Classic Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore is a classic Italian dish with a hearty sauce that is comforting and succulent. The rich sauce that as you cook, will fill your kitchen with the cozy smell of fresh herbs, garlic and tomato. The result is a luscious and nourishing meal.

I have been cooking this recipe for years, and I must confess that reminds me of the countryside and the fall colors when you just want to be inside in front of a warm fireplace.

What is Chicken Cacciatore?

Chicken Cacciatore derives from the Italian noun cacciatore which means hunter. In Italy we called it “Pollo alla Cacciatora” which means hunter-style. In fact this is a typical Italian chicken dish that the peasants were used to cook.

Most likely ” alla cacciatora” refers to the combination of garlic and rosemary that is used for all this type of recipe. Rosemary, Garlic and Oregano are also the ingredients that hunters used to marinate their prey, once captured.

Cacciatore or “hunter style” in Italian is a dish originating from Italy’s countryside and refers to the style of hunters braising bone-in chicken with lots of wonderful aromatics and splashes of wine. Other game animals can be used such as rabbit, guinea fowl, or less commonly, boar.

There are infinite variations of this robustly flavoured, rustic dish and every family in Italy will tell you theirs is authentic and the best one. It is in fact a dish that everyone can tweak to their own traditions, and what is a recipe if not something you pass down from a generation to another? The dish has its roots in in central Italy in the Renaissance period and has many variations.

Why you will love this recipe

– This easy recipe to make requires inexpensive ingredient.The bonus point is that you can cook it in batches and freeze it.

– It is a great addition to your weekly rotation and it is one of those chicken recipes that will bring the Italian flavor to your table.

– This classic chicken cacciatore or pollo alla cacciatora is a rustic Italian chicken dish that the whole family will love.

Classic Chicken Cacciatore ingredients

First of all you start making the cacciatore sauce for this you will need:

Onions, Celery, Carrots: this is the base, that is called soffritto and it is typical of several Italian dish. You will need to cook it before you proceed with the next steps. You can replace the onions with shallots. Preferably use yellow or white onions.

Garlic cloves: garlic is present in many Italian recipes. Along with the fresh herbs add a nice aroma to the dish.

Sage, Rosemary and Bay Leaf: the herbs are one of the main ingredients in Italian cooking and are necessary since the dish is named after the use that farmers were making of all the aromas to cook their hunt.

Tomato: you can try to make and use the Authentic Homemade Tomato Sauce or alternatively use some good canned whole tomatoes. Since I run out of my jars, I used a can of Mutti chopped tomatoes, as it is a chunky sauce, ideal to add the flavors of Italian fresh tomatoes.

Tomato paste: a teaspoon goes a long way to enhance the flavor of the sauce.

Red Pepper Flakes: definitely chili flakes add a light heat to the recipe. Dose them accordingly to the people who will eat it. Especially if kids will be seating at your table.

Extra virgin olive oil: this will be the base in which you will cook the soffritto.

Black Olives: a Mediterranean touch, briny black olives are providing saltiness to the dish. You can sub them with green olives.

Chicken: to cook this recipe I use boneless skinless chicken thighs, to have still a delicious meal but with a higher protein content and less amount of fat. Feel free to use chicken thighs and drumsticks with skin on, or a whole chicken chopped into pieces. If your guest do not like dark meat, skinless chicken breasts are a good alternative.

White wine: White wine add a layer of flavor to the sauce. You can sub it with red wine for a deeper flavor or with dry vermouth. If you do not drink wine, you can use chicken broth or vegetable broth.

Fresh parsley: to finish up at the end of the cooking.

How to make chicken cacciatore

Remove the base end of the celery to obtain the individual ribs, then cut them lengthwise and mince them. Clean and finely chop the onion and carrot as well . In a large pan heat the extra virgin olive oil then add celery, carrot and onion, letting them dry for 10 minutes. In the meantime, peel and thinly slice the garlic, then finely chop it together with the aromatic herbs and chili flakes. Also add this mince to the sauté and mix to blend all the flavors.

