Chicken Cacciatore: Authentic Italian Hunter’s Stew (1-Pot Recipe)

• Prep15 min
• Cook55 min
• Total70 min
• Serves4–6

“Cacciatore” means hunter in Italian, and this dish is what a hunter’s family would cook with whatever came home in the bag — chicken (or rabbit), foraged mushrooms, garden tomatoes, and the herbs growing outside the door. It’s rustic, forgiving, and gets better the next day. If you like this style of one-pot Italian cooking, you’ll already know our Italian Sunday gravy and beef braciole — cacciatore is their weeknight sibling.

What is chicken cacciatore?

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 4 bone-in chicken drumsticks (or 8 thighs total)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ⅓ cup tomato paste
• ¾ cup dry red wine (or ½ cup extra stock + 1 tbsp balsamic)
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 2 rosemary sprigs + 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ cup pitted kalamata olives (optional but traditional)
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

How to make chicken cacciatore

1. Season and sear. Pat chicken dry, season generously with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high. Sear chicken skin-side down 5 minutes until deeply golden, flip 3 minutes more. Work in batches. Transfer to a plate.
2. Build the base. Pour off all but 2 tbsp fat. Add onion and cook 4 minutes until soft. Add peppers and mushrooms; cook 6–8 minutes until mushrooms release their liquid and it evaporates. Add garlic, cook 30 seconds.
3. Toast the tomato paste. Push vegetables aside, add tomato paste to the empty spot, cook 90 seconds until it darkens — this is where the sauce gets its depth. Stir into vegetables.
4. Deglaze and simmer. Add wine, scrape up the browned bits, reduce 2 minutes. Add stock, crushed tomatoes, rosemary, bay leaves, and oregano. Bring to a low boil.
5. Braise. Nestle chicken back into the pan (skin above the sauce line to stay crisp). Cover, reduce heat to low, simmer 20 minutes. Uncover, add olives, simmer 10 more minutes until sauce thickens and internal chicken temp hits the USDA safe minimum of 165°F.
6. Rest and serve. Discard bay leaves and rosemary stems. Let the pot sit 5 minutes off the heat — the sauce thickens further as it settles. Serve over polenta, pasta, or crusty bread.

Watch it made (video)

Gordon Ramsay’s version keeps to the traditional method — sear, build, braise — in under 10 minutes of video. His technique matches the recipe above almost step for step.

Cooking times and temperatures

Regional variations

Cacciatore isn’t one dish, it’s a template that shifts across Italy:

• Roman (alla romana) — white wine, no tomato, lots of rosemary and anchovy
• Tuscan — red wine, olives, sometimes capers, minimal tomato
• Southern (Campanian) — full tomato, bell peppers, mushrooms — the American standard
• Marche — vinegar and rosemary, brothy and sharp

What to serve with chicken cacciatore

The dish is sauce-forward and needs a starch that absorbs it:

• Creamy polenta — the traditional pairing
• Wide pasta (pappardelle or rigatoni) — for a full Italian-American meal
• Crusty bread — for mopping the sauce off the bowl
• Mashed potatoes — untraditional but excellent
• Simple arugula salad with lemon — cuts the richness

Common questions

Can I make chicken cacciatore without wine?

Yes. Replace the ¾ cup red wine with ½ cup extra chicken stock plus 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. The balsamic delivers the acid and depth wine normally would. If you want a similar no-alcohol Italian classic, try our chicken Marsala without wine.

Can I use chicken breasts?

Not recommended. Boneless breasts overcook in a 30-minute braise and turn stringy. If you must, add them for only the last 15 minutes and remove as soon as they hit 165°F internal. Bone-in thighs and drumsticks are the traditional choice for a reason.

Can I make it in a slow cooker?

Yes. Sear the chicken and sauté the vegetables in a skillet first (this step is non-negotiable for flavor), then transfer everything to a slow cooker with the stock and tomatoes. Cook on low 4–5 hours or high 2–3 hours. Add olives in the last 30 minutes.

How is cacciatore different from other Italian chicken dishes?

Cacciatore is a slow braise with tomato and vegetables. Compare it to lighter skillet cousins like chicken francese (egg-battered, lemon-butter), chicken piccata (capers, lemon), or chicken saltimbocca (prosciutto, sage). Cacciatore is the rustic one — the one you make for Sunday.

How do I store leftovers?

Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 4 days — the flavor actually improves overnight. Freeze up to 3 months. Reheat gently on the stove with a splash of stock; microwaving toughens the chicken.

Emma’s final note

I’ve made cacciatore in five different pots — Dutch oven, braiser, slow cooker, pressure cooker, and a beat-up stockpot — and the Dutch oven still wins. The heavy cast iron holds a steady low simmer without scorching, and the wide surface gets you a proper sear on the skin. If you’re going to buy one pot for Italian cooking, buy that one.