Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

This slow cooker chicken cacciatore is healthy version of a rustic Italian-style classic dish. Chicken thighs slow cook tomato sauce with vegetables and seasonings creating a dish that’s flavorful and hands-off. Low-carb, paleo, and Whole30 compatible, this also make this tasty meal is perfect any day of the week. Instructions to make this chicken cacciatore in the Instant Pot are also included.

Ingredients For Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken cacciatore is a dish where every recipe is different. What I love about it is that it can be tailored to your liking. Below are the ingredients used for this particular slow cooker chicken cacciatore.

• Chicken thighs: bone-in or boneless, skin-on or skinless 
• Tomatoes: combination of crush tomatoes and tomato sauce
• Seasonings: oregano, basil, salt, and pepper
• Veggies: onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, olives, garlic

How To Make Chicken Cacciatore In The Slow Cooker

This cacciatore recipe a true set-it-and-forget-it slow cooker recipe. If you’re using your Instant Pot, there’s a few minutes of work but it is still easy.

Slow Cooker

1. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
2. Cook HIGH 2-3 hours or LOW 4-6.

Instant Pot

1. Turn on the Instant Pot and select sauté. Once hot add oil to the pot. Add onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms. Cook for a 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute. Turn off Instant Pot.
2. Add the tomato sauce & diced tomatoes and deglaze the bottom of the pressure cooker by scraping all the bits off with a wooden spoon. Stir in olives, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.
3. Season the chicken with salt & pepper. Add the chicken to the Instant Pot. Stir to mix well.
4. Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure for 11 minutes. When cooking time is complete, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes then manually release the remaining pressure.

FAQs & Tips

What Is Chicken Cacciatore?

Cacciatore means hunter in Italian. To make something cacciatore means to make it hunter style. A poultry like chicken or rabbit is usually used in a cacciatore. Other common ingredients include tomatoes, onions, and simple vegetables like bell peppers.

 

What cut of chicken should you use?

Chicken cacciatore is best made with chicken thighs. For this recipe, you can use boneless or bone-in, skinless or skin-on thighs. If you use chicken breasts, note that white meat cooks faster than dark; if you overcook this, the meat will by dry. I like to use boneless, skinless thighs so that’s what you see in the pics. 

Can you use different tomatoes?

Yes! I used a combination of crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. You can double up on crushed tomatoes or even used diced tomatoes. I encourage you to use the ingredients that you like or have in your pantry. 

Can you use different vegetables?

Of course. Add or remove your favorite vegetables. For example, if you don’t like mushrooms, simply omit them. 

 

How do you serve this? 

How you serve chicken cacciatore will depends on your dietary needs. Suggestions include over mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower, riced cauliflower, pasta, etc. There will be a lot of tomato sauce in the appliance when this is done cooking. Be sure to pour some on top of the chicken before serving. 

No broth is needed for the slow cooker?

Nope. It might not look like there’s enough sauce when the food starts cooking in the slow cooker but trust me, there is. The 1 cup of broth is only for the Instant Pot, it is not needed for the slow cooker. 

 

How do you store leftovers?

Store leftover crockpot chicken cacciatore in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. 

What size slow cooker did you use?

I use a  6-quart slow cooker or Instant Pot for this recipe.

 

 

Italian Inspired Recipes

• Ribollita

• Mediterranean Salmon

• 5-Ingredient Dinner

• Vegetable Tortellini

• Italian Wedding Soup

• Tuscan Sausage White Bean

• Chicken Gnocchi

• Meatball Tortellini

• Zuppa Toscana

• Minestrone

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