It’s simple to prepare, is bursting with flavour and is like a little bit of Mediterranean sunshine on your plate, making this perfect as both a winter warmer or light summery dish. If there is a way to make a humble slow cooker chicken recipe that’s a casserole-style meal the whole family will love, that’s also super easy but tastes a little bit special – this HAS to be it! In this delicious Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore we have chicken thighs braised in a tomato sauce with basil, oregano, olives, onions and mushroom, seared and then thrown together to cook long and slow for ultimate aromatic flavour.It’s perfect served with pasta, rice or mashed potatoes, and is also gluten and dairy free, AND it freezes really well so you can batch cook it anytime for those time-poor days later. Winner!
Why you’ll love this Chicken Cacciatore recipe
⭐️ A more exotic tasting stew ⭐️ Simple ingredients but tastes special ⭐️ Easy prep and then slow cooks on its own This is where Chicken Cacciatore comes in – a dish that originates from Italy and involves using traditionally Italian flavours and ingredients, such as tomatoes, olives and herbs. The word ‘cacciatore’ means ‘hunter’, so this is a kind-of gathering in a pot-type of meal (similar to the French Chicken Chasseur or Hunter’s Chicken.)
How we came up with this recipe
This is my take on the dish – I wanted to create a simple, easy-to-prepare recipe for us to recreate during a typically frazzled week. The slow cooker HAD to come in here. While we do sear the chicken to get that depth of flavour, the rest is then thrown in to cook on its own until serving. There’s also a way to make it without searing (see the tips below), and an oven and hob version too, so plenty of options if you’d rather scale back on effort. If it’s more summery chicken slow cooker recipes you’re after (less time near a hot oven/hob = win), you could also try my Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos, Honey Barbecue Pulled Chicken or Chicken and Chorizo Stew.
Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore Ingredients Notes
Bone-in chicken thighs – You can also use skinless boneless thighs for a dump-style recipe but the depth of flavour of the chicken won’t be quite as good. If you use boneless chicken thighs you’ll probably only need about 750g rather than 900g of bone-in chicken thighs Onions and garlic – You can use fresh or pre-chopped frozen for these if you prefer Chopped tinned tomatoes – Good quality tomatoes are going to make a difference for this recipe. I use Cirio Tomato purée – Again, try to get good quality if you can Oregano – Dried is fine Sundried tomato paste – It’s OK to leave this out if you don’t already have it in and don’t want to buy a whole tube just for this
In the freezer This Chicken Cacciatore freezes so well. When it is totally cold, I portion them up into these dishes, label and freeze them. You may need to add a splash of more liquid when it is defrosted as you’re reheating. Next, add in chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, sundried tomato paste (if using), mushrooms, olives, carrots and dried oregano. Give it a good stir and add the chicken back in. Bring everything to the boil and then pop into a preheated oven for 1.5 hours. You could also do a speedy version on the hob by cooking the chicken thighs in the oven for around 25 minutes while you bubble the sauce away on the hob. The flavour won’t be quite the same but it’ll still be delicious! I tend to serve my Chicken Cacciatore with rice (brown rice is good for texture), cous cous, mashed potatoes, pasta or even soft polenta. All of them work well. Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