Continue cooking for another 10 minutes on medium heat. Now arrange the chicken pieces in the pan so that they don’t overlap one another. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and let them brown for 10-15 minutes to whiten them. The most important step for the perfect execution of this dish is to brown chicken on medium high-heat. Only once the chicken has browned you can add the white wine. If you do not follow this step carefully you will end up with a boiled chicken! NO-GO!

Deglaze with the wine, then stir to flavor and continue cooking for a couple of minutes. Add the pitted black olives and tomato. Season with salt and let the chicken cook for 45 minutes with the lid on. The more the chicken simmers, the more the flavors will bind together providing a succulent taste and thickening the sauce.

If necessary, you can add a ladle of hot water or broth, vegetable or chicken from time to time. A few minutes from the end of cooking, wash the fresh parsley and dry it with a cloth. Chop the parsley fairly finely and spread it over the meat. Your chicken cacciatore is ready, serve it still hot!

Chicken Cacciatore variations

This chicken recipe is entirely gluten-free and it provides a good amount of proteins.

There are few variations of Chicken Cacciatore recipes. The one that I cooked here is made accordingly to the classic “red version”, but you could also make it in its”white version”. The Chicken Cacciatore in its white version has no tomato sauce and you can add some anchovies for additional taste.

In northern Italy, we usually cook this dish with rabbit or other types of gamey meat cuts, therefore this dish is very popular in the late fall and winter, during the hunting season. In some other regions of Italy, you can find it with mushrooms and bacon. Some others areas use green instead of black olives. I usually recommend to start with the simple classic recipe and then to tweak it accordingly to your taste.

More delicious recipes for you

Crispy Chicken Parmigiana

Pan Fried Breaded Chicken breast (Italian)

Polpette al Sugo ( Meatballs in tomato sauce) with Polenta

Chicken Saltimbocca

Roasted Chicken Thighs with fennel and orange

What to serve with chicken cacciatore

In the Italian way, we serve this dish mostly with a creamy polenta. The combination of the rich chicken sauce with the creaminess of the grits will provide you with a succulent comfort food at its best. If polenta is not your thing, I recommend:

– Oven-roasted potatoes or mashed potatoes.

–Roasted bell peppers: you can choose either yellow or red peppers or a mix.

– Rosemary Focaccia Bread …just because you can dip it in the sauce, yum!

– And you can never miss a side of greens 😉

– A portion of spaghetti will be a scrumptious choice as you can toss it with the chicken sauce. We really do not eat it with spaghetti in Italy, I would say it is more Italian-American, but if you like it like that, go for it!

– If you would like consider to serve as appetizer some Classic Tomato Bruschetta.

Storing Suggestions 

The Chicken Cacciatore can be refrigerated for up to 2-days so that you can cook it during the weekend and have it ready for a weeknight meal. I have to confess that this recipe tastes even better the next day. Reheat it over medium-low heat.

Alternatively, you can freeze it in an airtight container for up to 6-8 weeks. Usually, I remove it the night before and I let it thaw in the refrigerator. Then I warm it up at a low simmer before eating it.

Which wine to pair with Chicken Cacciatore

I suggest pairing this dish with red wine. You can never go wrong with a Chinati Classico: Sangiovese from Tuscany. Sangiovese are the grapes used in the production of Chianti.

Chianti Classico which is made from the red Sangiovese grape is a medium to full body wine, that has notes of fruits and tomato leaves, therefore its notes are perfect to highlight the flavors of the Chicken Cacciatore.

Another great pairing would be with Dolcetto from Piemonte. Despite its meaning, – “little sweet one”- this wine has an intense taste given by its black fruit notes, with a peppery taste and a strong tannins concentration is the perfect pairing with the richness of Chicken Cacciatore.

If you try this recipe and you liked it, please leave a star review below! I would be very appreciative of your comments! Make sure to tag me on Instagram  @Italian_kitchen_confessions I hope you loved it! To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.

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