Chicken Scarpariello

A delicious, rich Italian-American recipe, chicken scarpariello combines juicy braised chicken thighs with sweet Italian sausage, savory peppers and onions, earthy aromatics, and a tangy sauce. This classic one-skillet recipe is easy to make, full of flavor, and pairs well with all of your favorite sides.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

• Chicken scarpariello is full of amazing, rich flavors. The chicken thighs are naturally more flavorful than chicken breasts, and the bone and skin help them retain that flavor even better. They’re seasoned with salt and pepper, then seared to a crisp, before being mixed together with delicious Italian sausage, savory bell peppers and onions, mild & sweet pickled peppadews, and earthy fresh herbs.
• This dish is an easier-than-it-seems one-skillet meal that’s just as great for a mid-week dinner as it is for a special occasion. All of the ingredients take turns being cooked in one cast iron skillet, then they’re all brought together and transferred right to the oven. Easy cooking, easy clean-up – what more could you need?
• Chicken scarpariello is traditionally served with a potato side, like these roasted fingerling potatoes. Really, though, it’s delicious with almost anything. Pastas, mashed potatoes, cauliflower au gratin, even some simple broccoli florets or asparagus.

Other Delicious Chicken Recipes To Try

Marry Me Chicken (Chicken in a Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce)

Spatchcock Chicken with Garlic-Herb Butter

Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

Chef’s Tips

• Like your chicken thighs extra crispy? Pat them totally dry with paper towels before seasoning them with salt and pepper. Removing that excess moisture will let the skins crisp up better in the skillet.
• If your sauce is too thin for your liking, just give it a few more minutes over medium-high heat. Stir periodically until the mixture’s reduced to your desired consistency. 3 or 4 minutes should do the trick – just be sure not to burn it!
• The sauce for chicken scarpariello calls for dry white wine. Both Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio are ideal cooking dry white wines and usually my go-tos for recipes like this. If you don’t consume alcohol in any form for any reason, don’t worry. You can use chicken broth in place of the white wine.

More Delicious One-Skillet Meals

• Creamy Coconut Chicken With Lime
• One-Pot Chicken Pesto Pasta
• Cauliflower Fried Rice With Chicken
• Sweet Potato Hash
• Chicken Pomodoro

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Chicken Scarpariello

Prep:15 minutes

Cook:1 hour

Total:1 hour 15 minutes

One-skillet chicken scarpariello combines chicken thighs, Italian sausage, and a variety of aromatics with a tangy sweet-and-sour sauce for an easy dish that bursts with flavor.

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4 servings

Ingredients

• ▢ 6 medium chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on ; approximately 1 ½-2 pounds
• ▢ kosher salt to taste
• ▢ freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• ▢ 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• ▢ 3 medium Italian sausage links approximately 1 pound
• ▢ 1 large onion thinly sliced, approximately 2 cups
• ▢ 1 medium red bell pepper thinly sliced, approximately 1 cup
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• ▢ 5 cloves garlic chopped
• ▢ 1 cup dry white wine Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, etc.; or chicken broth
• ▢ 6 pickled peppadew peppers
• ▢ 2 tablespoons pickled peppadew pepper brine from jar of peppers
• ▢ 1 cup chicken broth
• ▢ chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Equipment

• Oven
• Large cast-iron skillet or similar oven-safe skillet
• stovetop
• Tongs
• Plate
• Spatula
• Internal meat theromometer optional

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. If needed, adjust oven racks to center of oven.
• Liberally season chicken thighs with salt and freshly cracked black pepper, then flip thighs over and season other side. Set chicken thighs aside.
  
• Heat large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When skillet is warm, add neutral oil and swirl pan to coat bottom with oil. Heat oil over medium heat until hot and shimmering.
• When oil is ready, place chicken thighs in hot skillet, skin-side down. Sear chicken 3 to 5 minutes or until skins begin to brown and crisp.
• Carefully flip chicken thighs over and sear other side 3 to 4 minutes until browned. Transfer seared chicken thighs to plate and set aside. Do not drain skillet.
  
• Add Italian sausage links to skillet. Cook 2 to 4 minutes or until sausages begin to brown.
• Flip sausages and cook other side 2 to 4 minutes until browned. Transfer browned sausages to plate with chicken thighs and set aside. Do not drain skillet. Note: sausages likely won't be cooked through completely at this point. That's fine. If skillet begins to smoke while cooking sausages, reduce heat as needed.
  
• Add sliced onion, sliced bell pepper, chopped sage, chopped rosemary, and chopped garlic to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions and peppers are tender, approximately 8 minutes. Note: if ingredients begin to burn, reduce heat as needed.
  
• When onions and peppers are tender, pour in white wine to deglaze skillet. Use spatula to scrape up any browned bits of food that may be stuck to bottom of skillet. Let mixture cook 7 minutes or until wine has reduced by approximately 50%.
• Once liquid has reduced, add peppers, pepper brine, and chicken broth to skillet. Gently stir to incorporate ingredients, then let mixture cook 5 minutes until liquids are heated through.
  
• If desired, slice sausage links into 3 to 4 pieces each. Return chicken thighs and sausages to skillet and spoon liquid over top of proteins.
• Place skillet in preheated oven. Bake dish 30 minutes, or until chicken thighs reach 160° Fahrenheit internally. Remove skillet from oven and let rest 5 minutes.
  
• Divide chicken scarpariello evenly onto serving plates with desired side. Top with chopped fresh parsley if desired and serve warm.

Notes

• For extra crispy chicken thigh skins, pat the chicken completely dry with paper towels before seasoning them. Removing the excess moisture will let them crisp up better in the skillet.
• Peppadew Peppers: Peppadew is a specific brand of piquanté, or Juanita, peppers. Any brand of these peppers will work! If you can’t find these, pickled cherry peppers would work, too.
• Chicken Broth: Use low sodium chicken broth if desired.
• Make it Alcohol Free: Replace the white wine with 1 cup chicken broth.
• Make it Keto: Replace the white wine with 1 cup chicken broth. Use peppers that don’t have added sugar in the ingredients list.
• Make it Gluten Free: Make sure your chicken broth and your pickled peppers are 100% gluten free.

Chicken should register 165°F internally to be considered food-safe. We remove it from the oven around 160°-163°F because it will cook residually as it rests in the skillet. Check the chicken again with an internal thermometer before serving.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 864kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 45g, Fat: 66g, Saturated Fat: 19g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g, Monounsaturated Fat: 30g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 254mg, Sodium: 1029mg, Potassium: 843mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 1167IU, Vitamin C: 56mg, Calcium: 74mg, Iron: 3mg, Net Carbs: 9g

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

 

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

 

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Jasmine Comer