This recipe for Baked Chicken Cacciatore is a quick and easy recipe, using chicken breast and ingredients you already have in your pantry. It's actually a really simple recipe, but just feels fancy.
Chicken Cacciatore baked in the oven is a classic Italian dish, but it's a quick and easy meal that's perfect for any weeknight dinner, but special enough for company or a special occasion like birthdays, date night, or Valentine's Day. It pairs well with my Spinach Salad with Honey Lime Cilantro Dressing. This Chicken Breast Cacciatore recipe is Weight Watchers friendly @ 1 WW point.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Dump and Bake. It's a super easy dump and bake recipe- only 3 steps.
- Pantry Ingredients. It's made with ingredients you're likely to have on hand.
- Light and Healthy. It's surprisingly lighter and healthier than you'd think (even ww friendly)!
- Feels Fancy! This chicken cacciatore is quick and easy meal that's perfect for any weeknight dinner, but special enough for company or a special occasion like birthdays, date night, or Valentine's Day.
This dish was something my Mom made when I was growing up. She took the Chicken Cacciatora recipe from the Five Roses Cookbook and made it Weight Watchers friendlier (yay Mom!). It's quick and easy to make with chicken and pantry ingredients.
🥘Ingredient Notes
- Boneless and skinless chicken breasts. Boneless skinless chicken breasts keep this recipe low-fat and absorb the delicious flavors! * I use frozen and thaw them overnight
- Canned diced tomatoes. Canned diced tomatoes are convenient and economical and are the base of this sauce.
- Tomato paste. Tomato paste thickens the sauce while retaining that tomatoey flavor!
- Garlic and Onions. They add an aromatic flavor and onions add texture to the sauce.
- Dried oregano. Infuses Italian flavor to the sauce. Use fresh herbs when possible (I grow mine in the summer, but use my dehydrated herbs in the winter).
- Celery seed. Gives a burst of flavor without having to chop up celery!
- White wine. Adds depth of flavor and authenticity to the sauce. * Any dry white wine (I use Vhino Verde but you could use a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)
- Fresh cilantro garnish. This is optional, but fresh cilantro seals the deal!
- Black pepper. Also optional. Add for taste.
*See recipe card for quantities
📖Substitutions & Variations
- Tomatoes- you can use crushed tomatoes instead of diced.
- Chicken- you can use skinless chicken breast, boneless skinless thighs, or chicken pieces (just be sure they are skinned)
- Bell peppers - you can add green bell peppers or red bell peppers - these are optional
- Pasta - I used vermicelli in the photos, but you could use any pasta or any type of rice (or a light WW pasta, cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, or spaghetti squash)
- Wine - you can use any dry white wine or red wine instead * For white, I use a vhino verde because it's my favorite and I have it on hand. For red, a pinot noir or cabernet sauvignon works, as well as a shiraz. You can also use a non- alcoholic wine - Leitz is an excellent one! Or you can leave out the wine entirely.
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes (red pepper flakes) while cooking to imbue heat into the dish
- Cilantro - if you're not a fan, then use fresh parsley as a garnish.
- Kid friendly - use non-alcoholic wine or leave out (if you leave it out, the sauce will have a different taste and texture) *there's only ½ a cup of wine and a lot of the alcohol evaporates, so you can choose to use wine with alcohol as well *My kids LOVED this recipe with the wine
🔪How to Make Baked Chicken Cacciatore in the Oven
This Baked Chicken Cacciatore recipe is so easy to prep (in under 10 minutes) and make in only a few steps! Then let the oven do all the work!
PREP: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175C and spray a large baking dish or roaster with non-stick cooking spray
- Step 1: If using defrosted frozen chicken, pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken on bottom of pan or baking dish/roaster.
- Step 2: In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine all remaining ingredients.
- Step 3: Pour the sauce over chicken.
⏲️ Baking time
- Bake for 20 minutes, then turn chicken.
- Return to oven and bake for another 20-30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
HINT: Use a thermometer (affiliate link) to check that the internal temperature of your chicken has reached 165 degrees F/74 degrees C. It's the best way to check for doneness without overcooking! I use this instant-read thermometer- (affiliate link) it's great for everything food-related!)
Top tip
If the chicken cacciatore sauce is a little too thin for your taste and you prefer a thicker sauce, thicken it with a roux (1 part oil to 1 part flour) *Simply put the sauce in pot on stovetop, over medium- low heat, whisk in the roux, and keep whisking for about 10 minutes until it reaches desired thickness. You can add more roux if needed. Return sauce to casserole dish and garnish as desired.
👪 Serving Size
This Chicken Cacciatore in the oven recipe makes 8 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW Points
This Easy Chicken Cacciatore recipe is Weight Watchers friendly @ 1 WW point. The noodles are not included in this calculation (that needs to be calculated separately) *If you use roux to thicken the sauce, be sure to calculate those WW points as well.
🥗What to eat with Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken Cacciatore can be served over pasta or rice. I like to serve it with salad or crusty bread. Here are a few recipes and ideas of what to serve this classic Italian dish with:
🌡️Storage
Refrigerator: Store the chicken and sauce separately from the noodles, rice, or whatever you are putting the chicken and sauce on top of. Store in the fridge, and recombine when ready. Leftover Chicken Cacciatore is good for 2-3 days.
Freezing: This recipe freezes well in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Prep ahead:Place all of the raw ingredients in the dish, as instructed, cover, and refrigerate overnight before baking.
❔ Recipe FAQ's
Yes, chicken cacciatore can be made up to 3 days in advance. It will keep well in a sealed container in the fridge.
If you are using chicken breasts, cook chicken cacciatore for 40 - 45 minutes in the oven or until chicken is no longer pink (internal temperature of 165 degrees F) *It's best to use an instant read thermometer to check for doneness and avoid overcooking the chicken.
The best way to reheat chicken cacciatore is in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes until warmed through. You can also freeze it and reheat it, as you would a casserole by following these steps. TO REHEAT: I love using this casserole reheating technique - it prevents the dish from drying out.
If you're looking for an easy chicken recipe for oven-baked chicken cacciatore, you'll love this one. It's sure to become a family favorite!
🐔More WW friendly Chicken Recipes
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📋 Baked Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs chicken breast -about 8 medium sized breasts * you can substitute chicken thighs or pieces (skinned)
- 2 medium onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 28 oz -can of diced tomatoes
- 5 ½ ounce - can of tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- ½ cup dry white wine * use non-alcoholic if you don't want to use alcohol
Garnish (optional)
- fresh cilantro
- parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/ 175C and spray a large baking dish or roaster with non-stick cooking spray
- Place chicken on bottom of baking dish/roaster.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, then pour over chicken.
- Bake uncovered, for 20 minutes, then turn chicken.
- Return to oven and bake for another 20-30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. *If sauce is too thin for your liking, thicken with roux (see top tip below)
Garnish
- Garnish with cilantro and parmesan cheese, as desired. Serve over noodles or rice.
Colleen
This chicken cacciatore recipe is super easy, but so delicious. We loved it and will make it again. Thanks for sharing!
Bernice
This cacciatore looks amazing! I used to make something very similar when all the kids were home. They always loved it and it makes enough for leftovers the next day. Thanks for the memories!
nancy
i love your easy step by step instructions. It turned out perfectly!
Vanessa
I love how easily this comes together! The oven does most of the work which left me time to make the sides and prep my kids lunches for the next day!