This easy slow cooker Chicken Cacciatore is a crowd pleaser! I created it on a Sunday morning. It cooked while we were at church and was ready to eat when we got home.
I fully intended to show you a photo of the finished deal. I took several, but they didn’t turn out at all. I guess we were so hungry that I snapped too quickly.
This dish is full of chicken, bell peppers and onions in homemade tomato sauce. Red wine brings more flavor to the sauce, but you can leave this out if you need to. Serve the chicken and sauce over hot pasta. I used bow tie pasta, but you can use any shape you like.
Here’s what you’ll need to make Chicken Cacciatore:
The red wine in the measuring cup looks slushy, because it is. I’ve found that the easiest way to have wine (since we don’t drink it) is to freeze it.
Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. chicken tenders
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 green pepper sliced
- 1 red pepper sliced
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1/2 cup red wine optional
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 3/4 tsp. basil
- 1-2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lb. pasta cooked
Instructions
- Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker.
- Add onions and peppers on top of chicken.
- Stir together remaining ingredients, except the pasta.
- Pour sauce over chicken and peppers.
- Cook on low 7-8 hours or high for 5-6 hours.
- Serve over cooked pasta.
Kathy says
This looks delicious! I’m always on the lookout for recipes to put in the slow cooker for Sunday’s. We are always so hungry after church!
Sherry says
can you add the chicken frozen or does it have to be thawed out? All I have is frozen chicken, and want to get it ready to make it tonight for tomorrow’s supper. As I head out early in the morning for work. Easier to get it all ready tonight to put on in the morning!!!
Sounds really good!!!!
Tiffany says
Sherry, you don’t have to thaw the chicken. You could cut the onions and peppers tonight and mix the sauce. Then just toss it all in the crock in the morning.
Sherry says
So, I had no issues putting the chicken in frozen – it wasn’t really watery once everything was cooked. But now I know why I only use the crockpot when I am at home on the weekends or if my husband is home to watch it. Many issues: 1- I tried using a timer, but of course could not set the hours on my crockpot as the timer was not to turn on until 9:30am. So could not use the timer – need to buy a crockpot that has a timer built in. 2 – had it set for 8 hours – low- way too long as the chicken was dry and over cooked, and to put it on for 6 hours on high, it would have turned out the same way. 3 – the peppers were soggy and not crunchy at all…
I will try this reciepe again, when I am at home, so I can throw the peppers in near the end, and be able to monitor the chicken a bit better. I think this is also another reason why I don’t cook chicken breast in the crockpot as it always seems to overcook and be to dry… But I still keep on trying it, as I know one of these times, it will work out and be ok!!
Let me know if you have any other suggestions on what to do….
Tessa says
Thanks for your tips. I thought that was a little long for chicken to be in a crock pot. I too don’t care for chicken in the crock pot. The texture always reminds me of a dry steak and I hate steak. But I’ll give this a try and monitor it. It does sound delish!
Anonymous says
I used a whole cut up chicken and doubled the tomatoes, paste, veggies and spices…… I also added mushrooms during the last hour. The chicken fell off the bones, and was moist and delicious! Plenty of food for 4 adults with a lot of left overs.
Jeanne says
I have made a dish similar to this using whole chicken pieces, a jarred sauce and added diced celery, fresh basil, parsely, onion, garlic and italian seasoning, salt and pepper as well as the cut up peppers. It was delicious. Adding the fresh herbs gives it a great flavor and using whole chicken pieces instead of just the breasts keeps the chicken from drying out as well.
Krystal says
I tried this meal for my family and it wasn’t what I expected. It was a serious tomato overload that was too much for my family and I love tomatoes & tomato based products. It made the house smell wonderful but the flavor just wasn’t there for us. Next time when making this meal, I’m probably going to use a jar of spaghetti sauce in place of the crushed tomatoes & tomato paste. I’ll also probably double up on the herbs as well and add just a bit more salt.
stacey says
I did what one poster suggested and used a spaghetti sauce instead of the tomatoes. It smelled so good all day but was really pretty tasteless. Wasn’t horrible but won’t make again.
kristy says
I make Cacciatore in the crock pot frequently. I use jarred spaghetti sauce, add a liberal dose of various Italian spices, and whole boneless breasts. Peppers, onions and button mushrooms also, of course. It cooks in 6 hours or so in the crock pot & I just shred the chicken & mix back in before serving. I think I have used frozen chicken and left it 8 hours but don’t sue me if it doesn’t work for you! 🙂 Be careful of leaving tomato based dishes in the crock pot on high for too many hours. I have found it will begin to take on a bitter, burnt taste. I think it is best to try new crock pot recipes on an “at home” day in order to get a feel for how it works.
michelle says
I don’t normally post comments, but I just had to let you know that we had this for dinner last night with rice ( we can’t eat gluten) and my six year old son, who is very fussy with food, actually said, “Mummy, I love the meat!” And gave it a 20/10.
If you don’t have a fussy eater in your household you have no idea how much that little comment means to me. So thank you for posting this recipe and giving my little one food joy x
Tiffany says
Thanks for sharing that! That makes my day 🙂
Reddvarren says
What kind of container do you use to freeze the wine in? I never thought of that, but it seems a great solution! I always skip over recipes with wine because I don’t keep it in my pantry.
Tiffany says
I’ve used different things, but a small container with a tight fitting lid works best. You can also freeze it in ice cube trays.
Ingrid says
Never trust a cook who does not drink wine!
Linda says
I’m in the middle of preparing some of these for the first time, to freeze for future cooking. It says to place onions and peppers on top of the chicken. Does this mean I freeze only the chicken with sauces, then take that out of the freezer, place in crock pot; and add fresh veggies on top then…or is it safe to combine and freeze all of these ingredients for future cooking ?? Anyone?? 🙏🏼
Tiffany says
I combine and freeze all. If you want the veggies to not cook down as much, hold them out until about 30-60 minutes at the end of the cook time.
Deb says
Would this dish adapt for an Instapot?
Tiffany says
Yes Deb, it does! Here are the Instant Pot instructions – Place chicken, peppers and onions in the Instant Pot. Combine remaining ingredients, except pasta, and pour over pork. Set cook time for 12 minutes. Do a quick pressure release. ENJOY!!
Pam says
I made this recently for my family and, pretty much like all of the Eat at Home recipes, my family (big boys who eat a lot and appreciate good flavors!) LOVED it. And I love having a slow cooker recipe that doesn’t taste bland and ordinary.