This Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore is the latest in the series of healthy re-makes of the best classic comfort food recipes. Chicken Cacciatore is an Italian inspired dish that roughly translates to hunter-style chicken.
When I was researching how to take-on this classic chicken recipe (and make it healthier and easy enough for a week-night) I discovered that Chicken Cacciatore has so many variations, nobody really agrees what it is exactly. Apparently it hails from Italy and the original dish was something hunters would have made out in the field (or woods) and therefore would be very simple. The chicken would be cut into parts and cooked with herbs and mushrooms.
But here in the states I know it to have wine, tomatoes and peppers as well. I also looked in the Joy of Cooking, like when I was working on the Chicken a la King, and their version does not have peppers. To make things more confusing, some of the recipes I found online didn’t have tomatoes or peppers at all in them. Eventually I just decided that it was totally fine to take some creative license. As long as the dish tastes delicious, is healthier, and can be made for a weeknight, I’m okay with breaking the rules.
How I Made This Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore More Healthy
First of all, most Italian hunters probably don’t have slow cookers out in the woods, so right there you know we’re off into new territory. I removed the chicken skin to save on calories from fat. Then I mixed a super flavorful combination of Italian spices, red chili pepper flake, coarse salt and smoked paprika and dusted the thighs with the spices. (All of which is virtually calorie free flavor.) Without the chicken skin these chicken thighs are still very rich and flavorful tasting. The smoked paprika made them so savory tasting.
Next I layered on chopped olives. The Joy of Cooking calls for olives so I tried that and loved the flavor it gave everything. Next, without stirring, I added on the vegetables. I used a whole onion, a whole pepper and mushrooms to really bulk the serving size up.
I didn’t stir the mixture because I wanted to make sure that the chicken stayed coated in the smoked paprika combination. I found that the vegetables released just enough juice, and it dripped down and mixed with the tomato, so that the chicken simmers and becomes completely tender.
At the end I pulled the chicken out, and mixed in some fresh rosemary and mixed the vegetables and tomato all together. The sauce is nice and thick and so delicious! You can serve this with whole grain pasta, mashed potatoes or with polenta. It is naturally gluten-free and paleo, so if you want to keep it low-carb you could serve it with spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles.
This healthier version of Chicken Cacciatore is made in a slow cooker with lots of extra-vegetables. It has plenty of flavor from spices, herbs and olives.
Ingredients
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted
- 3 tablespoons pure tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- pinch crushed red pepper
- 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
- 6 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
- ½ cup chopped olives
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 4 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced
- ½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Stir diced tomatoes and tomato paste together in the bottom of a large slow cooker. Mix smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt and crushed red pepper in a small dish. Lay chicken on a sheet of parchment. Sprinkle all over the chicken turning pieces to coat completely. Arrange chicken in the sauce in the slow cooker. Pour any extra spices from the parchment on top. Layer olives, onion, bell pepper and mushrooms on top. Cover and set slow cooker to low for 6 hours.
- When timer goes off, carefully pull chicken out of the cooker, keeping thighs intact if possible. Stir rosemary and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt into the vegetable mixture. Serve the vegetable mixture and sauce with the chicken.
we’re having a cool and rainy day today, and this sounds like the perfect weeknight fall supper
Its so chilly here in Vermont too. There were flurries earlier! I am with you that this type of chill calls for comfort food! Thanks so much for visiting Heather.
This sounds so good. I love slow cooker recipes. Did you use green or black olives?
Hi Karen, I tested it with both. I think the green was best. Let me know if you try it!
Prepared this last evening and then decided to refrigerate and crock pot it for tonight’s meal! It’s cooking now, surprised it only takes 6 hours on low! I used black olives! It was really pretty easy except for the store trip and had to buy those spices! Thank you for this healthy meal and able to use the chicken thighs my hubby had already gotten!
So glad to hear it Kelly. I didn’t test out refrigerating this. Typically when I do that I add about a half hour of extra cooking time ot the total to account for the time it takes to bring the insert up to temperature. Please let us know how it worked out for you. And about the trip to the store, thank you for the feedback. That’s helpful to know. Now that you have them, I think you’ll be so excited to work with smoked paprika Kelly, and I use a ton of Italian seasoning in my recipes too. Let me know if need help finding more ways to use them! (The smoked paprika is in my turkey chili– link below.) I have a lot of ideas in the archives to share. Happy Cooking! ~Katie
Can I make this in a four quart slow cooker?
Unfortunately I dont think that would work. It would be too full. Generally the rule of thumb to cook safely in a slow cooker is to not fill it much past the half way point. You could try cutting the recipe in half though and try it in the smaller slow cooker.
Made this last night and it was perfection! I cooked it on high for 3 hours (my slow cooker doesn’t do as well on the low setting) and kept the skins on, so at the end I took the thighs out and browned them under the broiler. We all loved it and decided it should go on the “good enough for company” roster.
This looks so yummy! I am going to try this out this week – but 115oz seems like a lot of diced tomatoes. Just confirming the quantity??
Thanks
Lianne
Glad to hear you’re going to give it a try. Confirming that you should use 1(one) 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes for this recipe. There is a space there between the two one’s, but it is hard to see. I’m lol’ing because you’re right 115 ounces would be a little saucy. Glad you checked 😉 I’d love it if you could come back and report/rate once you try it Lianne. Have a great night.
phew! LOL
Thanks for the quick reply. I will let you know how it turns out for sure!
This recipe was amazing! 1 (15oz) can of diced tomatoes was perfect! LOL And now that I re-read the recipe, I can see that it was only 15 oz…
My boys loved it too, which gives is a 5/5!!
Thanks again!
I’m nervous to make something “bone-in” for company even though it looks amazing! Is it a pain? Anyone else have issues with this? Thanks!!
The bone helps the thighs stay together. As it is, they are nearly falling off the bone when the dish is done, so you have to lift them out of the sauce with a slotted spatula. If there was no bone the texture would be more like pulled chicken. Hope you try it Bre.
If this was made with breasts, what are you time recommendations for both boneless, skinless and bone-in, skinless?
I wouldn’t recommend chicken breast because it is too dry to cook with this cooking technique. Dark meat can be cooked for long periods of time, and will break down and become meltingly tender. White meat on the other hand will be tough and dry. That said if you really do want to try it anyway, I would say use boneless skinless chicken breast and only cook it for 2 hours on high. Since I haven’t tried that myself I can’t guarantee the results.
Your presentation is really interesting, I believe decoration and arranging food on the plate is really an art.
Nice recipe! I’ve noticed that the longer the chicken has been kept coated or marinated the better it tastes when slow cooking. I would also add potatoes and let some flavors infuse into the potatoes as it cooks.
What do you serve as a side? My husband will need the additional calories to be content.
This is my favourite slow cooker recipe and I often double the recipe, strip off the chicken and freeze the leftovers.