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Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore – an easy crockpot meal loaded with tender chicken, tomatoes, bell peppers, kale, carrots and sliced mushrooms. Hearty, comforting and bursting with flavor.
Hey everyone! Kelly here from Life Made Sweeter back again to share another slow cooker dinner recipe! With the cooler evenings we are starting to see, we’ve been craving all kinds of comfort food.
Chicken Cacciatore is a classic Italian dish that is just perfect for this time of year. Ever since visiting Italy a few years ago, we love trying to recreate the delicious flavors of the meals we had while we were there.
I love making this hearty and rustic dish in the slow cooker on busy school nights. You just toss everything into the pot and set and forget it. Cooking it low and slow helps to create that amazing rich and flavorful broth.
But if you have some extra time, sear the chicken in a large skillet before placing in the slow cooker. It’s an extra step but it gives the chicken that extra layer of flavor.
This slow cooker chicken cacciatore is also loaded with a ton of healthy vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, diced tomatoes, kale, mushrooms, onions and Kalamata olives.
Serve this with your favorite sides or over some thick noodles, zoodles, or rice to soak up that amazing sauce.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
- 6 skinless chicken thighs I used bone-in
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ medium white onion chopped
- 1/2 cup diced red bell peppers
- 1/2 cup sliced carrots
- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2-4 Kalamata olives optional
- ½ cup chopped kale stems removed
- 2 teaspoons corn starch plus 3 teaspoons water whisked together in a small bowl (to thicken up sauce - leave out if you want a thinner sauce consistency)
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley plus more for serving
- Fresh basil leaves for garnish (optional)
- grated Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and black pepper. Heat olive oil in a large non-tick skillet over medium high heat. Sear chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to slow cooker. Alternatively, if pressed for time, skip browning and add chicken straight to a 6 quart slow cooker.
- Add the garlic, onion, bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and salt and black pepper to taste. Stir to combine. **(Do not worry if the mixture looks dry, the tomatoes will release more liquid as this cooks - if you like this dish more saucy or soup-y - you can add 1/2 cup chicken broth or water)
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 4-6 hours.
- minutes prior to serving, stir in the olives, kale and corn starch / water slurry into the slow cooker and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes on HIGH, or until sauce thickens up slightly and kale is wilted.
- Sprinkle with chopped parsley, basil leaves and taste and season with additional salt or black pepper, as needed.
- Serve hot over pasta, zucchini noodles, rice or your favorite sides and top with grated parmesan, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More slow cooker favorites:
NO SLOW COOKER
How to make this delicious recipe on the stove or in the oven?
Thank You
Try this recipe on the skillet instead! Creamy Skillet Chicken Cacciatore
Hi! Would this be just as good if I used chicken breasts?
Yes, this will taste just as good. Enjoy your cacciatore!
How long for boneless chicken thighs? Two hours on high?
Yes that sounds about right. 2-3 hours on high.
Fabulous dinner. I did not use kale or olives since I don’t like either. Put everything in the crock pot per recipe, went with a friend to a play and when we came home, a delicious dinner awaited us.
my chicken caccitore was a big flop carrots took too long to cook, carrots not needed no hint of any italian taste, looks like time to search for italian resturant.
Carrots offer a sweetness to the dish without adding sugar. You might try grating the carrots into the dish. I find doing this in italian dishes makes the carrots all but disappear.
Carrots offer a sweetness without adding sugar. I often shred carrots into a braise or long cooking Italian dishes. They all but disappear during the cooking.
Made this yesterday and it was super yummy! Made a few slight tweaks:
– used a half chicken cause that’s what I had. I cut it up, but, in hindsight, I probably could have left it whole.
– did not pre-sear the chicken.
– more than doubled the amount of peppers, carrots, and mushrooms (1/2c is like nothing when cooked down, imho)
– used green bell peppers to make more contrast in color
– did not drain the tomatoes
– used a pre-made italian seasoning instead of separate seasonings, and added a lot more, maybe 3 or 4 tablespoons worth
– added about 1/2 c red wine
– did not add kale or olives as I didn’t have any
Topped over spaghetti noodles with freshly grated parmesan. Soooo tasty! Bet it’s gonna be even better tonight.
I’m single and work a lot so I use my slow cooker all the time. I’m always looking for healthy meals that will freeze well and this one fits the bill! What doesn’t get eaten tonight will be portioned and into the freezer. I’ll get probably 7 or 8 servings out of this easy. Thanks for the great recipe! I’ll definitely make this again!
I prepared this dish for our Sunday evening dinner and truly enjoyed it. The only change I made was to saute the onions, carrots, peppers and mushrooms before adding them to the crockpot. Next time I will cook a little less time than 6 hours. Served this delicious chicken with pasta and a steamed artichoke. Great meal!
Amazing!
The chicken recipe is absolutely wonderful. I served it over a bed of spiralized zucchini for a healthy dish for those who should not have pasts
This is a keeper!
MMM! That sounds delicious! Thanks so much for sharing! XOXO
There are so many mouth watering recipies to try I have decided my first will be slow cooker chicken cacciatore
AWE!! Thanks! XOXO
if chicken is cooked in the slow cooker, will it not over cook as it is a very tender meat
No. There’s heaps of chicken slow cooker recipes and most I’ve tried have been really yummy.
Ever add potatoes? Wondering if I should add at the same time as the peppers and onions
We made this tonight and added spinach since we didn’t have kale! It was delicious and my entire family said it was a winner! Thank you so much!
That sounds great! I love spinach! I am so glad that everyone enjoyed it! Thanks so much for sharing! XOXO
Looks soooo good and healthy. Can’t wait to try it!
hey girl- this looks so yummy!