Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore Is Easy, Rustic Family Comfort Food
Welcome to Rollover Dinners, a new monthly series to help you make smart use of leftovers. This week, we’re using leftovers from this slow cooker chicken cacciatore to make easy work of a big, steaming pot of minestrone soup. Read the intro here.
Chicken cacciatore is an easy family favorite. What’s not to love about tender chicken and a mix of veggies swimming in rich tomato sauce? Cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian, so at its heart, it’s a rustic, homey dish — just one more reason it’s an immediate win at your dinner table.
Need another win? We’ll give you two. This recipe comes together easily thanks to two things: Prego Farmers’ Market® Classic Marinara Sauce and your slow cooker. The rich sauce is made with simple ingredients like sweet vine-ripened tomatoes, olive oil, and oregano. It’s poured over a cozy combination of chicken thighs, mushrooms, and red bell peppers in your slow cooker, where the nestled mix cooks low and slow for a few hours while you go about your day. Before long, your kitchen will smell amazing, and dinner will be ready and waiting for you.
Roll Over Chicken Cacciatore into Another Comforting Family Dinner
What’s extra special about this recipe is it yields tons of leftovers — and thanks to Prego® Pasta Sauce, those leftovers will remain juicy and flavorful. Pull out 3 chicken thighs and 2 cups of sauce from your slow cooker before serving chicken cacciatore and store them separately. You’ll use both to make a big, steaming pot of minestrone soup another night. Add a couple of pantry staples, like dry pasta and a can of beans, and you’ll have another winning family meal on your hands.
Rollover dinner recipe: Weeknight Minestrone
Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 4 hours 15 minutes
Serves 4 to 5
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 2
medium red bell peppers
- 8 ounces
cremini mushrooms
- 1/4 cup
fresh parsley leaves, divided or 2 teaspoons dried parsley leaves (optional)
- 1 tablespoon
fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves (optional)
- 3 to 3 1/2 pounds
bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (6 to 8)
- 2 teaspoons
kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon
olive oil
- 1
(23.5-ounce) jar Prego Farmers’ Market® Classic Marinara Sauce
- 1 teaspoon
red wine vinegar
Instructions
Dice 2 medium red bell peppers. Trim and quarter 8 ounces cremini mushrooms. Finely chop 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves; transfer 2 tablespoons to a small bowl, cover with a damp paper towel, and refrigerate. Finely chop 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves.
Season 3 to 3 1/2 pounds chicken thighs with 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large regular or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in 2 batches, add the chicken skin-side down and sear until deeply browned, 6 to 8 minutes. The chicken will not be cooked through at this point.
Meanwhile, place 1 jar Prego Farmers’ Market® Classic Marinara Sauce, the bell pepper, mushrooms, rosemary, and 2 tablespoons parsley in a 6 quart or larger slow cooker, and stir to combine. Once the chicken is ready, place skin-side up in a single layer in the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on the LOW setting until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 4 hours.
Transfer the chicken to serving plates. Add 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar to the sauce and stir to combine. Reserve 3 chicken thighs and 2 cups sauce for the Rollover Dinner. Serve the remaining chicken and sauce topped with the reserved chopped parsley.