Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
mushrooms, green peppers and onions in a tomato sauce, served with pasta
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Ingredients
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Chicken
Vegetables & Aromatics
Sauce & Seasoning
Finishing & Pasta
Method
Chicken
- 1
Prep chicken
Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season both sides with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper.
- 2
Dredge
Place flour in a shallow bowl and lightly dredge each thigh, shaking off excess.
- 3
Brown chicken
Heat 2 tbs olive oil and 1 tbs butter in a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When hot, add chicken skin-side down in a single layer (work in batches if necessary). Brown 4–5 minutes per side until golden (internal largely uncooked). Transfer browned chicken to a plate and set aside.
Vegetables & Aromatics
- 4
Sauté vegetables
Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tbs olive oil to the same pan. Add onions (sliced), green bell pepper (sliced), and mushrooms (halved or sliced). Sauté 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown.
- 5
Add garlic
Add minced garlic and cook 30–45 seconds until fragrant, stirring so it doesn’t burn.
Sauce & Simmer
- 6
- 7
Build sauce
Add crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, dried oregano, dried thyme, crushed red pepper flakes, and remaining 0.5 tsp salt. Stir to combine. Taste and add sugar if sauce tastes too acidic.
- 8
Return chicken
Nestle browned chicken thighs back into the sauce, skin-side up, spooning some sauce over the pieces.
- 9
Simmer gently
Bring sauce to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cover partially and simmer 25–30 minutes until chicken is cooked through (internal temperature 165°F / 74°C) and sauce has thickened slightly. Remove lid for last 5–10 minutes if you want a thicker sauce.
Pasta & Finish
- 10
Cook pasta
While the chicken simmers, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta.
- 11
- 12