Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Herb Tomato Sauce and Vegetables
By Olivia Hayes
Prep
10 min
Cook
480 min
Total
490 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
Prep eight chicken thighs and the tomato-vegetable sauce in the slow cooker before leaving, then cook pasta and add parsley at serving. This make-ahead dinner yields four servings of fall-off-the-bone chicken in a herb-scented tomato sauce with mushrooms and red bell pepper.
Skinless bone-in chicken thighs provide the base, seasoned simply with kosher salt and black pepper. Tomato paste, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, garlic, onion, bell pepper, and baby Bella mushrooms build the sauce, while fresh rosemary, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes season it. The pasta is cooked separately, so it can be made fresh when the chicken is ready.
After six to eight hours on low, the chicken should be tender enough to pull away from the bone and the sauce should look richly tomato-based with softened vegetables. Keep the slow cooker covered during the main cook so it holds steady heat. The most common texture issue is a thinner sauce; use the uncovered high-setting option or the stated cornstarch slurry if needed.
Serve the chicken and sauce over spaghetti or homemade egg noodles, then finish with chopped parsley. For planned leftovers, portion the chicken and sauce separately from the pasta so noodles do not continue absorbing sauce while stored.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Portions easily into four servings because eight chicken thighs cook together in the slow cooker while the tomato sauce captures the vegetables and herbs.
- Keeping spaghetti separate supports meal prep because the pasta can be cooked fresh at serving instead of sitting in sauce during storage.
- The chicken and sauce can be divided into containers after cooking, making it straightforward to plan individual dinners without assembling extra components.
- Bone-in thighs hold up well through the long cook because they become fall-off-the-bone tender while adding flavor to the tomato-based sauce.
- A large batch needs little active attention because the chicken, vegetables, herbs, tomato paste, and broth all go into the slow cooker together.
- Leftover sauce remains useful with freshly cooked noodles because mushrooms, bell pepper, tomatoes, and herbs are already built into each portion.
Ingredients
- •8 skinless bone-in chicken thighs (washed and patted dry)
- •0.5 teaspoon Kosher salt
- •0.25 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- •1 teaspoon olive oil
- •1 can tomato paste (6 ounces)
- •1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- •1 small yellow onion (diced)
- •1 red bell pepper (diced)
- •8 ounces baby Bella mushrooms (sliced)
- •1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
- •1 teaspoon fresh rosemary (diced)
- •1 teaspoon fresh thyme (diced)
- •1 teaspoon fresh oregano (diced)
- •0.5 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- •1.5 cups chicken broth
- •0.25 cup fresh parsley (chopped, for garnish)
- •1 box spaghetti noodles (16 ounces)
Instructions
- 1
Wash and pat dry each chicken thigh.
- 2
Season chicken evenly with salt and pepper and add to slow cooker.
- 3
Add oil, tomato paste, garlic, onion, diced red bell pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, and chicken broth.
- 4
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender.
- 5
Serve over spaghetti noodles.
- 6
Garnish with fresh parsley.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
306
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