Economical, easy to find, perfect all year round, the Chicken with olives in the pan is a must in my kitchen! A dish that everyone always loves, fragrant, perfect for bread dipping, and that we can also freeze to enjoy on a night when we haven’t had time to shop or prepare dinner.
Lately, I’ve been preparing many recipes that I had on the blog from the beginning, from that first recipe almost 14 years ago. I’m polishing them up with new photos and recipe videos for the YouTube Channel of Le Ricette di Bea. I take advantage of days off from work or free mornings with the sun to create new content.
The Chicken with olives in the pan is among these recipes, very old, with photos that I could easily call horrible, without the slightest invitation to try it. So I bought 6 chicken drumsticks, took both green and black olives, and started cooking.
This recipe indeed involves cooking in the pan the chicken compared to the classic oven-baked chicken thighs. I hope you like this variant and that, as always, I will be able to read your thoughts through the comments or the chats on social profiles. You will find links to follow me and my recipes at the bottom of this text, after the tips and variations of the recipe.
Below I’ll also leave you other chicken recipes that I’ve prepared over these years: from chicken thighs with Taggiasca olives and cherry tomatoes always in the pan, to rolls with chicken breast and pistachio, and finally a perfect trio: beer chicken, ketchup chicken, and curry chicken! And which one do you prefer?
I remind you that I am waiting for you every morning in the group and on the Facebook fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day, now an unmissable appointment for all subscribers!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2People
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Christmas
- Energy 657.76 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 3.07 (g) of which sugars 0.48 (g)
- Proteins 41.36 (g)
- Fat 51.35 (g) of which saturated 12.58 (g)of which unsaturated 26.64 (g)
- Fibers 0.85 (g)
- Sodium 598.94 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 270 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Chicken Drumsticks with Olives in the Pan
- 6 chicken drumsticks
- 40 black olives
- 40 green olives
- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce (or 1 tablespoon of tomato paste)
- 1 coffee cup white wine
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- as needed extra virgin olive oil
- Half white onion (medium small)
If you use the tomato paste remember to dilute it with a couple of tablespoons of water to make it more creamy. I don’t often use tomato paste but for this recipe I prefer it. I created a creamy sauce by adding lukewarm water gradually to avoid lumps. After all, this tomato will simply help us make a tasty and appetizing sauce for bread dipping.
Tools for Chicken Thighs with Olives in the Pan
- 1 Frying Pan
- 1 Wooden Spoon
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Stove
- 1 Tongs
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Coffee Cup
- 2 Small Bowls
Recipe Steps for Chicken Drumsticks with Olives in the Pan
Chop the white onion, or golden onion if you prefer, after removing the skin. It doesn’t need to be too fine, roughly is fine. Pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil into a nice wide frying pan, with high and non-stick edges. It is essential not to add too much oil to the preparation of these chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks in a pan with green and black olives.
Then place the pan on the stove with a medium-low flame, never raise it too high, instead let the chicken thighs cook for a few more minutes compared to the time indicated for this recipe.
Let the white onion saute. When it is almost wilted, we will add the coffee cup of white wine and shortly before it is completely evaporated we will add the chicken drumsticks. As mentioned, choose a nice wide pan so that they can all fit and still have room to turn, insert the olives, and let the meat breathe during cooking.
Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, pepper, and add the green olives and the black olives. Continue to cook with a constant flame and without ever covering the pan. In the meantime, prepare the sauce with the tomato paste by gradually adding lukewarm water. Using a spoon or a fork, thicken it, the creamier it is now, the creamier it will be later. Remember that!!!
Then add the tomato sauce to the pan with the other ingredients and continue cooking. From this moment, about 30 minutes will be necessary, turning the chicken drumsticks every 10 minutes or so. We will then finally be ready to plate the meat dish we have just prepared. I recommend accompanying this dish with some nice and good and especially very easy roasted potatoes with my recipe.
I just have to wish you a good appetite and remind you that I’m waiting for you every day here in my kitchen with many easy, quick, and delicious recipes like these green olive chicken drumsticks and black in the pan.
Tips and Variations:
The main variation certainly is that you can replace the olives with another ingredient, like mushrooms perhaps. If you don’t like black olives, like myself, you can use only green olives as I often do.
Obviously, to prepare this meat dish you can use: drumsticks, thighs, chicken quarters. The result will always be delicious, just adjust the cooking times based on the chicken piece chosen.
For the tips, I can tell you to take your time during cooking, don’t raise the flame too high because otherwise, the effect you’ll get is a burned chicken thigh, with that bitter smell that no one likes. So a few more minutes of cooking but with the flame at the right power.
Another tip is from Grandma Sandra: when cooking chicken, especially thighs, drumsticks, and quarters, never put the lid on the pan, it creates water and thus humidity which won’t make the skin nice and crispy and will give the chicken the effect of boiled meat.
