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You are here: Home / Recipes / Chicken and Poultry / Braised Chicken with Olives, Capers and Zucchini Noodles

Braised Chicken with Olives, Capers and Zucchini Noodles

January 28, 2015 Updated February 6, 2019 2 Comments

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I’M ALIVE!!
I have had one crazy month.  My parents have been on another mission (their 5th) in Kona, Hawaii. They serve as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They were supposed to be coming home is July, but ended up coming home last week.  That means I had 3 weeks to do what I thought I had 6 months to complete. Needless to say I went into panic mode and worked from sun up to sun down.
May parents live in apartment in our home.  I wanted to complete projects after Christmas to prepare for their arrival in July.  Things like re-grout tile, have carpets cleaned, steam clean all wood work, wash windows, and replace their 30 year old furniture.  Get their car out of storage, get car insurance, get oil changed, emissions…the list goes on and on.
Here comes the really sad part.  My husband and I went to Kona to help pack them up and bring them home.  Hey, someone had to do it.  It was a tough job packing, snorkeling, packing, kayaking, farewell luau’s to attend, eating and more eating.  Needless to say, I really needed that little vacation away.  It was a blessing with perfect timing.
I’m back and ready to start posting again.

 

This is a recipe I have wanted to post for some time now. I love one dish meals.  I especially love a meal that can be ladled into a bowl that is warm and brothy.  Light yet filling that warms me to the bone on cold winter days.
I have a daughter on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) due to an auto immune disease and this is actually a meal she can have.  Anyone who is doing the Whole 30 can plug this into their menu as well.

 

It was my daughters idea to add the zucchini noodles (Zoodles) to the dish.  It’s fabulous.  Of course, my husband, who has mental issues with anything squash, avoids the zoodles at all cost.  I have  to cook the baby a separate bowl of Orzo pasta so he doesn’t cry, which is just as tasty, but then doesn’t qualify for the above mentioned diets.

If you are vegetarian, vegetable broth can be substituted in place of chicken broth as well as adding a bounty of vegetables in place of the chicken.

You will need:
2 1/2 – 3 lbs boneless chicken thighs, trimmed
3 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade or purchased organic low-sodium)

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, sliced

2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
Zest from one lemon
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 cup chopped tomatoes
2-3 zucchini’s, spiralized or julienned
salt and pepper to taste

 

Begin by prepping the vegetables.

Finely dice the onion.  Set aside.

Chop 2 garlic cloves.  Set aside.

Slice 1/2 cup Kalamata olives in half, if desired.  Set aside.

Using a potato peeler, slice the zest off of a lemon.

Make sure you only cut off the zest and none of the white peel, which can be bitter.

Finely julienne the zest.  Set aside.

Dice 1 cup of tomatoes.  I used three small tomatoes.  If fresh tomatoes aren’t available, canned may be used by rinsing the tomatoes through a strainer.  Cherry tomatoes, halved, may be used.  Set aside.

In a large pot or dutch oven heat 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Salt and pepper the chicken.  I used thighs because I wanted to cook for a longer period in the oven. A whole cut up chicken may be used as well.

 

Brown the chicken in the oil on both sides.

 

Remove from pot and set aside.

Add diced onion.

Cook for about 5 minutes or until translucent.

Add garlic and cook another minute or two.

Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer.  Scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

For some strange reason I lost about 5 photo’s.  Poof they just completely disappeared.  So insert in your mind the following additions.

Return chicken to the pot.
Add:  olives, capers, fennel, lemon zest and salt and pepper to taste.

Top with chopped tomatoes.

 

Cover with a lid.

Place in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 1 1/2 hours.

 

 

I have baked with at 300 degrees F for 2-3 hours AND this can be cooked in a crock pot for 6-8 hours on low heat.
In the mean time…

My daughter gave me this vegetable spiralizer.  It’s awesome and makes up zucchini noodles in no time.  You can find them on Amazon or Williams-Sonoma.  WS had beautiful red ones at Christmas time.  I thought a red one would make a great Christmas gift, but the only person I knew that would get excited about it was ME!

I used two 7-inch zucchini’s for this batch.

If you don’t have a spiralizer, just juienne the zucchini.

Set aside while chicken is baking.

After 1 1/2 hours of baking time, remove the lid and add the zoodles.

 

 

Cover and return to oven for 10 minutes.

Remove pot from oven.

To serve, spoon chicken, vegetables and broth into shallow bowls.

 

Top with zucchini noodles.

 

ENJOY!

 

 

 

5 from 2 votes
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Braised Chicken with Olives, Capers and Zucchini Noodles

This is a perfect Whole30 meal and is also easily customizable. I love zoodles and the fun texture they add.

Course Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword braised chicken recipe, braised chicken with olives and capers, zoodle chicken soup
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 248 kcal
Author Janet Barton

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 - 3 lbs boneless chicken thighs trimmed
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
  • 1 onion diced
  • 2 garlic cloves chopped
  • 4 cups chicken stock preferably homemade or purchased organic low-sodium
  • 1/2 cup Kalamata olives sliced
  • 2 tablespoons capers drained and rinsed
  • Zest from one lemon
  • 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
  • 1 cup chopped tomatoes
  • 2-3 zucchini spiralized or julienned
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large heavy pot heat olive oil.  Lightly salt and pepper the chicken thighs.  Add to heated olive oil and brown on both sides.  Transfer to a plate and set aside.
  2. Add diced onions to the pot and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Add chopped garlic and continue to cook an additional 2 minutes.  Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer scraping up any brown bits that may be on the bottom of the pan. Return chicken to the pot and add olives, capers, lemon zest and fennel seeds.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Top with chopped tomatoes.  Cover and place in oven for 1 1/2 hours.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare zucchini noodles using a vegetable spiralizer or juienne with a knife.  Set aside while chicken is cooking.  After 1 1/2 hours remove lid and top with zucchini noodles.  Cover. Return to oven for an additional 10 minutes.
  4. Remove from oven, spoon into shallow bowls and serve.

Recipe Notes

*Inspired by a recipe from Williams-Sonoma

Nutrition Facts
Braised Chicken with Olives, Capers and Zucchini Noodles
Amount Per Serving
Calories 248 Calories from Fat 144
% Daily Value*
Fat 16g25%
Saturated Fat 2g10%
Cholesterol 7mg2%
Sodium 812mg34%
Potassium 677mg19%
Carbohydrates 18g6%
Fiber 3g12%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 8g16%
Vitamin A 335IU7%
Vitamin C 26.3mg32%
Calcium 71mg7%
Iron 1.9mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Related

Filed Under: Chicken and Poultry, Entrées, Healthy Tagged With: #crockpotmeals, #SCD, #Whole30, #zoodles, capers, Chicken, kalamata olives, one dish meals

Previous Post: « Crusty Bread, The Movie
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cathleen says

    January 29, 2015 at 1:36 am

    Oh my goodness, this looks amazing!

    Reply
  2. Lisa Dame says

    January 28, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    I'm so excited about this. I'm going to make it tonight. Thanks Janet!!

    Reply
5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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About Me

Janet Barton

Hi I'm Janet and this is where I share my delicious made-from-scratch seasonal recipes that I make at home for my family every day.

I believe cooking from scratch, using unprocessed and whole foods is an important part of healthy eating. My goal is to help you create amazing recipes by providing easy step-by-step photos and instructions.

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