Crispy chicken in a spicy tomato sauce with capsicum / bell peppers, olives, capers. I call it an Italian Chicken Casserole because it’s stew-like, with plenty of sauce to slop up with crusty bread or to toss through pasta. A fabulous, hearty dinner you can get on the table in less than 30 minutes!
This Italian Chicken Casserole is inspired by a Sicilian Chicken recipe by Mario Batali, an Italian- American chef and restauranteur. He’s also one of the collaborators of New York’s popular Eataly, an emporium of all things Italian that was the single most visited place during my last visit to New York. Great for souvenirs, for a quick lunch, for afternoon tea (oh, the pastry counter!!), for an early evening glass of wine (oh, the wine bar!!) with cheese and cured meats (oh, the deli!), or for a full multi-course dinner (oh, the choices of restaurants!!).
And while some head home with the the obligatory t-shirt with “I ❤️ NYC” emblazoned across it, I always take home a cookbook from each country I visit. Don’t ask me why it’s different to buy a Lidia and Mario Batali cookbook in Eataly when I can order it online with free delivery. It just is. And I get to curse my impractical decision for the entire rest of the trip as it adds an extra couple of kilos to my luggage.
I remember doing the exact same thing in Mexico. 🙄
The original recipe by Mario Batali is actually quite different. It has carrots, celery, potatoes and eggplant in it and there’s far less sauce. Regular readers know I’m a fan of sauce. If I share a recipe without a sauce or that’s not exceptionally saucy, there is a very good reason for it.
I wanted more sauce.
So I created more sauce. And so as not to offend purists, I changed the name to Italian Chicken Casserole!! 😉
Oh – and I also made the chicken crispy. I recently learned of a new way to make crispy chicken skin on the stove without using any oil, courtesy of my mother and the Teriyaki Chicken video I recently made for her. So I put that into practice for this recipe. 🙂
As for serving, I’m happy either way – crusty bread to dunk into the sauce, or tossing the sauce through pasta. There’s enough sauce that you can toss half of it through pasta and serve the other half with the chicken, as shown below.
Though I call this a casserole, it’s not simmered for hours on the stove. The chicken is cooked through and super juicy (because I use thigh), but not falling off the bone. That’s the way I’ve made this recipe – a 30 minute midweek meal. However, I know some of you are all about “falling off the bone” so I’ve added notes in the recipe for how to adjust for that (but you have to sacrifice the crispy skin!!!). – Nagi x
PS I know the skin of the chicken looks almost artificially golden. But chicken skin cooked the way I do it in this recipe using no oil truly comes out this golden. In fact, I had to dial back the colour saturation in the photos because it just looked so darn golden. That’s a first!!!
- 5 chicken thighs , skin on, bone in (about 200g / 7 oz each) (Note 1 for breast)
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 medium onion , finely chopped
- 1 EACH red and green capsicum / bell pepper , sliced
- ½ cup / 125 ml white or red wine (any is fine, I use dry white) (Note 2 for subs)
- 800 g / 28 oz can crushed tomato
- ¾ cup / 185 ml water , swilled in empty tomato can
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes (chilli flakes), adjust to taste
- 3/4 cup black olives , pitted (or 1/3 cup sliced)
- 2 tbsp baby capers
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
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Use a small knife to prick 5 or so gashes into the skin of the chicken. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.
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Place chicken skin side down in a cold large non stick skillet, then turn stove onto medium high. As it heats up, the fat under the skin will start to melt through the holes in the skin.
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Cook for 4 – 5 minutes or until the skin is golden and crispy. Turn the chicken and cook the other side for 3 minutes.
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Remove chicken onto a plate, discard fat (don’t scrape the pan) then return to the stove.
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Add oil, garlic and onion. Cook for 1 minute, then add capsicum. Cook for 2 minutes then add wine. Bring to a simmer and stir, scraping the pan to get those golden bits mixed in.
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Once most of the wine is evaporated and it doesn’t smell winey anymore, add the tomato, water and pepper flakes. Stir, bring to a simmer, adjust heat so it’s bubbling energetically but not rapidly (and not slowly).
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After 5 minutes (or so), stir through olives and capers. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper.
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Then place chicken into the sauce, being careful not to submerge the skin. Cook for another 5 minutes.
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Sprinkle over parsley. Serve with crusty bread, or use half the sauce to toss through / pour over pasta and the other half to serve with chicken (see photos in post).
1. CHICKEN BREAST option: Use 4 small breasts or 3 medium ones, pound to even thickness about 1.5cm / 2/3" thick (makes it more tender too). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, sear with 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat for 2 minutes on each side until golden. Then add it back into the pan for 3 minutes at the end.
2. Sub with chicken broth or even water.
3. CRISPY SKIN: The technique used to make crispy skin is one I learned from my mother’s Teriyaki Chicken. It’s a super way to remove excess fat (and healthier too!!) to make the skin really crispy without using any oil to cook the chicken.
4. WORKFLOW: This recipe flows nicely in a way that you can easily get this on the table in 30 minutes. Start the chicken in the cold pan, and meanwhile start chopping the ingredients for the sauce. While the onion etc are being sautéed, open the tomatoes, grab you red pepper flakes. While the sauce is simmering, measure out the olives etc. See? Nice flow!
5. FALL APART MEAT: The chicken in this recipe is very juicy because it's thigh plus simmered in the sauce. However, I know some people are a fan of super tender meat so in order to do that, put the chicken into the sauce after you add the tomato and water, put the lid on and simmer for 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender to your taste. You may need to add more water and you will lose the crispy skin, but you'll get super tender flesh!
