This Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore is rustic, comforting dish that will satisfy your craving for Italian food. Chicken thighs are slow cooked in a tomato-based sauce with garlic, Italian herbs, and mushrooms until super tender.
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I’ve been craving Italian comfort food like nobody’s business, and this chicken cacciatore made in the slow cooker definitely hit the spot. If you’re craving Italian, you’re in the right place!
This Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore recipe is one of 75 recipes from my cookbook, The Foolproof Family Slow Cooker and Other One-Pot Solutions. I’ve grown to love the recipes from this book more and more as time passes, having made them over and over again. So many have become regulars on our menu like Chicken Parmesan Meatballs, Veggie-Packed Meatloaf with Barbecue Glaze, and 10-Minute Egg Roll Lettuce Wraps. The Asian Sesame Party Meatballs are outrageously tasty and I can’t wait to make another batch of Slow Cooker Peach Applesauce.
Table of contents
What is Chicken Cacciatore?
“Cacciatore” means hunter in Italian and was used to name this hunter-style stew. It’s an old, classic Italian dish that dates back as far as the 14th century. A variety of different proteins can be used but today you’ll most commonly see the dish made with chicken. The chicken is braised in a tomato-based sauce that includes onion, garlic, and herbs and an assortment of other vegetables. I went with carrots for sweetness and earthy, meaty cremini mushrooms.
To enhance the rustic quality of the dish, I use bone-in chicken thighs. They are super affordable, cook up incredibly tender when cooked low and slow, and have great flavor.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken: The best cut of chicken for chicken cacciatore is bone-in chicken thighs. They typically have the skin intact but since we won’t be rendering the fat in a skillet, remove it with paper towels before adding the thighs to the slow cooker.
- Veggies: Diced carrot and onion. Minced garlic and quartered cremini mushrooms.
- Dried spices: Oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Dried spices added at the beginning of the cooking time pack more of a punch than fresh herbs and are the best choice for slow cooker recipes.
- Fresh herbs: I like to add a little fresh Italian parsley toward the end of the cooking time to brighten up the sauce.
- Wine: Choose a dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay.
- Canned tomato products: A little tomato paste and a large can of San Marzano crushed tomatoes. See below for why I strongly suggest choosing authentic San Marzano tomatoes for this recipe.
- For serving: Pasta is a classic choice for serving with chicken cacciatore. Long pasta like spaghetti or linguine or short pasta like penne or rigatoni are delicious smothered in the sauce from the Crock-Pot.
San Marzano tomatoes are milder, sweeter, and less acidic than other varieties and really make a difference in recipes like this Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore and my Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce. The real deal San Marzano tomatoes are grown in Italy, but you’ll see some brands marked “San Marzano Style,” which means they are most likely grown elsewhere. High-quality, Italian-grown canned tomato products yield the tastiest result.
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
This is a quick overview of how to make this recipe. You’ll find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Sauté the carrot, onion, and garlic in a little olive oil until softened. Add the tomato paste, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper, and stir to combine.
- Allow the mixture to cook briefly to toast the spices, then add the wine and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Add the chicken thighs to the slow cooker.
- Spoon the mixture from the skillet over the chicken and add the crushed tomatoes. Cover and cook on Low for 4 to 5 hours, just until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
- Stir in the mushrooms and parsley.
- Cover and continue to cook for an additional 30 to 60 minutes on Low, just until the mushrooms have softened.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the chicken and sauce with the cooked pasta of your choice, a crusty loaf of French bread, and a bottle of wine for Italian night at home. Here are a few more great side dish choices:
- Green Beans: Either simply Sautéed Green Beans or my Pesto Green Beans
- Salad: A tossed green salad with Homemade Italian Dressing. Or, my Simple Italian Salad or Lemon Parmesan Salad would be perfection.
- Rice: Instead of pasta, spoon it over cooked white or brown rice.
- Bread: A pan of easy Cheddar Dinner Rolls, Homemade Cheesy Breadsticks, or Cheater Garlic Bread.
Storage and Reheating Tips
If possible, store the chicken cacciatore sauce and pasta in separate containers. This will help preserve the textures of both, as pasta can absorb sauce and become mushy over time.
