Chicken Scarpariello pairs crispy, golden chicken and roasted potatoes with fennel Italian sausage, sweet red bell peppers, and tangy cherry peppers in a bold red-wine vinegar sauce. Bright, savory, and slightly spicy, this sweet-and-sour one-pan dish is an excellent choice for family dinners or entertaining—and you may find yourself making it often.
Editor’s Note: Originally published November 14, 2020. Updated with new photos, expanded notes, and an improved recipe on October 4, 2024.
Pollo alla scarpariello—literally “shoemaker-style chicken”—has many regional and restaurant interpretations. In practice it often means chicken cooked with a medley of complementary ingredients in a bright, vinegar-forward sauce. Variations can include mushrooms, olives, pearl onions, or different peppers, but the vinegary sauce and chicken remain the defining elements.
This version combines bone-in chicken thighs, roasted potatoes, fennel sausage, red bell peppers, and hot cherry peppers, finished with fresh parsley. It’s hearty, flavorful, and built to serve a crowd or create satisfying leftovers.
Recipe Ingredients
Below are the main ingredients and helpful notes to guide substitutions or preferences.
- Chicken. Bone-in chicken thighs are recommended for juiciness and flavor. Boneless thighs or drumsticks also work, but dark meat gives the best result.
- Sausage. Sweet or fennel Italian sausage balances the vinegar; use spicy Italian sausage for more heat.
- Peppers. Sweet red bell peppers paired with hot cherry peppers create contrast. Other pickled or sweet peppers (peppadew, for example) are acceptable alternatives.
- Wine. Choose a dry white like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio for deglazing and depth.
See the recipe card below for exact quantities and full ingredient details.
How to make it
These steps outline the timeline: roast the potatoes, sear the sausage and chicken, make the pan sauce, then bake everything together.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and position a rack in the middle. Halve 2 lb small potatoes, slice 2 large red bell peppers into 1/4″ strips, halve 15 garlic cloves, quarter 3 large hot cherry peppers and remove the seeds, and mince 1/2 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley. Toss the potatoes with 6 tablespoons olive oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, then roast cut-side down on a parchment-lined sheet for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.
- Trim excess fat from 3 lb chicken thighs, pat them very dry, and season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt. (Seasoning just before searing helps keep the skin crisp.)
- Heat a large oven-safe pan over medium with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add 1 1/2 lb Italian sausage and sear until browned but not fully cooked, about 7–10 minutes. Remove and, once cool, slice into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the bell pepper strips to the pan and cook briefly until they begin to soften. Remove and keep warm with the sausage.
- Sear the chicken, skin-side down, until golden and crisp. Flip and cook another 3–4 minutes, working in batches if needed. Transfer the seared chicken to a plate and tent with foil.
- If there’s an excess of fat, discard some leaving about 1/4 cup in the pan. Add the garlic and sauté until golden, then add the cherry peppers and cook 2 minutes.
- Pour in 1 1/4 cups dry white wine and 3/4 cup red wine vinegar, raise the heat to high, and boil 5–7 minutes until reduced by about half, scraping up browned bits from the pan.
- Add 1 1/4 cups no-sodium chicken stock and boil until reduced by half, about 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Return the roasted potatoes, peppers, and sausage to the pan and toss to coat. Nestle the chicken pieces skin-side up, spoon sauce over everything, tightly cover with foil, and bake at 425°F for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15–20 minutes, or until the chicken’s internal temperature reaches about 185–195°F and the skin is crisp.
- When the chicken is cooked, scatter the minced parsley over the top, toss gently to combine, and serve immediately.
Top tips
- Use dark meat. Thighs stay juicier and are more forgiving than breasts.
- Prefer homemade stock. No-sodium homemade chicken stock gives better flavor control and depth.
- Thicken the sauce if needed. If the sauce seems thin at the end, strain and simmer it briefly to concentrate the flavors; usually the staged reductions make this unnecessary.
More chicken recipes
If you enjoy this Scarpariello, try other one-pan or roasted chicken recipes for similar flavor profiles and ease.
- One-Pan Hot Honey Chicken and Potatoes
- Chicago-Style Chicken Vesuvio
- Spatchcock Chicken with Potatoes and Rosemary
- Italian-Style Rosemary Vinegar Chicken
If you tried this Chicken Scarpariello recipe, please leave a rating and share your notes below—your feedback helps refine the recipe for others.
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Chicken Scarpariello
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120ml) extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 1/2 pounds (680g) Italian sausage
- 3 pounds (1.4kg) chicken thighs trimmed of overhanging fat
- 1 tablespoon (10g) Diamond Crystal Kosher salt divided
- 1 teaspoon black pepper divided
- 2 pounds (908g) small potatoes cut in half
- 2 large red bell peppers sliced into 1/4″ strips
- 15 cloves garlic halved
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) dry white wine
- 3/4 cup (180ml) red wine vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) no-sodium chicken stock
- 3 large hot cherry peppers or to taste, quartered and seeds removed
- 1/2 cup minced Italian flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425°F and set the rack to the middle level. Toss halved potatoes with 6 tablespoons olive oil and half the salt and pepper. Spread cut-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast until nicely browned, about 30 minutes.
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Heat a large (14-inch preferred) oven-safe pan over medium with the remaining olive oil. Add the sausage links and sear until browned but not fully cooked, about 7–10 minutes. Remove and set aside. When cool, slice into bite-sized pieces.
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Sauté the bell pepper strips briefly until they begin to soften, then remove with the sausage and tent to keep warm.
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Pat the chicken pieces very dry and season with the remaining salt and pepper. Sear skin-side down until golden and crisp, flip and cook 3–4 minutes more. Work in batches if needed. Transfer to a plate and tent to keep warm.
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If the pan holds too much fat, pour off excess and leave about 1/4 cup. Add the garlic and sauté until golden, then add the cherry peppers and cook 2 minutes.
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Add the white wine and red wine vinegar, raise heat to high, and boil 5–7 minutes until reduced by half, scraping up browned bits. Add the chicken stock, boil again until reduced by half (about 5 minutes), then remove from heat.
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Return the roasted potatoes, peppers, and sausage to the pan and toss to coat. Nestle the chicken skin-side up, spoon sauce over everything, cover tightly with foil, and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15–20 minutes or until the chicken reaches 185–195°F.
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When finished, sprinkle with minced parsley, toss gently to combine, and serve immediately.
Notes
- Chicken thighs are recommended for juiciness and forgiving texture.
- If your pan isn’t large enough, transfer ingredients to a baking dish or roasting pan for the oven step.
- If the sauce is thin, strain and simmer to reduce and concentrate flavors.
- Dry white wines like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc work well.
- Store leftovers up to 3 days in the fridge; reheat covered at 325°F until warmed through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published on November 14, 2020 and updated on October 4, 2024.