Rustic Italian Chicken Cacciatore is a hearty comfort food, made with Bertolli tomato & basil sauce, red wine and loads of vegetables. Served over brown rice, it is a dinner the whole family will love and you can feel good about!
Rustic Italian Chicken Cacciatore
As usual, I went to the grocery store with no idea of what I was going to make for dinner that evening. I was at Kroger and noticed their limited time Taste of Italy promotion along with some of the fantastic Italian products they were featuring. I picked up this jar of Bertolli Tomato & Basil sauce as my inspiration and made my way to the produce isle.
I have been a bit under the weather lately and was craving some classic comfort food. For me, Rustic Italian equates to comfort food. Whether it is a big bowl of spaghetti bolognese or chicken parmesan, it all tastes amazing and just gives you that feeling of mom whipping up something for you to feel better!
Well, mom isn’t making me dinner, but I decided to prepare one of my all-time favorites she made when we were children, Chicken Cacciatore.
I can’t lie, there wasn’t a ton of her dishes I was crazy about. This doesn’t mean she is a bad cook, in fact she is actually a great cook. We just grew up on a farm where beef and potatoes were the regular fair. Every once and a while she would change things up and try a new dish. One time she tried Chicken Cacciatore and everyone loved it, including the meat and potato boys. I’m pretty sure ever since then, this dish was my request for just about every birthday dinner as a child!
Although mom’s version was great, I was inspired to spice it up a bit thanks to the Tuscan-inspired Bertolli sauce I grabbed at Kroger. I added lots of veggies, chicken and brown rice to my basket and made my way home, excited to put my own twist on this Italian classic. I added some red wine for a bit more depth of flavor and lots of vegetales to pair with the split chicken breast for a wholesome and hearty meal.
It’s funny how roles change over time, because it was my turn to bring this dish over to my mom’s house for dinner. We are both currently what we call “farm widows”, meaning our husbands are working so late into the night with harvest, that we are lucky if we see them at all. For her this means she doesn’t cook and relies on frozen meals and cereal for dinner. Sad, I know. Therefore, I like to make a big batch of something when I am cooking this time of year and share some with her and pack up some for my husband and dad in the field. I mean it is only appropriate because there is nothing more Italian than making food for family!
Rustic Italian Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 lb. split chicken breasts and thighs do NOT used boneless chicken breasts, they will be very dry
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 c. mushrooms sliced
- 1 1/2 c. cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 sweet bell pepper julianned
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 c. red wine
- 24 oz. jar Bertolli Tomato & Basil sauce
- rice for serving
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large dutch oven and heat over high. Season all sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and arrange them in the pan. Cook over high heat for 5-6 minutes, flipping midway through, so both sides of the chicken breasts are browned.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate. Add all of the vegetables, garlic and 1 tsp. salt to the pan. Saute the vegetables for 1-2 minutes and add the red wine to deglaze the pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrap the bottom of the pan as you stir the vegetables to lift up all the browned bits. Stir in the pasta sauce.
- Add the chicken back to the pan, covering the chicken with some sauce mixture. Cover the pan and simmer over low for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center.
- Serve the chicken and sauce over brown rice. Enjoy!
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