Easy Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken cacciatore with spaghetti and smoky tomato sauce is easy to make and so good to eat.
No need for a slow cooker, as this is prepared and cooked in just 30 minutes.
*Original post was written in 2012 and updated in January 2025
There are many recipe versions of chicken cacciatore, most are a kind of stew and certainly don't include pasta, but I particularly like this recipe.
Don't let the long list of ingredients put you off because this is truly Delicious! 😋Flicking through Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute meals book I decided this just had to be made like now, TODAY!
Back to the book! You'll find recipes covering everything from chicken, beef, pork, lamb, fish, pasta, soups and sarnies, veggies and breakfast.
There's a really informative part of the book about nutrition showing every recipe from the book by picture and giving the kcal, fat, sugar and saturated fat content.
Jamie's 15-Minute Meals is a hardback book and I love the ribbon bookmarker sewn into the spine, so many cookbooks don't have one.
Do Jamie Oliver meals really only take 15 minutes?
Sorry to disappoint, but in a word, NO, they take longer than 15 minutes!
You have to get the ingredients out and ready, and only then the recipes 'should' take just 15 minutes or less to cook. 😉
As I write, other than this chicken cacciatore, I've only made one recipe from this book and found it took 30 minutes to get all the ingredients chopped and ready to cook!
This is probably because my kitchen is so tiny I have to clear up as I go, otherwise I wouldn't be able to cook.
Once that was sorted, the meal took under 15 minutes to cook and plate up.
Recipe Top Tips!
Get all the ingredients prepared before you start cooking - and have a tidy-up.
The recipe says 700g passata, but I only used 400g and found it to be enough for 2, remember you can always add more.
Don't fuss about using Chianti wine because any red wine will do since there's only a tiny amount in the recipe.
Just use a red wine you will drink, rather than waste money. In fact, there's such a small amount of wine you can even leave it out altogether. 😉
I do love him, but as with most of Jamie Oliver's recipes, he thinks we're all rich and have a never ending pot of money!
In this recipe alone, there are so many ingredients, that it would be quite expensive to use every single one.
I didn't bother with rosemary since I couldn't get any and I'm not keen on the taste of it either.
Use chicken thighs rather than breasts as they can go a bit dry.
The book says to use stone-in olives, but then tells you to take them out when it's cooked - what's that all about?! 😐
Okay, olives with the stone in are supposed to have more taste. But to me, for use in a recipe, it's just unnecessary and too much agg (aggravation), in case you don't speak my mad language!
Ingredients in Jamie Oliver's chicken cacciatore
- 4 skinless and boneless chicken thighs (to serve 4 people) I say use 6 thighs depending on their size.
- olive oil
- 125g oyster mushrooms
- 125g chestnut mushrooms
- 4 rashers of smoked pancetta
- 2 sprigs of rosemary (I didn't add rosemary as I didn't have any)
- 2 anchovy fillets - finely chopped (you can season with salt instead if you wish)
- 2 jarred red peppers (in oil, not brine or vinegar)
- a small handful of pitted black olives
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 fresh red chilli
- 60ml Chianti wine (you can leave this out, such a small amount makes no difference)
- 700g passata - I only used 400g and found it to be enough for 2 but you can always add more
- 1 small bunch of fresh basil
- 320g dried whole-wheat spaghetti (I used regular, as I'm not a fan of whole-wheat)
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese - for sprinkling
With your ingredients at the ready and the kitchen nice and tidy, the kettle is boiled, and a large frying pan and a large saucepan to hand. Let's cook!
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!
Chicken Cacciatore Jamie Oliver Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 skinless and boneless chicken thighs (to serve 4 people) I say use 6 thighs
- olive oil
- 125g oyster mushrooms
- 125g chestnut mushrooms
- 4 rashers of smoked pancetta
- 2 sprigs of rosemary (I left it out)
- 2 anchovy fillets - finely chopped (you can season with salt instead if you wish)
- 2 jarred red peppers in oil (not brine or vinegar)
- a small handful of pitted black olives
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 fresh red chilli
- 60ml Chianti wine (you can leave this out, such a small amount makes no difference)
- 700g jar of passata - I only used 400g and found it to be enough
- 1 small bunch of fresh basil leaves
- 320g dried whole-wheat spaghetti (I used regular as I'm not a fan of whole-wheat)
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese - for sprinkling
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into 2.5 cm (1 inch) chunks, then put them into a large frying pan with 2 tablespoons of oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Roughly chop the chestnut mushrooms and tear the oyster mushrooms. Finely slice the pancetta, then add them to the pan with the rosemary leaves, anchovies, and torn peppers.
- Squash and add the olives then turn the heat up to medium-high, tossing regularly until golden.
- Put the pasta into a large pan, cover with boiling salted water and cook to the packet instructions.
- Squash the garlic through a garlic crusher into the chicken pan. Finely slice and add the chilli, pour in the wine (if using) and the passata (I found 400g to be enough but you can add more, then season to taste.
- Tear through and stir in some basil leaves.
- Finely grate the Parmesan. Drain the pasta, reserving half a cupful of the starchy cooking water, then tip on to a platter and spoon over the sauce.
- Scatter with the remaining basil leaves and the grated Parmesan. Toss together, loosening with a splash of the cooking water if needed.
Looks great Jan, I have been loving the meals he has been making on this series, might just have to invest in the book. Have you tried the lamb lollipops?
ReplyDeleteAngela - no I want to try those, they do look good x
ReplyDelete