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!!!
MORE CHICKEN THIGH RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE!
Skinless boneless chicken thigh recipes:
Greek Chicken Gyros | Chicken STROGANOFF! | Thai Grilled Chicken | Chicken Doner Kebab | Chinese BBQ Chicken | Thai Coconut Chicken | Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken | Chicken Piccata
Bone in, skin on chicken thigh recipes:
Baked Chicken and Rice | Chicken Stew | Honey Mustard Chicken | Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken | Greek Chicken
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SPICY ITALIAN CHICKEN CASSEROLE
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- Use a small knife to prick 5 or so gashes into the skin of the chicken. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.
- 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.
- Cook for 4 – 5 minutes or until the skin is golden and crispy. Turn the chicken and cook the other side for 3 minutes.
- Remove chicken onto a plate, discard fat (don’t scrape the pan) then return to the stove.
- 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.
- 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).
- After 5 minutes (or so), stir through olives and capers. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper.
- Then place chicken into the sauce, being careful not to submerge the skin. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- 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).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
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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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!