Refrigerate: Store the chicken cacciatore and sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. Store the cooked pasta in a separate airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
Freeze: Freezing works well for the chicken cacciatore. Let it cool completely, then place it in a freezer-safe container or resealable freezer bag. It can be stored for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to reheat it, I recommend cooking up a fresh batch of pasta to serve with it.
Reheating Leftovers: Reheat the chicken and sauce in a saucepan over medium heat, adding a splash of water or broth to loosen the sauce if it has thickened. Or, reheat it in the microwave, stirring occasionally. When reheating pasta, you can add a small amount of water or sauce to prevent it from drying out. Reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup dry white wine, like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay
- 8 chicken thighs (bone-in), skin removed
- 28 ounce can San Marzano crushed tomatoes
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, quartered
- 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
- shredded Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Optional for Serving
- 8 ounces cooked pasta, for serving
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a 12-inch skillet and place it over MEDIUM heat. Add the carrot, onion and garlic and sauté for 4 or 5 minutes, until the carrot and onion have just softened. Add the tomato paste, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper, and stir the mixture. Allow it to cook for 1 to 2 minutes to toast the spices. Add the wine and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Add the chicken to the slow cooker. Spoon the mixture from the skillet over the chicken and add the crushed tomatoes. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours, just until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Stir in the mushrooms and parsley, cover, and continue to cook for an additional 30 to 60 minutes on LOW, just until the mushrooms have softened.
- Garnish individual servings with plenty of shredded Parmesan cheese, and serve over pasta, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Like this? Please rate & comment below!
This post was originally published on April 19, 2020. It has been updated with new text and images.
The meal was delicious. The only thing I would caution others is that a double recipe fills a large slow cooker to very top.
This turned out perfect. The only thing I added was celery in error, but it still was excellent. Definitely worth saving the pin/recipe.
Can I use skinless boneless thighs?
I prefer bone-in chicken for this recipe but yes, you can. Just be aware that boneless chicken will cook faster so you might find it will take less time to get fork tender.
Hello, question on the mushrooms. My grandfather used to make this all the time when I was younger, but I think he used marinated mushrooms. Are you using fresh cremini mushrooms in this recipe? Can’t wait to cook this up!
Hi Silka. Yes, I use fresh cremini mushrooms. No need to marinate them in advance as they’ll soak up all that good flavor from the sauce. Hope you love it!
Made this tonight following the recipe exactly. It was delicious! Perfect consistency. Served over pappardelle pasta with salad.
Thanks for the great recipe.
I’m so glad it work out well for you! Thanks so much for your comment. 🙂
Can I prep this the night before and turn on the slow cooker the next day?
To prep ahead, I recommend cooking the mixture in the skillet, allowing it to cool and refrigerating it overnight. Proceed as directed in the morning with the remaining ingredients.
Excellent!
Used chicken breasts with bone-in.
So happy you loved it!
It was delicious without any changes.
Hi I use peppers, green, red and yellow instead of carrot and I use breasts but I cube them and sear in butter before I put the in the slow cooker. This solves the tenderness problem
Can you substitute chicken broth for the wine?
You could but you’d definitely have a less complex flavor in the end.
For Ms. Hansen and others concerned about wine in their recipes, have no fear
. When wine cooks in any recipe that reaches the boiling point, the alcohol is burned off and/or evaporated. The finished product has the complexity of flavors and the wonderful taste that wine adds to dishes without the alcohol. Besides that, even if a smidgen of alcohol remained, the amount per serving would be so small that any type of effect really negligible or non-existent. Hope that helps. You folks will be extremely happy you chose to be daring and add the wine after all. I promise you’ll never substitute wine again. Enjoy!
Hi Valerie, my kids are in elementary school so I’m wondering if I can substitute anything for the wine? In place of the crushed tomatoes, can I omit or use chicken broth? My kids are not as fond of tomato bases for their food.
Honestly, I would choose a different chicken recipe if the kiddos aren’t fond of tomato bases. Chicken Cacciatore is not Chicken Cacciatore without tomato.
Wine used in cooking loses the alcohol content adding flavor without any affects of alcohol. And it’s a tomato based stew, it requires tomato…
I’m not a thigh fan, how would breasts be in this?
Hi Nancy. I use thighs because they are so tender and flavorful. I do think it would work with breasts but I don’t believe they would be quite as tender.