Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore recipe made with boneless skinless chicken thighs, red wine, crushed tomatoes, green bell pepper, garlic, and spices. Made in the Crockpot and served over pasta! One of the best homemade meals ever!

There is just nothing quite like a homemade batch of chicken cacciatore. You can order it at your favorite Italian restaurant, but honestly, it will just not be the same as it is made at home. This is one of those rare recipes where I find that to be the case time and time again!

My preferred method of making chicken cacciatore is in the slow cooker. It melds all those flavors together. You end up with perfectly cooked chicken in a flavorful, almost broth type sauce, that perfect coats pasta. You simply cannot go wrong with this delicious Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore dinner recipe!

What’s in this recipe?

You’ll need about 8 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, green bell pepper, minced garlic cloves, canned crushed tomatoes, red wine, a small bit of sugar, and dried spices. You can serve this over cooked pasta or rice. We like it best over spaghetti, but really any pasta you have on hand would do just fine for this recipe.

Why is there sugar in this recipe?

Whenever you are making a tomato sauce, sugar helps counteract the tangy flavor of the tomatoes. You can certainly skip the sugar if you want! If you are using homemade canned crushed tomatoes, I would actually recommend skipping the sugar until the very end after you have tasted the sauce. Home canned tomatoes are picked at peak ripeness, so they may not need the sugar at all.

Can I substitute the red wine?

You can substitute with either apple juice or chicken broth. It will definitely not have the depth of flavor as if it were made with the red wine, but the recipe will still work.

How to make this recipe:

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet on the stove. Place the chicken thighs in the skillet and cook until the outside of the chicken is slightly brown. This is not intended to cook the chicken through to done, it is just to cook the outside so that the chicken doesn’t fall apart and shred while cooking in the Crockpot. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

2. In the bottom of a slow cooker, add the crushed tomatoes, red wine, dried oregano, dried rosemary, dried basil, dried thyme, and sugar. Top the sauce with the slices of green bell pepper.

3. Using tongs, transfer the browned chicken thighs on top of the sauce in the Crockpot. It’s ok if they overlap! Sprinkle the chicken with salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Cover the slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on low setting or 3 hours on high setting.

4. Remove the lid, allow the chicken to rest in the sauce for 10 minutes, and serve over cooked pasta.

Be sure to store any leftover in the refrigerator and use within 3 days. You can freeze leftover in individual serving containers for up to 3 months.

Is it better to cook chicken on high or low in Crockpot?

It’s always going to be better on the low setting for chicken, or really any type of meat. You want it to cook as low and slow as you have time for to make sure the chicken stays juicy and tender. The high setting can sometimes be too high of an ideal temperature for certain cuts of meat, so if you have the time available, cook it on low!

More recipes you’ll love:

• Baked Chicken Cacciatore
• Meatloaf Stuffed Peppers
• Chicken Cacciatore Stew
• Mushroom Dip
• Apple Pie Cake

If you liked this recipe, leave a rating and a comment below this post!

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore recipe made with chicken thighs, red wine, crushed tomatoes, green bell pepper, and garlic. Made in the Crockpot and served over pasta!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: recipe for slow cooker chicken cacciatore

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours hours

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 282kcal

Author: Kelly Miller

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 chicken thighs
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• ▢ 1 green pepper sliced
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon basil
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• ▢ 1 cup red wine
• ▢ 2 tablespoons sugar
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat.
• Cook chicken thighs about 7 minutes on each side, just enough to brown the outside, set aside.
• Spray in the inside of the Crockpot with nonstick spray.
• To the bottom, add crushed tomatoes, sliced green pepper, garlic, seasonings, red wine, and sugar.
• Layer chicken thighs.
• Top chicken with salt and pepper.
• Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
• Serve over cooked rice or pasta.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 282kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 129mg | Sodium: 492mg | Potassium: 820mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 404IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 3mg

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