Comforting Chicken Cacciatore (Gluten Free)

Comforting Chicken Cacciatore is an incredibly delicious meal that you can make all year long. It is a classic comfort food that your whole family will love – braised chicken with tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, white wine, and chicken broth. Serve it over cooked potatoes like I did or you can use polenta, rice, or noodles.

Each year as May approaches, I look forward to the excitement and pageantry of the Kentucky Derby, the festive and high-spirited Cinco de Mayo celebrations, and Memorial Day picnics that mark the beginning of summer and the grilling season. These fun festivities help distract me from the memory of our loss that each Mother’s Day brings. 

While social media floods us with images and stories of all the fun others are having with their families, and the media saturates the airwaves with saccharine ads for flowers, candy and jewelry, The Artist and I quietly go about our day, pretending it is just like any other Sunday.

Mother’s Day is a bittersweet day in our home. Both The Artist and I have lost our moms, each to the monster we call cancer. With aching hearts, we studiously ignore the pending holiday, focusing instead on other diversions. The Artist customarily retreats to his studio to create another beautiful piece of work, often giving a discarded piece of wood or other used materials new life. And I head to the kitchen.

I instinctively gravitate toward the comfort foods of my youth, perhaps attempting to recreate the nurturing reassurance that a mother brings to her child. For me that is usually meat and potatoes or casseroles, for The Artist it is homemade Italian classics. Each year I attempt to merge our traditional cuisines into a single meal, often using herbs and seasonings to link everything together like a colored ribbon tying all the dishes into pretty packages waiting to be opened.

Growing up, my favorite dishes were chicken and dumplings, a deeply golden roasted chicken, and crispy fried chicken (are you sensing a theme here). Each one remarkably simple in their seasonings as my mother and grandmother rarely used any flavoring except salt and pepper. But as I began cooking on my own and started experimenting with herbs and spices, I discovered a whole new world of exotic, tantalizing, and exciting flavors that transformed simple dishes into enticing new creations.

This year I am making us Chicken Cacciatore, the traditional Italian hunter’s chicken stew rich with tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms and herbs. This is the perfect blending of our childhood favorites; a simple braised chicken with Italian ingredients and seasonings. It has been a long time since I’ve made it and I know the aromas as it cooks will fill the house with memories, warming our hearts and easing our sorrow a little.

Though the early versions of cacciatore did not have tomatoes (they hadn’t arrived in Europe yet), not including them in Italian dishes these days is nearly a sacrilege. In this dish I like the balance of tomatoes with the other ingredients, making it one of many flavors combining to create a rich, savory sauce that begs for a bed of cooked pasta, mashed potatoes, creamy polenta, or rice to help us lap up every satisfying drop of the sauce.

If you still have your mom, call her, send her a card, of if you are close enough, go for a visit. Moms deserve to be treated like a queen every day of the year to thank them for all they do for us and the sacrifices they make for the family. If you are like The Artist and me and have lost your mother, our hearts are with you.

May you all have a lovely, happy and peaceful weekend and enjoy making this Comforting Chicken Cacciatore.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Let me know in the comments and leave a star rating, I love hearing from you!

 

Ingredients needed for Comforting Chicken Cacciatore:

• Chicken breasts, olive oil, bell pepper, onion, celery, mushrooms,
• Garlic, rosemary, oregano, white wine, tomatoes, tomato sauce,
• Chicken broth, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes

 

PRO Tip:

Like many stews, this comforting chicken cacciatore is a dish that is better on the second day. Cook as directed, then cool and transfer the cacciatore to an airtight container and hold it overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat it gently the following day.

 

How to make Comforting Chicken Cacciatore:

1. Brown the chicken in a Dutch oven on both sides and set aside. Working with the same pan, sauté the peppers, onions, and celery until softened, then add the seasonings and pour in the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, sauce, and chicken broth, bring to a boil and reduce to a low boil, cooking for 20 minutes or until the sauce is slightly thickened. Add the mushrooms after 10 minutes. When thickened to your liking, add salt and pepper to taste and if you want, add the red pepper flakes.
3. Place the chicken back in the pot, nestling it into the sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken registers 155°F to 160°F (68°C to 71°C) on a thermometer. If the chicken in partially exposed above the level of the liquid, turn the pieces over a couple of times during cooking. Taste and adjust seasonings again if needed.
4. Pull off the heat and cover with the lid. The residual heat will finish cooking and stay warm while you prepare the rest of the meal. You can serve it with pasta, potatoes, polenta, or rice to absorb all the delicious sauce.
5. Fill the bowls with your choice of starch, top with some chicken and the sauce, sprinkle with green onions if desired and serve hot.

 

PRO Tip:

If you don’t have red pepper flakes, you can use hot sauce to add some spice to the dish. Just be judicious initially because the heat will increase as it sits. You can always add more later and pass hot sauce at the table.

 

PRO Tip:

Vermouth is a fortified wine that can be used in the place of white wine in most recipes. Be sure you use dry vermouth and not sweet! Vermouth is much less expensive than wine and a good alternative in many recipes.

 

Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):

• Chef’s knife
• Cutting board
• Kitchen scale
• Dutch oven or large, deep skillet
• Instant read thermometer
• Serving bowls

 

Gluten-Free Tips:

The only places where gluten may hide in this comforting chicken cacciatore is in the canned tomatoes or the chicken broth. Check the labels to be sure and if in doubt, contact the manufacturer or look for a brand that is labeled gluten-free.

All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.

*NOTE: The major gluten-free organizations have declared that distilled alcohols are gluten free. Wine is also considered safe. For some very sensitive people wine may cause issues. In a few rare cases, wine makers may use barrels that have minute amounts of gluten in the caulk. If you have issues with wine, look for a winery that uses only stainless steel containers to age their wines. In the meantime, you can use chicken stock in the place of the wine. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Welcome! The suggestions here are not intended as dietary advice or as a substitute for consulting a dietician, physician, or other medical professional. Please see the Disclaimers/Privacy Policy page for additional details. Unauthorized use, distribution, and/or duplication of proprietary material from The Heritage Cook without prior approval is prohibited. If you have any questions or would like permission, please contact me. We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small amount from qualifying purchases without any additional cost to you. This page may contain affiliate links. This post was first shared in May 2015. The article was updated in 2023.