Italian
Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken thighs cook low and slow with tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, and herbs until falling-apart tender. Serve over pasta, polenta, or crusty bread to soak up the sauce.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 6 hr
- Total
- 6 hr 15 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Easy
Photo: TheCulinaryGeek (CC BY). Source
Why you’ll love it
- Hands-off simmer builds deep flavor without watching the stove.
- Bell peppers and onion sweeten as they soften in the sauce.
- Bone-in thighs stay moist over a long cook.
- Leftovers reheat cleanly for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
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Instructions
- 1
Pat chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper.
- 2
Layer onion, peppers, and garlic in the slow cooker.
- 3
Nestle chicken thighs on top of the vegetables.
- 4
Stir crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, and broth in a bowl, then pour over chicken.
- 5
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours until chicken is tender and reaches 165°F.
- 6
Skim excess fat if needed, taste sauce, and adjust salt before serving.
Pro tips
- Remove skins before serving if you want a lighter sauce.
- If sauce is thin, uncover and cook on high 20 minutes at the end.
- Serve with grated Parmesan and chopped parsley.
Easy substitutions
- bone-in chicken thighs
- boneless thighs, reduce cook time by 1 hour
- crushed tomatoes
- diced tomatoes for a chunkier sauce
- chicken broth
- vegetable broth
Storage and reheating
Storage
Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 4 days.
Reheating
Warm on the stovetop over medium-low with a splash of broth, or microwave in 1-minute bursts.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 340
- Protein
- 32 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
Moderate · Slow Cooker · High Protein
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From the kitchen
Kitchen tools we love
Practical tools these recipes actually use. This is not a review roundup, and these are not paid placements. If affiliate links are added later, they will be labeled and disclosed.
A heavy 12-inch skillet
Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.
An air fryer with a real basket
The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.
A half-sheet pan
Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.
A sharp chef’s knife
These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.
A large cutting board
Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.
Dry cups and a liquid cup
Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.
An instant-read thermometer
Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.
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