6. NUTRITION: Please note that approximately 2.5 tbsp (300 calories) of fat is discard in this recipe but I don't know how to subtract that in the nutrition calculator. So the corrected estimated calories per serving is about 497 calories per serving.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Spicy Italian Chicken Casserole recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
When he forgot how he got on the Marine Police Wharf (via the low tide water) and thought he was trapped on the other side of the gate. 🙄
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Can I use chicken breast instead of thigh?
See note 1 please! 🙂
Could I use chicken breast as my son will only eat breast?
Just can’t miss with one of your recipes! The family loved it, made with green beans for us no carb folks and Pasta for the kids. I did put the thighs in after the sauce to cook longer, tender perfection! I can’t stop telling everyone about your recipes!
Fantastic to hear Diane! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
I made this last evening for guests. It was full of flavor, and best yet … easy to make . Everyone loved it ! Thank you for another amazing recipe Nagi 🙂
Reading the recipe and looking at the pictures I noticed the pictures have red chili pepper cut up on top (at least that is what i think it is) and that’s not in the video or in the recipe. Is it something you did for garnish or did you use red chilies in the place of the red pepper flakes. I want to make this recipe just asking to make sure i get it right.
Hi Sheila! Yes you are right, they are fresh red chillies, the large sort that aren’t that spicy. I added it as an optional garnish, it is not in the ingredients. It adds extra spiciness and is optional only 🙂 N x
This is delicious. One of the best recipes I’ve found on Pinterest….definitely will make it again.
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback Marianna, I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this! N x ❤️
YES! Delicious. Had to reduce portions down to one, so cooked two thighs, some onion and peppers, some wine (white) and some pepper flakes, you get the idea. I wanted to serve it over pasta but since I’ve recently lost some weight, I decided to eat it as chicken and veggies. As I said, delicious! Thanks so much for your innovative ideas!
That’s terrific Grambeau! Thanks for letting me know! N xx ❤️
I juts made this earlier for dinner! My parents in lAw and husband loved it! Mother in law asked me to make it for xmas! 🙂 only thing is, my chicken was raw on the inside despite being on the stove for around 30 minutes. I should have covered it and left it to simmer for awhile longer. 🙁 but all good. Thnaks for this great recipe and the few others I’ve tried too. 🙂
Hi Regina, I’m so pleased you enjoyed this! I’m sorry to hear it was still raw on the inside, that’s a bit surprising given how long the chicken is cooked! Is there a chance it was a bit frozen inside? 🙂 N xx
Hi Nagi,
In the photo of the recipe you have chopped chillies 🌶. In the recipe and video it is missing?
Did you add this instead of chilli flakes in the photo version?
Yup, had this beauty last night for dinner and fortunately have loads of sauce left over for today for lunch with pasta.
Because MOTH doesn’t do olives I rarely have them, I’m glad I went with them as their flavour adds something special to the recipe.
We really really really enjoyed this, packed with delish flavours and once again so simple to make.
DOZER – not the sharpest tool in the shed BUT so adorable.
All I saw was -> DOZER – not the sharpest tool in the shed BUT so adorable. -> And burst out LAUGHING!!!
Love the recipe
My husband and dont drink, what can we use as a substitute for the wine.
HI Mary! I forgot to put the sub in the recipe – I’ll add it now! Broth – or even water will be fine. 🙂 N x
How do I sign up a friend to receive these great recipes?
Hi Jo-Anne! If you pop her email in the sign up form here, then she will get an email asking her to confirm to join my mail list, then she will start receiving them! 🙂 N xx Sign up form —> http://eepurl.com/4kKKD
Hi Nagi! I just picked up a package of thighs the other day and I have everything else on hand! I think will be dinner tonight, along with some bucatini. And I have a baguette! It amazes me how you always know what I have in my pantry and frig! 🙂
It’s because we have such similar taste! We live on opposite sides of the world and yet our palettes are so similar! 😂
Love you recipes and love you puppy photos you add!
Thanks Kay!! Cheeky devil, can’t believe I ended up giving him a dedicated space in every post!! 😂
This has my name written all over it!! YES! to the sauce. As I was reading the recipe above I thought it needed tomatoes and some chunky tomatoes in a sauce. Yum!! And of course you have to have black olives in it — that makes it Southern Italian. And the hot peppers just give it another layer of flavor. We have chicken thighs thawing in the fridge. We were going to grill them but I think this recipe would be much better!! I’m going to go watch how you got the skin crispy. And falling off the bone? It’s overcooked. People say the same thing about ribs — well I like them to give me a little bit of a challenge when I take a bite out of them. Can’t wait to make this!! xoxo
Mmmmm – tomato chunks in the sauce would be a terrific addition! Love to hear what you think about how I get that skin crispy!!
This looks awesome and delicious. Can it be made with chicken breast?
This looks delicious, can I do it with chicken breasts?
Hi Rae! Added a new note for directions! 🙂 N x
When just reading the recipe instructions (without viewing the video), it is unclear if the chicken thighs go into the cold pan skin side down or skin side up. When people save recipes for future use, they don’t usually save videos – so this crucial piece of information needs to be included in the written directions. Having said that, I can’t wait to try this recipe – I love quick, one pan meals!
Thank you for picking that up Linda, I will fix it right now!