Classic Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
Published February 8, 2019. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Authentic Chicken Cacciatore Recipe is a delicious braised chicken dish loaded with mushrooms and vegetables in a tomato and herb broth.
I’ve been listening to you all and I keep hearing more family meals, so enter stage right this classic dish. I love this and not only because it’s Italian but because it’s a classic recipe that is so delicious.
I can’t lie, I’m starting to get nervous that we’re losing these traditional recipes. People nowadays are taking these old traditional recipes and adding in all sorts of crazy stuff and saying it’s authentic.
You have to research things like and find out its true roots and the intent of the recipe, because more times than not I think you’ll be very surprised by them.
What Is It
It’s an incredibly simple recipe consisting of chicken and mirepoix that is cooked and braised in a simple tomato broth with herbs. Cacciatore translates from Italian to English as “hunter.”
Cacciatore is a style of cooking, so hunter-style would include certain ingredients such as onions, herbs, and tomatoes. Again, it’s really simple.
Italy, being one of the founding countries of modern-day cookery wasn’t an overly rich country in the 17 and 1800’s. A lot of the classic Italian foods you’ll hear about and eat today are simple peasant foods.
This is to the Italians as Chicken Cassoulet is to the French.
These recipes are simple, they’re delicious and mostly were comprised of what was leftover or readily available. You’ll see all sorts of variations these days that have tons of different herbs, and olives, and random ingredients in them.
In no way am I saying these are bad additions, but they just don’t reflect the classic nature of it. Italian chicken cacciatore uses few ingredients and either uses chicken or rabbit. Yup, I said rabbit in addition to readily available.
How to Make It
Here are the steps to making it.
- Reconstitute your porcini mushrooms and dice – reserve the liquid.
- Break down a whole chicken into parts and season with salt and pepper.
- Sear the chicken until golden brown in a large rondeaux pot.
- Remove the chicken and sauté the vegetables until tender.
- Deglaze with red wine and cook to au sec.
- Pour in some of the reserved porcini mushroom liquid along with tomatoes, herbs and salt and pepper.
- Add the seared chicken back in the pot and braise.
As I have told you so many times, this is beyond easy to make and just so flavorful.
How to Serve it
Chicken cacciatore can be served with several different things such as rice, pasta, or polenta. I like to finish off my chicken cacciatore recipe with a ton of chopped parsley.
It just adds so much needed color to the mixture and of course some flavor. Well, my friends, that’s all I got. I hope you all enjoy this and that’s the most perfect family meal recipe.
More Italian Recipes
If you are digging on this then check out some of these other classic Italian dishes.
- Homemade Fettuccine Pasta with Recipe for Alfredo Sauce
- Classic Lasagna Bolognese Recipe
- Authentic Italian Minestrone Soup Recipe
- Bistecca Alla Fiorentina Recipe
Be sure to follow me on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest, and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!
Video
Authentic Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup of reconstituted dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 whole chicken broken down into parts
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ peeled and small diced yellow onion
- 3 small diced ribs of celery
- 2 peeled and small diced carrots
- 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 1 cup each sliced baby portabella and button mushrooms
- 1 cup of dry red wine
- 2 28- ounce cans of whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoons of chopped fresh rosemary
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Porcini mushrooms: pour 2 cups of boiling water over top a ½ ounce of dried porcini mushrooms and sit for 20 minutes.
- Finely strain the mushrooms and reserve ½ of the liquid.
- Rinse the mushrooms, squeeze out all of the liquid and roughly small chop.
- Season the chicken parts well on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil into a large rondeaux pot over medium heat and brown the chicken parts well on each side, about 4 minutes per side.
- Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Next, add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and mushrooms to the pan and sauté for 6 to 7 minutes.
- Deglaze with the wine and cook over medium heat until it is almost gone about 5 minutes.
- Pour in the reserved porcini mushroom liquid, tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper and stir.
- 10. Add the browned chicken back in and add a lid to the pot and simmer over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes.
- 11. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Nutrition
Elevate Your Every Day Cooking
Get Chef Billy’s go-to tips that transform “blah” into “brilliant” plus weekly newsletter!
Yes, however it took more than 30 minutes to braise. The flavor is killer. I served it over homemade fettuccine.
Made this last night. Delicious! I didn’t have any polenta so served it with mashed potatoes 😋
I’m thinking i should take the skin off before i fry it. ??
Nope!
Hi, Chef!
