Name: Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients: 3 – 4 lbs boneless/skinless thighs and breasts; 1 large onion, thinly sliced; 2 large red or green bell peppers, sliced; 3 cloves garlic, crushed; ½ teaspoon each basil and oregano; 1 (6oz) can tomato paste; fresh mushrooms, sliced; 2 bay leaves; 1 x 8 oz can stewed tomatoes with chilies; salt and pepper to taste; 2 cups burgundy wine; Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling before serving

Why it works: Basil and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,390 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Basil + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,390 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Basil + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,979 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Oregano + tomatotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,767 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken thighs and breasts: Provides the meat that becomes tender during long, slow cooking in the sauce.
Tomato paste: Concentrates the tomato flavor and thickens the sauce as it cooks.
Onion: Adds sweetness and savory depth as it softens into the sauce.
Bell peppers: Add sweetness and a fresh, slightly grassy flavor that softens during cooking.
Mushrooms: Add moisture and earthy, savory flavor to the sauce.
Burgundy wine: Adds acidity and depth, helping to balance the rich tomato sauce.

The step that matters

Cook on low 7–9 hours or high 3–4 hours. Slow, moist cooking breaks down the connective tissue in the chicken, making it tender. Cooking too briefly or at too high a heat for the longer time can leave meat tough or dry, so the timing for the chosen setting matters.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, clove, garlic, basil, oregano, tomato, mushroom):

Eggplantfits better
Capsicumfits better
Spinachfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, clove, garlic, basil, oregano, tomato, mushroom. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Green Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Mushrooms	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore