Chicken alla Cacciatora: Italian Chicken Cacciatora with Mashed Potatoes | Mama Florence Cooking School

What Does “Alla Cacciatora” Mean?

Alla cacciatora means “hunter-style,” but there is no single universal cacciatora recipe. The idea changes from region to region and kitchen to kitchen, usually around meat cooked with aromatic ingredients, wine, herbs, and sometimes tomato or olives. This Mama Florence version leans firmly into a Tuscan flavor profile: garlic, rosemary, sage, bay leaf, red wine, tomato, olives, and olive oil. The chicken browns first, then returns to the sauce for a long, gentle simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce has reduced around it. The mashed potatoes carry those same herbs through the infused oil, so the plate feels like one complete dish rather than two separate preparations.

A Classic Italian Dish

The recipe begins by browning the chicken before building the sauce. Once the chicken has taken on color, it is removed from the pan. Onion and garlic then go into a second sauté pan with olive oil, followed by the herbs, olives, and tomato paste. The browned chicken returns to the pan, red wine is added and allowed to evaporate, then the puréed tomatoes and vegetable broth go in. The dish simmers for about 45 minutes, covered but not completely sealed, so the sauce can reduce as the chicken cooks.

How to Make Chicken Cacciatora

Chicken Cacciatora Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs or drumsticks • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced • 2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced • 1 glass red wine • 1 tablespoon tomato paste • 4 tablespoons puréed peeled tomatoes • 1 bay leaf • Taggiasca or black olives, as needed • fresh rosemary, as needed • fresh sage, as needed • extra virgin olive oil, as needed • Salt, to taste • Black pepper, to taste • Vegetable broth, as needed

Mashed Potatoes Ingredients

• 3 medium yellow-fleshed potatoes • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil • rosemary, sage, and bay leaf • Salt, to taste • Black pepper, to taste • nutmeg, to taste

Mama’s Secret: Do not fry the herbs when infusing the olive oil for the potatoes. Keep the heat low enough that the rosemary, sage, and bay leaf perfume the oil without becoming toasted or bitter.

How to Brown the Chicken

1. Heat a large frying pan and coat the bottom with extra virgin olive oil.
2. Once the pan is hot, add the chicken thighs or drumsticks and allow them to brown well.
3. You are not trying to cook them through at this stage. The goal is to build color and flavor on the outside before the chicken goes into the sauce.
4. Once browned, remove the chicken from the heat and set aside.

How to Build the Cacciatora Sauce

1. In a medium sauté pan, coat the bottom with olive oil and heat gently.
2. Add the sliced onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften and take on color.
3. Add the rosemary, sage, bay leaf, olives, and tomato paste.
4. Return the browned chicken pieces to the pan and season with salt.
5. Pour in the red wine and let it evaporate before adding the puréed peeled tomatoes and enough vegetable broth to keep the chicken cooking gently.

How to Cook Chicken Cacciatora

1. Reduce the heat and allow the chicken to simmer for approximately 45 minutes.
2. Cover the pan with a lid, but do not seal it completely. Leave a small opening so steam can escape and the sauce has time to reduce.
3. By the end of the cooking time, the chicken should be tender and the sauce should feel concentrated rather than watery.
4. Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.

How to Make the Herb-Infused Mashed Potatoes

1. Boil the potatoes with their skins on until tender.
2. While they cook, place the extra virgin olive oil in a small pan over low heat with rosemary, sage, and bay leaf.
3. Let the herbs infuse the oil for approximately 5 minutes, keeping the heat low enough that they do not fry.
4. Peel the cooked potatoes and mash them in a bowl.
5. Season with salt, black pepper, and nutmeg, then dress with the herb-infused olive oil.
6. The result is lighter than a butter-heavy mash and much more connected to the rosemary, sage, and bay leaf already running through the chicken.

Why Red Wine and Olives Work So Well Here

Chicken needs something to push against, and this sauce gives it plenty. Red wine brings acidity and depth, tomato adds body, and black or Taggiasca olives bring salinity and a slightly bitter edge. Rosemary, sage, and bay leaf carry the whole thing back toward Tuscany. None of those ingredients should dominate on their own. The pleasure is in the way they cook together for long enough that the sauce stops tasting like separate components and starts tasting like cacciatora.

Why the Potatoes Matter

The mashed potatoes are not just a side dish here. They are dressed with olive oil infused with the same herbs used in the chicken, which gives the whole plate continuity. The potatoes catch the tomato-rich sauce beautifully, while the olive oil keeps the texture soft without making the mash overly heavy. A little black pepper and nutmeg finish the potatoes, leaving them simple enough to support the chicken without competing with it.

The Perfect Bite

The chicken should be tender enough to pull away easily, with the sauce clinging to the outside rather than running thinly across the plate. Then come the olives, onion, garlic, herbs, red wine, and tomato — savory, slightly tangy, and deeply aromatic. The mashed potato softens everything underneath, carrying the rosemary, sage, and bay leaf through the herb-infused oil. The best forkful gets all three: chicken, sauce, and potato. That is where the dish makes sense.

More Tuscan Main Courses to Make

If you like slow-cooked dishes built around wine and aromatics, our Tuscan Meat Ragù uses beef, pork, soffritto, red wine, tomato, and broth in a completely different form. For another comforting Tuscan dish with tomato at the center, try Tuscan Meatballs with Tomato Sauce. And for something vegetable-driven alongside a rich main course, Fagioli all’Uccelletto brings cannellini beans, tomato, garlic, sage, and olive oil to the table.

Learn Traditional Tuscan Cooking in Florence

Want to cook dishes like this with one of our chefs? Join our Traditional Tuscan Cooking Class to explore the techniques and ingredients behind classic regional cooking. At Mama Florence, a dish like chicken cacciatora is a perfect example of why sequencing matters: brown the chicken first, build the sauce separately, let the wine evaporate, then give everything enough time to come together slowly in the pan.

 

Chicken Cacciatora FAQ

Q: What does “cacciatora” mean? A: Alla cacciatora means “hunter-style” and refers broadly to rustic preparations of meat cooked with aromatics, wine, herbs, and other regional ingredients.

Q: What cut of chicken should I use? A: The original Mama Florence recipe uses 4 chicken thighs or drumsticks.

Q: Does this chicken cacciatora use red or white wine? A: This recipe uses red wine.

Q: Does chicken cacciatora contain olives? A: Yes. This version uses Taggiasca or black olives as needed.

Q: What herbs are used in chicken cacciatora? A: Rosemary, sage, and bay leaf are used in the chicken, and the same herbs are also used to infuse the olive oil for the mashed potatoes.

Q: How long does chicken cacciatora cook? A: After browning and building the sauce, the chicken simmers for approximately 45 minutes.

Q: Should I completely cover the pan? A: No. Cover it with the lid slightly ajar so the chicken cooks gently while the sauce continues to reduce.

Q: What are the mashed potatoes seasoned with? A: Salt, black pepper, nutmeg, and extra virgin olive oil infused with rosemary, sage, and bay leaf.

Q: Does this recipe contain bacon? A: No. The original Mama Florence recipe does not use bacon.

Q: What should I serve with chicken cacciatora? A: This recipe is specifically served with herb-infused mashed potatoes, which absorb the tomato, wine, herb, and olive sauce beautifully.

 

Disclaimer

Please note that our chefs may adapt recipes according to seasonal ingredient availability and participants’ dietary or allergy requirements. As a result, the ingredients, preparation, or presentation shown in this recipe may vary from what you prepared during your Mama Florence class. In some cases, elements of a dish may also appear as separate recipes — for example, the fresh pasta you prepared may be paired here with a different sauce, while the sauce from your class may appear in another recipe. Please reach out to our team if any confusion arises. Thank you — the Mama Florence Family.

Reviews

4.8 8 reviews

1. I could not find one of the ingredients locally and substituted the closest thing. It was good, but I suspect the original is better.

   Anna W.

   Berlin, Germany · April 2026

2. Impressive without being fiddly. I hate plating things at the last minute in front of guests.

   Marco T.

   Rome, Italy · April 2026

3. Browning properly at the start makes the difference. I have skipped that step before in other recipes and I will not again.

   Allison W.

   Providence, USA · March 2026

4. Two and a half hours in the oven and it fell apart with a spoon. Patience is the only skill this needs.

   Amelia J.

   Adelaide, Australia · October 2025

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