Do you have a video on breaking down a whole chicken? If not I’m sure I can find one.
I think there’s a typo in the article using “bread” instead of “break”. It’s correct in the recipe, though.
Fantastic!!! I’m going to try this !!
Thank you for this delicious recipe!!!
Thanks,
Phyllis
I completely agree re: your concern about losing traditional recipes. Thanks for this one!
I recently discovered your site and have found it to be the most informative, basic, and useful culinary site in a long time. I can’t wait to see what you have new to teach. So awesome and thank you.Keep it coming. It is definitely a site worth sharing and telling other food enthusiasts about.
I made this for my partner and he’s normally very fussy but he loved it. Thank you!
I just found your website! I watched the video for Chicken Cacciatore and I can’t wait to make it! Just watching you cook it up made my mouth water. I’m looking for your book book now!
I just found you on facebook, and I’m glad I did! I’ll be following you and cooking some things you suggest. My grandfather was born in Italy, so I have that same connection. I already make a lot of Italian food, but some of your suggestions and WAYS of doing things are so helpful. Alway looking to improve!
This was amazing even with the substitutions I had to make. It was late on Sunday evening and my local market didn’t have any packaged mixed bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces or whole chickens. Nor did it have any dried porcini mushrooms. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and just omitted the porcini mushrooms all together. To mimic the crispy skin-on crust, I dusted the chicken breasts in flour and browned on medium-high heat just long enough to form crust. Then followed the remainder of the recipe reducing the cooking time to accomodate for the difference between skin-on, bone-in and skinless, boneless. I served with roasted cauliflower with garlic. I look forward to preparing the recipe with exact ingredients. A couple nights later I warmed the sauce and the one remaining chicken breast shredded over fresh pasta. Another delicious meal! My husband suggested that the sauce would be great with snapper or flounder too. Thank you Chef Billy for an amazing recipe.
Thank you so much for responding to my inquiry regarding “no boil” lasagna. It turned out perfectly delicious.
Marcey
Like someone said Jesus was there lolll delitful in every way your simplicite is an art ,I have made cacciatore before and it was good bbut not good like yours thank you sir xxx
Without your explicit times & temps. I would be unable to adjust mine. I felt like a chef, thanks to your details. What entertainment for my tastebuds.
Impressed her with this on date 2!
My and Mother and I following in her footsteps, roll the chicken in seasoned flour then brown it on all sides. Your thoughts as I do value them.
You can if you want to do that, but it’s not necessary.
This sounds and look delicious and will try it. What kind of red wine do you use, so I can get it or if I don’t use red wine, will it make a difference in taste?
I like Sangiovese, but you can use a cab or a merlot as well.
Hey Billy….i dont keep alcohol in my house…what can i substitute it with?
Grape juice???? Or what??
Definitely not grape juice. I would simply skip it.
One of my favorite recipes as it was my papà’s favorite.
Ciao!
I was served true cacciatore when I was 21 years old living and working in Rome. I remember the dish distinctly. It was at a home out in the country and I was traveling with an Italian friend who was related to the lovely people who welcomed us into their home. It was like a stew, very thick and had very dark red sauce. There were large chunks of meat (like a roast)in it with a few vegetables.
It was delicious! My friend told me it was wild boar and rabbit they had hunted on their own land. He said they don’t make theirs with chicken.
His aunt who served mine to me looked in my eyes, pointed to the dish and said with a little smile, “Questo è il vero cacciatore”.
That was 50 years ago. I remember it like it was a week ago.
I learned to make Chicken Cacciatore myself and I think it’s pretty good but non è il vero cacciatore!
Thank you for your recipe!
This is the true recipe for cacciatore that I remember from my grandmother and my Irish but adopted into Italian cooking mother.
It’s perfect for those cold nights and always great as a leftover – if you have any!!!
Thanks Barbara!!
This is one of the few recipes tat my whole family will eat! Love it!
Awesome, thank you!
This is a winner winner chicken dinner! So awesome!
yes it is for sure!
I just got back from a trip to Italy but sadly never tried this dish there. I’ll have to make it at home!
Well you can make it now 🙂
This is a delicious recipe!! It is always a hit with everyone, even my kids!
So delicious!
I know this sounds crazy, but I turned this vegan with potatoes and sweet potatoes….the shrooms give it the umami
great idea!
Oh my goodness, this is absolutely amazing! I have no doubt that this will soon become a family favorite!
Thanks Jessica, it is super good and so easy to make!