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Meals & CookingOur Favorite Recipes
Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Headshot of Makinze GoreBY MAKINZE GOREUPDATED: FEB 27, 2023
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25 Ratings
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preview for Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore Is The Easiest Fall Dinner

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WATCH: Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore = Best Fall Dinner

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We love slow cookers because they do all of the work for us, meaning we can do literally anything else while dinner cooks. Chicken cacciatore is the perfect candidate for a slow cooker meal because it only improves with time. The long cook time gives the aromatic veggies and herbs a chance to meld together, creating a bright, earthy stew. It's also packed with carrots, mushrooms, and tomatoes, making it a delicious way to sneak in a few servings of veggies for the picky eaters in your life. Need dinner faster? Make our classic chicken cacciatore instead.

Chicken cacciatore popped up in central Italy between the 14th and 15th centuries, the same time tomatoes made their way to Italy from the Americas. Cacciatore translates to "hunter" in Italian and was originally a dish hunters created from the spoils of a long day with many of the same ingredients used today. Since then, the humble, soul-warming dish has become wildly popular, even earning its national holiday on October 15th.

Can you use white meat chicken?
Bone-in skin-on thigh is the traditional choice for cacciatore, but you can use chicken breast if you want to cut a few calories or use what you have on hand. Dark meat lends itself well to slow cooking and is considerably more forgiving when it comes to long cooking periods.

How do you thicken chicken cacciatore?
If your sauce comes out a bit too thin, there are a few easy ways to help it thicken. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and follow any one of these methods:

— Method 1: Let the sauce simmer in the slow cooker uncovered on high until it reaches your desired thickness.
— Method 2: Use a whisk to combine one tablespoon of flour and two tablespoons of tomato sauce. Stir into the slow cooker and simmer for 5-10 minutes until thickened
— Method 3: Use a whisk to combine one tablespoon of cornstarch and two tablespoons of tomato sauce. Stir into the slow cooker and simmer for 5-10 minutes until thickened

Serve this classic chicken dish with a side of buttery garlic noodles or a fluffy mountain of mashed potatoes for an easy weeknight spread.

Have you made this yet? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
Editor's Note: The introduction to this recipe was updated on July 20th, 2022, to include more information about the dish.

YIELDS: 6 serving(s)
PREP TIME: 10 mins
TOTAL TIME: 6 hrs 10 mins
CAL/SERV: 471
Ingredients
2 lb. skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 bell peppers, chopped
8 oz. baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 c. Swanson Chicken Broth
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/3 c. capers
8 oz. cooked linguine, for serving

Instructions

Step 1
Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker. Add peppers, mushrooms, garlic, tomatoes, and broth, then season with oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours, until chicken is cooked through.
Step 2
Remove chicken from slow-cooker and stir capers into sauce. Serve chicken over cooked pasta with sauce.

chicken