Tender juicy chicken thighs braised in an Italian mushroom and white whine tomato sauce!
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Chicken Cacciatore has been an Italian family favorite for many years and to be honest, it really doesn’t need to be modified too much to make it Keto friendly.
Even though the name Chicken Caccaitore may have you thinking it’s some complicated recipe that will take you hours in the kitchen to prepare, that could not be further from the truth.
It’s tender juicy chicken thighs stewed in a mushroom, tomato and white wine sauce, with bits of onion and fresh basil peeking through!
The delicious mouth-watering flavors in this dish will have everyone coming back for seconds.
What’s in Keto Chicken Cacciatore
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- White wine (I use Pinot Grigio)
- Canned crushed tomatoes, no salt added/low carb
- Canned diced tomatoes, no salt added/low carb
- Portobello mushrooms
- Onion
- Garlic cloves
- Fresh basil
- Olive oil
- Salt
*Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.
How to Make Chicken Cacciatore
Add the chicken to a pot on medium high heat and sauté in olive oil, a few minutes on each side. Remove from the pot and set aside.
Add in the mushrooms and cook for about 3 minutes, then add in the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes, then add in the garlic. Cook the garlic for about 20 seconds, careful not to burn it!
Add in the white wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add in most of the basil, tomatoes and add the chicken back in.
Cook on medium low heat with the lid offset, for 30-40 minutes. When ready to serve, garnish with the remaining fresh basil.
Traditional cacciatore is typically served over pasta noodles or rice. But with this Keto version, you can serve it over zucchini noodles, Palmini noodles or any of your favorite Keto side dishes.
No matter what you serve it with, I’m betting you’ll be making this Keto chicken recipe time and time again!
The rich and savory tomato sauce coats the mushrooms and chicken creates the most amazing sauce!
What is Chicken Cacciatore?
The word cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian. A cacciatore recipe is a dish served “hunter style” with chicken, tomatoes, herbs and spices cooked in wine or a vinegar style base.
Are Tomatoes Keto?
In moderation they are just fine for those on Keto or low carb diets. It should be noted that they are considerably higher in carbs than most Keto veggies. For a ½ cup of tomatoes, there are approximately 6 grams of carbs.
Tomatoes are nutritious too! Tomatoes are a good source of several vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, potassium, vitamin K, and folate. If you’d like to know more about the health benefits of tomatoes, check out this article on Healthline.
How Many Carbs in Mushrooms?
Besides the chicken and tomatoes, mushrooms are another main ingredient that makes this dish so rich and decadent. There are approximately 4 net carbs per serving of mushrooms.
Mushrooms are not only low carb, they’re are a good source of protein, fiber, vitamin C, folate, iron, zinc as well as a great source of vitamin B6, vitamin D, thiamin, riboflavin, potassium, copper, and selenium.
You can read more about the nutrition in mushrooms in this article found on Healthline.
Tips for the Best Chicken Cacciatore
- Chicken thighs helps add to the richness of this recipe. However, you can use chicken breasts if you prefer. Brown large chucks of chicken breasts the same way as instructed for the thighs in this recipe.
- This recipes builds flavors with each step. Be sure and scrape up all those little brown bits of flavor after browning the chicken.
- Be sure and use a wine that you’d like to drink to deglaze the pan.
- Leave the tomatoes and mushrooms chunky. This gives this dish the hunter style texture you’d expect in cacciatore.
- In order to keep this as low carb as possible, be sure you look for tomatoes with no sugar added on the label.
More Keto Italian Recipes
- Chicken Parmesan
- Instant Pot Chicken Marsala
- Shrimp all Vodka
- Italian Breadsticks
- Chicken Parmesan Casserole
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Skillet
More Low Carb and Keto Chicken Recipes
Chicken is so good for meal prep ideas, and it’s so versatile too! Here are some all time favorite Keto chicken recipes you may enjoy:
- Thai Red Curry Coconut Grilled Chicken
- Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Grilled Chicken with Rosemary Citrus Glaze
- Keto Chicken Tenders
- Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole
- Keto Chicken Pot Pie
- Spinach Artichoke Chicken Casserole
- Bacon Ranch Chicken Casserole
- Chicken Florentine Skillet
- Creamy Chicken Poblano Chicken
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken
If you’re looking for more meal prep inspirations, check out this article, 25+ Easy Keto Meal Prepping Ideas!
Shop my favorite products on Amazon and check out my Keto Pantry List!
Chicken Cacciatore – Keto and Low Carb
INGREDIENTS
- 6 Boneless Skinless chicken thighs
- ⅓ cup white wine I use Pinot Grigio
- 15 ounce can crushed tomatoes no salt added/low carb
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes no salt added/low carb
- 8 ounces portobello mushrooms sliced
- ¼ medium onion sliced thinly
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
PREPARATION
- Add the chicken to a pot on medium high heat and sauté in olive oil, a few minutes on each side. Remove from the pot and set aside.
- Add in the mushrooms and cook for about 3 minutes, then add in the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes, then add in the garlic. Cook the garlic for about 20 seconds, careful not to burn it!
- Add in the white wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add in most of the basil, tomatoes and add the chicken back in.
- Cook on medium low heat with the lid offset, for 30-40 minutes. When ready to serve, garnish with the remaining fresh basil.
- Since tomatoes are higher in carbs/sugar, I would recommend eating this along side a veggie, or over zucchini noodles (which requires more sauce) only on occasion.
I don’t drink or like the taste of wine. Do you think the recipe would come out delicious if I used chicken broth instead of wine?
Hi Carmen,
It will change the flavor slightly, but should still be delicious!
Is this actually Keto though? I know onions when cooked release a lot of sugars, and the canned tomatoes also are typically preserved with a lot of sugars. I am dying to give this recipe a try and the pictures look amazing. I just wanted to make sure that this is truly 100% Keto-friendly and won’t throw my ketosis out. If it is for sure then let me know and I will gladly cook this up!!
Hi Sebastian,
I’m not a Nutritionist or medical professional so I cannot guarantee anything at 100%, but to the best of my knowledge this dish is Keto friendly and has never kicked me out of Ketosis. With that said, everyone is different and some things will effect certain people vs. others. For example, some people can use the Skinny Syrups in their BPC and other’s say it spikes their insulin. You can always do some research or reach out to a Nutritionist to get their advice if you are concerned.
WOW!! I made this recipe for my boyfriend and I tonight ant he loved it!!! This tasty dish turned out fantastic.
I will definitely make it again and for the many dinner parties that I through.
Hi Kathryn,
So glad to hear this dish was a hit with your boyfriend! Thanks for stopping by to let me know 🙂