This delicious slow cooker chicken cacciatore is so easy to put together for a tasty weeknight meal or effortless Sunday dinner. Chicken thighs are cooked low and slow with tomatoes, bell peppers, and mushrooms to make a light sauce that can be served over pasta, polenta, or even potatoes! For a quick overview of this recipe, check out my web story for this easy chicken cacciatore!
I love making slow cooker meals for dinner. The hours after the kids get home from school through dinner are always so busy with homework and chores. Prepped ahead of time, these easy meals make the dinner hour a breeze. For this recipe, simply add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and let them cook while you go about your day. The chicken is so tender after cooking all day. The vegetables mixed with the broth make a light and flavorful sauce that we love eating with a big bowl of pasta!
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🥘 Ingredient notes
- Chicken - Chicken thighs are tender and higher in fat than chicken breasts, so they are great for slow cooking. They are also inexpensive and very flavorful and work great in this recipe.
- Bell pepper - Use your favorite color bell pepper in this recipe. Red, yellow, and orange have a sweeter flavor to them, while green bell peppers have a lighter and slightly bitter taste to them.
- Tomatoes - You can use either canned diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes for this dish. For a thicker sauce, use crushed tomatoes and for a thinner sauce, used diced tomatoes.
🔪 Step by step instructions
First, add the chicken thighs to the bottom of the slow cooker and season them with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Next, add the remaining ingredients on top of the chicken.
Lastly, cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours until the chicken is fork tender.
This dish is especially tasty with your favorite pasta, polenta or even mashed potatoes!
⭐ Top tip
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are healthier and make for easy serving. On the other hand, bone in and skin on chicken thighs may be used and do render more flavor. Just be sure to remove the bones before serving.
Print📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
This easy chicken cacciatore recipe can be made for a tasty weeknight meal or effortless Sunday dinner. Chicken thighs are slow cooked with tomatoes, bell peppers and mushrooms to make a light sauce that is delicious over pasta, polenta or even mashed potatoes!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 8 ounces sliced baby bella mushrooms
- 1 - 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Place chicken thighs in the slow cooker and season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Add onion, garlic, bell pepper, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over pasta, polenta or mashed potatoes.
Equipment
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Keywords: slow cooker, chicken, italian, gluten free
📋 Variations
- Olives - Stir in a can of drained pitted plain black or kalamata olives in the last hour of cooking for a briny kick to this dish.
- Peppers - Add 6-8 pepperoncini peppers in the last hour of cooking for a zestier dish.
- Cream - Stir in ½ cup of half and half or heavy cream into the finished dish for a creamy sauce.
💭 Frequently asked questions
Chicken cacciatore is served typically over pasta, like spaghetti. You can also serve it over polenta or mashed potatoes with salad and bread on the side.
Cacciatore mean "hunter" in Italian. In Italian cuisine, it means that a dish is prepared "hunter style" with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, occasionally bell peppers and sometimes wine or vinegar.
🥘 More slow cooker meals
If you loved this chicken cacciatore recipe, check out these other slow cooker meals that I know you will love!
Don't forget! If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and give it a rating. I love to hear from each and every one of you! Tag me on Facebook and Instagram as well! It makes my day to see all of your photos of the food you have made.
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