Chicken Scarpariello with Sausage

If you’re always on the hunt for easy, flavorful weeknight meals, this Chicken Scarpariello with Sausage and Peppers has an incredible depth of flavor. Plus it always receives rave reviews.

This Italian Sausage Chicken, also known as Shoemaker’s Chicken, is typically made with chicken thighs, Italian sausage, onions, peppers, and a tangy pan sauce. These simple ingredients combine beautifully to make a memorable meal. 

Why You Must Make

• Simple ingredients combine to make a tasty, flavorful entree.
• You can use the traditional chicken thighs, but Scarpariello is terrific with chicken breasts, too.
• This recipe is an excellent way to shake up your dinner menu! My gang loved it.

After decades of marriage, I know what I can get away with when it comes to experimental meals and the picky hubby. I spotted a gorgeous Chicken Scarpariello with Sausage on a friend’s blog, Food Lust People Love. No obviously “offensive” ingredients are listed, like mushrooms, fennel, etc. Just layers of delicious flavors from the white wine, sausage, and herbs. I used bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts instead of a combo of dark and light meat and substituted piquillo peppers for her peppadews. This Italian-American dish showed promise.

Ingredient Notes:

• Kitchen Staples: Kosher Salt, Olive Oil, Fresh Garlic.
• Bone-In Chicken Breast – You may substitute boneless chicken breasts or bone-in or boneless thighs.
• Mild Italian Sausage Links – Spicy sausage may also be used
• Red Wine Vinegar – Adding an acidic ingredient helps make the flavors pop, and helps balance the fattier ingredients. Note that the flavor of vinegar will mellow as it cooks.
• Dry White Wine – Alcohol, like salt is a flavor enhancer. Much of the alcohol will evaporate as the dish cooks.
• Chicken Stock – More flavorful than water for making a sauce.
• Piquillo Peppers – Use jarred, and drain. They’re slightly sweet with mild heat, similar to that of poblanos.
• Soy Sauce – Adds umami, the savory sense of taste.
• Fresh Rosemary – plus more to garnish your serving plate if desired. May substitute another Italian herb. Dried rosemary can be used in a pinch, but you won’t need as much.

Expert Tips

• Use bone-in chicken breasts, thighs or even boneless chicken.
• PRO-Tip: Make sure you season the chicken before you saute it. The flavor is incorporated into the dish much better when added early in the process.
• Try this skillet chicken with your favorite peppers, sweet or hot or a combination. Bon Appetit’s recipe uses hot, sweet pickled Peppadew peppers in brine.
• Many recipes add onions, so feel free to slice, then saute them after removing the chicken and before adding the garlic.
• Don’t like rosemary? Substitute your favorite Italian herbs like oregano or basil.
• Some versions are made with potatoes. So feel free to add some and give them time to soak up the flavorful scarpariello sauce.
• Make sure your chicken is fully cooked by checking to see that the internal temperature reaches 165 ºF.

How to Make

1. Generously season the chicken breasts with kosher salt.
2. Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan and brown the chicken over medium-high heat. Remove to a platter.
3. Brown the sausage, then remove it to the platter with the chicken.
4. Then lower the heat and add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the vinegar, wine, chicken stock, peppers, soy sauce, and rosemary.
5. Bring liquid to a boil, add the chicken, sausage, and any accumulated juices back to the pan, and simmer until the sauce is reduced by half and the chicken is cooked. You may want to put the lid on to finish cooking if the chicken needs more cooking time.
6. Serve with a drizzle of pan sauce and a sprinkle of minced rosemary.

With a depth of flavor from the sausage, wine, vinegar, and herbs, this Chicken Scarpariello recipe turned out to be an over-the-top entree. Simple to make, yet a complex experience for the taste buds. I happened to have a jar of piquillo peppers in my pantry, thanks to Dorie Greenspan who exposed me to these thin, sweet Spanish peppers.

Ordinary red bell peppers can be substituted if desired when making this Italian chicken recipe. Add spicier peppers, too, if you enjoy those. Since I had all the ingredients except rosemary on hand, this Chicken Scarpariello was perfect for a memorable weeknight meal!

Frequently Asked Questions

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The Recipe:

Chicken Scarpariello Recipe with Sausage

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Yield 6 servings

A fabulous, flavorful one pan entree that will tantalize your taste buds!

Ingredients

• 6 bone in chicken breasts
• Kosher salt to taste
• Olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 pound mild Italian sausage links, sliced
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 jar piquillo peppers, drained ( 7.75 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary plus more to garnish if desired

Instructions

1. Generously season the chicken breasts with kosher salt.
2. Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan and brown the chicken over medium-high heat. Remove to a platter.
3. Brown the sausage, then remove it to the platter with the chicken.
4. Then lower the heat and add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the vinegar, wine, chicken stock, peppers, soy sauce, and rosemary.
5. Bring liquid to a boil, add the chicken, sausage, and any accumulated juices back to the pan, and simmer until the sauce is reduced by half and the chicken is cooked. You may want to put the lid on to finish cooking if the chicken needs more cooking time.
6. Serve chicken, sausage, and peppers with a drizzle of sauce and garnish with rosemary if desired.

Notes

May use your favorite white or dark meat chicken pieces.
Add onions if desired. Use pickled or hot peppers instead of piquillo peppers.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1 chicken breast
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 533Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 146mgSodium: 856mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 53g

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