Healthy Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with potatoes, a fabulous Italian chicken thigh stew with lots of nutritious vegetables. Packed with amazing flavours, and so comforting, this chicken cacciatore is a great family dinner no matter the season.
I must have said again and again, but I can't stop saying how happy I am with my slow cooker. It's worth every single pence, and mind you, it wasn't even that expensive.
Definitely, this has been one of my best investments in ages. I highly recommend one. Even a basic one like mine does such a brilliant job.
Well, rather than panicking that there is no cooked food, how about coming home to a hot meal already? And that's only possible because of the amazing crock pot.
It makes life so easy, we can have lunch, and there are usually plenty of leftovers for dinner too, so I don't need to panic again about dinner.
Pretty much any kind of meal can be made in the slow cooker, with soups and stews being my absolute favourite.
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What is Chicken Cacciatore?
Chicken cacciatore is comforting Italian dish made of chicken (either thighs, breast, drumsticks or whole chicken cut up into pieces), vegetables: mushrooms, peppers, potatoes, onions and garlic, plus olives, and cooked in a delicious tomato and herb sauce.
How to cook chicken cacciatore in a slow cooker
- First, season the chicken thighs, then lightly brown in a pan with a dash of oil. The chicken is NOT cooked at this stage.
- Place the chicken thighs in the slow cooker, then add the mushrooms, cubed potatoes, carrots, peppers, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, herbs and chicken stock.
You can either add the olives now or later, it does not makes much of a difference. And I usually season with salt and pepper once the dish is cooked.
Otherwise, it's easy to get tricked and use a lot more salt, while with the final product you can season it to taste. Note that the chicken cooks a lot faster than the veggies, especially the carrots, they take the longest to become tender.
Cooking time
I cooked this chicken dish for 4 hours on high, and I think on slow it would cook in about 7-8 hours. There is no need to add any more chicken stock, there will be plenty of sauce left once it's cooked, as the veggies release liquid as well.
Tips and tricks
The bone-in chicken thighs work perfectly here, as they bring so much more flavour, and they are cooked until tender and falling off the bone. The tomato sauce is rich and the herbs give that extra kick to make you lick your fingers clean.
Since I added potatoes, there was no need for a side dish, but if you don't use potatoes, you can serve it with mashed potatoes, pasta or rice.
Browning the chicken beforehand is not a must, but it definitely adds a richer flavour. I don't usually brown the chicken breast, but with the thighs I think it tastes tons better.
Other slow cooker chicken recipes
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Mushroom
Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
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Healthy Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- ½ red pepper
- ½ yellow pepper
- 1 cup closed-cup mushrooms
- ½ cup pitted black olives
- 2 cups tomato passata (or any simple tomato sauce)
- 1 cup potatoes (cut into cubes)
- ½ cup chicken stock (broth)
- 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 2 carrots
- fresh parsley to garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up the oil in a frying pan, then gently fry the chicken thighs until lightly brown.
- Add the thighs in the slow cooker, then peel and chop the onion, garlic, potatoes and carrots, and add the to the slow cooker too.
- If you use small mushrooms, you can add them whole, otherwise you can quarter or half them. Roughly cut the peppers, and add them as well.
- Add the chicken stock, tomato passata and herbs, and cook on high for 4 hours, low for 7-8 hours until the vegetables are tender.
- You can now add the olives, or you can choose to add them at any time during the cooking.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with fresh parsley.
Notes
- The bone-in chicken thighs work perfectly here, as they bring so much more flavour, and they are cooked until tender and falling off the bone. The tomato sauce is rich and the herbs give that extra kick to make you lick your fingers clean.
- Since I added potatoes, there was no need for a side dish, but if you don't use potatoes, you can serve it with mashed potatoes, pasta or rice.
- Browning the chicken beforehand is not a must, but it definitely adds a richer flavour. I don't usually brown the chicken breast, but with the thighs I think it tastes tons better.
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