Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
We've been using our crockpot quite a bit lately. We've also discovered the wonderful boneless skinless chicken thighs from one of our favorite grocery stores (or go-see store as our toddler calls them). The benefit of cooking the thighs in the crockpot is they dry out less and are more flavorful than the traditional chicken breasts. Cooking Light's crockpot recipes have become a go-to source. I did not expect this recipe to be as good as it was. Even the toddler ate some of it!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups unsalted chicken stock such as Swanson
- 1/2 cup white wine or chicken stock
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano we ended up using dried
- 1/4 cup drained capers
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper we left this out because the toddler was eating with us
- 8 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 ounce container diced tomatoes 28-oz., such as Pomì, I accidentally used only the 14.5can
- 1 pkg. cremini mushrooms quartered (the grocery store was out of these, so we just left them out), 8-oz.
- 8 bone-in chicken thighs skinned (about 3 lb.) (we only had three boneless ones left, it worked fine), 6-oz.
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 12 ounces uncooked spaghetti broken in half
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- 2 ounces Parmesan cheese grated (about 1/2 cup)
Instructions
- Combine 1/2 cup water and flour in your favorite crockpot, stirring with a whisk. (Note: You can also use corn starch, which we will do next time.)
- Stir in stock and next 8 ingredients (through mushrooms).
- Add chicken thighs to the stock mixture; submerge in liquid.
- Cover and cook on LOW 7 1/2 hours (ours cooked about 9).
- Remove chicken.
- Leave whole or chop if using boneless skinless. If using bone-in, wait for them to cool, then remove bones.
- Add oil and pasta to slow cooker sauce; cover and cook on HIGH 15 minutes or until pasta is done to your liking. (It took a little longer than 15 minutes for us.)
- Stir in spinach until wilted.
- Divide pasta mixture and top evenly with chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
My opinion:
I didn't expect the capers to add so much to the dish. It was the right amount of salt and sweet from the tomatoes. The pasta cooked perfectly. Next time, I will use the corn starch and reduce the amount of liquid a little for the initial cooking phase. If we need more to cook the pasta, I'll add more at that time. All in all a good, flavorful dish that is perfect for a weeknight.
I didn't expect the capers to add so much to the dish. It was the right amount of salt and sweet from the tomatoes. The pasta cooked perfectly. Next time, I will use the corn starch and reduce the amount of liquid a little for the initial cooking phase. If we need more to cook the pasta, I'll add more at that time. All in all a good, flavorful dish that is perfect for a weeknight.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Updates for Instapot:
Cook the vegetables and first 8 ingredients. Then pressure cook for 6 minutes, quick release, if using chicken remove veggies and cook chicken (favorite way is 7 minutes per pound of breasts with just enough stock or water to cover), remove and drain. Then shred the chicken or leave whole. Readd the veggies and sauce, add the chicken, then the oil and pasta turn to sauté. When it bubbles add the pasta and turn to warm then add the lid. Check after 10 minutes for pasta tenderness.