Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore

Best Crockpot chicken cacciatore with jar sauce recipe ever! If you’ve never made this it literally takes 10 min. to prep and my kids love it over rice! Cheap slow cooker meal with 3 ingredients like our Instant Pot chicken cacciatore but on low.

I love an easy dinner, like the easy Crockpot chicken cacciatore recipe ever. It just takes 10 minutes to prep.! Seriously, it’s so easy and even the kids gobble this one up! One of our favorite crockpot recipes. 

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Spaghetti Sauce

I mean I’m all about healthy, if it still tastes amazing! This fits the bill on those requirements and is cheap too! Of course you can vary it depending on your heat level preferences too which is nice. We have made our crockpot chicken noodle soup often even if we aren’t sick but needed a new one pot meal to enjoy.

To make things easier to use a jarred sauce to make this shredded chicken. If you wanted to make yours homemade instead we have an option for that too. Beyond that you just need the protein and vegetables which is primarily onions and bell peppers.

Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

1. This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
2. I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.

Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉

It is an inexpensive crockpot meal and quite healthy too incorporating chicken and veggies that cook down and get nice and soft in the process. Perfect over Ninja Foodi white rice. I bet all of you will love this meal too.

Well my mom used to when I was younger, but from scratch. Ok, so I don’t have time to do the from scratch thing usually during the week.

But, I came up with a semi-homemade way using the same ingredients but in a much simpler form. It’s one of the best crockpot chicken recipes.

3 Ingredient Chicken Cacciatore Recipe

You are going to want medium sized Boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs really if that is what you have on hand. Choose those of similar size and thicknesses so they are done about the same time.

And of course for ease just use a jar of Spaghetti sauce – buy whatever jar is on sale really. You could make your own homemade slow cooker spaghetti sauce beforehand if you want with crushed tomatoes etc..

Onions are optional but a cheap way to add flavor and texture. You could also add some sliced bell peppers & mushrooms in there for more veggies.

Water I don’t count, or use chicken broth instead for more flavor. Rice you would make on the side and serve with this. Olives – some people like to add them, we usually don’t

Literally this is all you need. Maybe some slow cooker rice if you want to serve it over that when it’s done. That is what we do. It doesn’t matter what brand spaghetti sauce you use. Choose whatever type of sauce you want (I’m all about what is on sale). Just stay away from meat flavor since that is ground beef based.

Substitutions

Chicken thighs would work as well, but I usually save those to make my Crockpot jerk chicken instead. Red pepper flakes could be added for a bit of heat if you wanted to but typically I keep it mild. If you cannot find boneless you can use pieces with rib meat. This is Hunter style which means with a red sauce.

I tend to choose garlic or mushroom, and prefer a thicker version but like I said I usually buy what’s on sale.  2 large chicken breasts will do and will feed the 5 of us. I also add mushrooms but I don’t like them mushy so I wait until the last hour to add those (you can omit those if you prefer).

How Long to Cook Chicken Cacciatore in Slow Cooker on Low

Cover and cook for 5 hrs cooking time on low.  Add mushrooms that have been rinsed and quartered into crockpot, stir slightly cook for an additional hour on low. (or longer depending on how thick they are, cook until meat falls apart) Can double if you’d like. Serve over rice.

Chicken Cacciatore with Frozen Chicken

If you forgot to prep the night before and only have meat in the freezer you can still save the day and it actually doesn’t take any more time!! With that said there are two things you need to remember to be successful with this. Make sure the sizes are small to medium and you separate them from one another before laying on the bottom of the slow cooker, that is all. 😉

FAQ

If you are busy like we are these quick crockpot meals are lifesavers! I use mine at least once a week if not more and have several sizes. I use my large crockpot for this. Many of our other crockpot recipes are here and below.

1. Easy homemade crockpot split pea soup is low in saturated fat and super nutritious.
2. Crockpot lemon pepper chicken is healthy, my family loved this recipe the other night
3. Try this crockpot cream cheese chicken with breasts or bone in chicken thighs this week.

Almost all of the above and on our site you just throw all together in the morning and it will be ready when you return from your busy day in the afternoon. No stirring or paying attention to it along the way, or that would defeat the purpose of easy.

How do you revive leftovers?

This will stay safe in a sealed container in the fridge for about 4 days is the general rule. If you know you won’t use it within that time you should freeze it instead. Then it will last a few months without issue.

Since this will be saved in a thick tomato sauce it should stay pretty moist. Make sure it has cooled before storing in a sealed container and in the fridge for up to 3 days max. If it is by itself it may dry out and you would want to add a bit of broth or olive oil to the top when reheating in the oven or microwave.

I wouldn’t recommend cooking on high, I never do. Low and slow is always best for meat so it becomes fork tender. Remove chicken when done and shred or serve whole on plates. Shouldn’t even need a knife to cut.