken Cacciatore Recipe

Please try this and let me know what you think. I'll eventually get around to posting a recipe for real Chicken Cacciatore that even Gordon Ramsey would approve of - until then? This is not gourmet, fancy, or expensive. It's just pretty dang good.