Chicken Scarpariello Recipe {Shoemaker Chicken} Gonna Want Seconds (2024)

Chicken scarpariello takes your standard Italian chicken recipes and kicks them to the max with flavorful chicken thighs and a hearty sauce!

Like other Mediterranean chicken dishes, you can expect loads of bright, fresh flavors. This recipe is a braised chicken dish that produces the heavenly, to-die-forScarpariello sauce that makes this such an unforgettable meal. You’ll usually find plenty of peppers, some vinegar to increase the acidity of the sauce, and lots of garlic.

I guarantee no one will leave the table hungry if you add this to your favorite chicken recipes.

This Italian-American dish is in good company — it shares similar ingredients and flavor profiles to such dishes as balsamic chicken, chicken Vesuvio’s white wine, chicken Murphy’s peppers, and chicken Florentine’s herbs. Go around the world without ever leaving your kitchen! All of these dishes make the perfect Sunday suppers!

It may be lesser known in the world of Italian-American dishes, but that doesn’t mean its flavor is any less amazing! What did you serve it with — potatoes or pasta? Let me know in the comments!

Let’s make this!

What I Love About This Recipe

This is, at its core, a braised chicken dish that produces a heavenly, to-die-for sauce. Simple, classic, and oh so flavorful, I know you’ll love it!

• ALL the flavor!
• Crowd-pleaser guaranteed
• Cooked-all-day taste
• Cheaper than a trip to Italy!

What Does Scarpariello Mean?

Scarpariello comes from the wordscarparo, which means shoemaker or cobbler in Italian.

“Shoemaker Chicken” just doesn’t have the same, uh, ring to it, though, so you’ll find it referred to in the Italian style on menus here in the U.S. where thankfully most of us don’t know enough Italian to associate this dish with feet.

What Is Chicken Scarpariello?

It’s a rich and hearty braised chicken dish with mixed peppers and sausage. Shoemaker-style chicken is likely an Italian-American dish, rather than one adopted directly from their European homeland, but the origin of the name is still a bit of a mystery. It’s a braised chicken with mixed peppers and sausage)Some stories attribute the name to the resourcefulness of shoemakers and its similarity to the creative use of ingredients in this dish. Others focus on how quickly this dish comes together, something a busy shoemaker could prepare in a short amount of time after a long day in the cobbler shop.

Some recipes make chicken scarpariello with sausage while others (like the chicken scarpariello Giada de Laurentiis makes) use prosciutto. The dish is often served with crispy, roasted potatoes on the side (probably because they’re so good at absorbing the amazing sauce).

What Type of Chicken Is Best for Chicken Scarpariello?

Any type of bone-in skin-on cut of chicken will work well in this recipe. Personally, when braising chicken, I like to use chicken thighs. They stand up to the longer, slower cooking style of braising best. They also have a higher fat content than breasts which adds to the wonderful overall flavor of this dish. If you use chicken breasts, reduce cooking time.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Fingerling Potatoes: These potatoes are the only way to go since their small size and firm texture are ideal. They cook fast but hold their shape well when you start dragging them through the sauce on your plate.
• Olive Oil
• Bone-in, Skin-on Chicken Thighs
• Italian Sausage:This recipe calls for a sweet Italian sausage, which is essentially the mild version of hot Italian sausage. Some “sweet” versions have a little basil in them, as well as the traditional flavors of fennel and garlic.
• Onion: I use yellow onion.
• Bell Pepper: Use any color you like. My favorite is red bell pepper.
• Garlic: Use only fresh.
• Dry White Wine
• Chicken Stock: You can use chicken broth instead
• White Wine Vinegar
• Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
• Peppadew Peppers: These are unique sweet piquanté pepper that is pickled and jarred. They’re imported from South Africa and are truly marvelous. I found mine on Amazon. Pickled cherry peppers can be used as a substitute. They, however, are not quite as sweet.

Tips + Tricks

• No skillet, no problem –If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, you can use an oven-proof baking dish to finish this recipe. I just recommend preheating the dish in the oven a bit before pouring your sauce into it, adding your chicken, etc.
  • Otherwise, you may need to add some additional cooking time for an instant-read thermometer to register 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
• Fingerling Potatoes –Yes, just for clarification, the potatoes are cooked on a separate baking sheet, in the oven while you make the chicken. Generally, when I serve this dish, I place a serving of potatoes on a plate or pasta bowl and then spoon the chicken and sauce over them.

Storing + Freezing + Make Ahead

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Once cooled and stored in airtight containers, you can keep your chicken leftovers in the fridge for up to four days. I always think Italian dishes taste better the next day, once the flavors have had time to develop.
  • If you save the potatoes too, you can always pop them in the toaster oven to get some of that crispiness back!
• Can You Freeze This? Yes! Make sure your dish is thoroughly cooled, then store the leftovers in a sealed container. You can then safely store it in the freezer for up to six months!
  • To thaw, let the container sit in the fridge overnight. Then just pop it in the microwave and heat it until you reach the desired temp!
• Make-Ahead Tips: You definitely don’t want to make the potatoes ahead of time! The whole point of roasting the fingerlings is to get that nice crispy texture. The rest of this recipe you can definitely make ahead though — the chicken stores beautifully in the fridge and with a type of stew, I think it tastes even better the next day!

What To Serve With Chicken Scarpariello

Well, of course, the roasted fingerling potatoes are wonderful. You can switch out the potatoes and serve with pasta that’s cooked, seasoned with salt and pepper, and tossed with olive oil.

I like to serve this with a fresh green salad tossed with my quick and easy (we’re talking just a couple of minutes to put together!) balsamic vinaigrette, or my hearty, yet elegant, Mediterranean salad.

My favorite garlic bread, or copycat Olive Garden breadsticks are also amazing with this! I mean seriously, have you tried them yet, guys?!!!

How To Make Chicken Scarpariello

1. Season and oil the potatoes bake until brown and tender.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
3. Add the chicken to the skillet, skin side down, and cook.
4. Flip the chicken and cook the other side.
5. Cook the sausage in the skillet. Set aside.
6. Cook the onions, bell pepper, and garlic.
7. Add wine, let it evaporate for 8 minutes, then add stock, peppadews, vinegar, and rosemary. Simmer.
8. Add chicken back to the skillet. Add sausage to the pan. Roast until the chicken is cooked through.
9. Serve.

***See full instructions below.

More Italian Chicken Dishes

• Chicken Francaise – This lemon butter sauce will have you swooning!
• Chicken Lasagna
• Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken
• Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo
• Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

Tried This Recipe?

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