This juicy Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore is one of my staple recipes. I use it with either fresh or frozen chicken breasts or thighs. Either way, this Italian classic will deliver in both taste and nutrition value.
“Cacciatore” means that the recipe is prepared in a spicy tomato sauce with mushrooms and herbs. Obviously, you can be creative and do what your taste buds demand. It is your food preferences you gotta listen to and use any recipe as an inspiration and guide to prepare something out-of-this world palatable and nutritious.
For my chicken cacciatore I used a lot of herbs, but not mushrooms. I love mushrooms, I just did not have them on hand. The best mushrooms for this recipe are shiitake dried mushrooms (you can get then here), as they add an incredibly deliciously aromatic motif to the entire meal plan.
If all you’ve got are white mushrooms – go with them. These mushrooms are less aromatic and take on the flavor of the governing herbs in the recipe. So, go out into your kitchen to create a memorable dinner dish that will resonate with your family’s preferences.
Though, you may want to surprise your peeps with something new and original!
Tomatoes, When Cooked, Make Lycopene Available to Our Body
Lycope is a powerful antioxidant that has been shown to offer protective effects against chronic diseases, cancer and cardiovascular disease. The problem is that lycopene becomes bioavailable when a fruit, like tomato, is heated. In other words, when tomatoes are cooked they make lycopene available for our cells.
That is why consuming more recipes like this crock pot chicken cacciatore with steamed and sauteed or pureed tomatoes in a tomato sauces is a great way to get that precious effect from lycopene in our bodies.
FACT: We consume around 85 percent of the lycopene from tomatoes and tomato products as per National Institute of Health.
Here is a uniquely unforgettable Roasted Tomatoes Chickpea Curry recipe.
Heating tomatoes releases not only lycopene but other carotenoids like beta-carotene and lutein. All of these phytochemicals are essential for our well-being.
Use The Cacciatore Bouillon for Your Sides: Veggies, Quinoa
When you prepare your deliciously easy family dinner with Chicken Cacciatore, you will have plenty of bouillon left in the slow cooker. Keep it by refrigerating it!
What you could do is to prepare a flavorful dish with vegetables, quinoa, rice and tofu by using the remaining Cacciatore bouillon. Skip bouillon cubes you spend money on – use the leftovers from your Crock Pot dinner.
Add Extra Aroma to Your Slow Cooker Chicken Breast: Basil, Dill, Cilantro
Fresh herbs add an unforgettable flavor to your recipe. I always try to add my favorite herbs to chicken recipes, soups, salads and desserts.
Slow cooker chicken recipes can be very versatile and full of flavor.
Check out A Cauliflower Leek Soup with Tarragon
Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore Easy Dinner
Healthy slow cooker Chicken Cacciatore recipe is a delight for an easy weeknight dinners for family.
Ingredients
- 2-3 onions thinly sliced. I use mandoline for slicing onions quickly and uniformly
- 2-4 lbs chicken breasts or thighs, skinned
- 5 cloves garlic, minced or 2 Tbsp canned minced garlic
- ½ cup broth, vegetable or chicken or beef
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved or use 14 oz canned tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp capers
- 20 pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
- Salt, pepper to taste
- Fresh herbs like dill, parsley, basil, tarragon for garnish and taste
Instructions
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1. Place sliced onion in Crock-Pot slow cooker and cover with chicken pieces.
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2. In a bowl, stir tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic and broth. Pour over chicken.
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3. Cover and cook on High for 3-4 hours OR on Low for 5-6 hours.
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Stir in capers, olives and herbs just before serving.
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5. Serve over cooked quinoa, pasta, steamed vegetables.
Recipe Notes
Cooking chicken on the bone versus boneless will increase cook time about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
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26 thoughts on “Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore for a Healthy Slow Cooker Easy Dinner”
This reminds me so much of a dish my Nana used to make when I was a kid. She made it once a week and we always looked forward to it.
I think this will going to be one of my favorite recipe! Let me try this! Looks really delicious.
That chicken cacciatore looks delicious! I’ve always loved easy to make crock pot recipes. Not only is it healthy but saves me time to do something else while I wait.
This sounds SO good! And I love that it’s gluten free! That’s super helpful for my family.
Love how you give us the healthy reason why we should have this. Definitely going to look into this.
Oh my goodness…. you had me at CrockPot! There is nothing better for sure than a delicious meal made in the crockpot and I am always on the hunt for a new recipe. Thank you for sharing because I am making this for next weeks dinner menu…cannot wait! I have it printed up and also pinned to my boards 🙂
omg that is amazing!!! I love to have a bunch of recipe in my back pocket. Thank you so much.
OMG! That was in a crock pot?!?!!? I have to try some of your recipes…tis looks delish!
Wow. This looks so delicious! Now I want to have a crock pot and try this recipe.
This looks really good. I haven’t used my crock pot in such a long time. Now that the weather is getting cooler, it’s time to bring it out again.
I need to start using my slow cooker more. We love chicken at our house and I’m always looking for new recipes to change things up.
I can’t wait to make this! I haven’t made chicken cacciatore in so long because the recipe I had was sooooo labor intensive. This sounds great!
Speaking of tomatoes, I just processed a batch from my garden to freeze. I plan on making some delicious sauce with them for some pasta dishes.
What a fantastic dinner recipe! So easy to prep early and have cooking and ready for when you get home with the family for dinner. I am going to have to try it soon.
Slow cookers are so handy for meals. This is a meal that I need to make in my cooker.
This recipe looks and sounds delicious and so easy to make!
Donna,
I usually make this when I am pressed for time. You can make it with frozen chicken in 30 minutes if you prep it in a Pressure Cooker. But if you leave for work – just throw all ingredients into the Crock Pot and you will be welcomed by a delicious aroma of Chicken Cacciatore when you return home.
Deliciously simple.
I haven’t heard of this recipe but seems like meat lovers are going to love this one. Love how crockpots make cooking so much more flavorful
OH MY! NOW I WANT TO MAKE THIS AND HELL NO IM NOT SKIPPING ON SHITAKE MUSHROOMS WHEN I MAKE THIS! SO DELISH AND NOT TIME CONSUMING AT ALL!
Looks super delicious! I love easy crock pot recipes this time of year, so I am definitely trying this!
I need a crockpot because it would be very useful for me.
I am always looking for crockpot recipes and this one looks and sounds like a good one. I’m gonna try this recipe out. Thanks for sharing.
A spicy tomato sauce with mushrooms and herbs sounds absolutely delicious. In fact, you entire chicken recipe sounds super tasty! Yum!
never tried chicken this way before looks good i will try this
I forgot how much I used to love chicken cacciatore because it’s been way too long since I’ve had it. I’ll have to see if I have everything on hand for this recipe or if I need to go shoppin.
Chicken cacciatore is one of my favorite meals, especially when its made in the crock pot. I love that you used cherry tomatoes, I definitely need to try that next time.