Chicken Cacciatore with San Marzano Tomato Sauce

The finished Chicken Cacciatore in a Dutch Oven.

5 from 3 votes

Chicken Cacciatore with San Marzano Tomato Sauce

This chicken cacciatore is made by slowly cooking chicken in a delicate white wine and San Marzano tomato sauce along with mushrooms, onions, red peppers, and asparagus.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 464kcal

Author: Lauren Skardal

Ingredients

2 tablespoon olive oil, plus more if needed
1 small onion, diced
10 oz white mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white wine
2 28oz cans San Marzano tomatoes
1 whole chicken, quartered, bone in, skin on
¼ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon basil
¾ teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves
2 red bell peppers, diced
1 bunch asparagus, cut at an angle into 1 inch pieces
pasta, polenta, farro, rice, or barley for serving

Instructions

Add two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to a large pot or Dutch Oven at medium-low heat (a setting of "4" out of "10" on an electric stove or the equivalent on a gas stove). Sauté the onions for 3-5 minutes until soft and starting to caramelize. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes until they start to release their juices.
Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add 1 cup white wine and allow to simmer and cook off for about 5 minutes.
Add the San Marzano tomatoes to a blender and blend until smooth, about 15 seconds. Add a small amount of the sauce to the Dutch Oven. Then layer on the chicken pieces and cover with the remaining sauce.
Add the oregano, basil, salt, and bay leaves. Use a spatula to gently distribute the spices in the sauce.
Cover, bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for 1 hour or until the meat begins to fall off the bone.
Remove the chicken, shred into pieces adding the chicken back to the Dutch Oven, discarding the bones and skin.
Add the peppers to the Dutch Oven and cook for 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook for 3-5 minutes depending on how thick the asparagus is.
Serve over pasta, polenta, farro, rice, or barley, adding additional salt to taste.

Notes

Yellow Onion: Small dice or even mince, this way the pieces of onion melt into the sauce and "disappear" into the dish.
White Mushrooms: I slice them into thick pieces so that those who don't like mushrooms can easily put them to the side.
White Wine: If you prefer not to cook with wine, you can leave this out. Use a dry white wine that you wouldn't mind drinking on its own.
Rao's Marinara Alternative: One way to shave a little bit of time off this recipe is to use a jar of Rao's marinara sauce. I like using San Marzano tomatoes and blending them into a smooth sauce because it is light, simple, and super flavorful. However, Rao's also has one of the simplest, best jarred tomato sauces (very few ingredients, very tasty sauce)
Bell Peppers: I like to add the red bell peppers in at the end so that they don't get mushy. I prefer a slightly soft, mostly crisp red pepper.

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