Italian Chicken Thighs with Cannellini Beans & Fennel

Juicy Italian roasted chicken thighs sit on top of the creamiest cannellini bean stew with fennel and pancetta. This humble, simple and versatile one-pot treasure might just be the tastiest Italian recipe ever.

This is one of my favourite recipes from the last few years. Juicy chicken thighs cooked in one pot with fennel, pancetta and creamy cannellini beans — simple, flexible and seriously delicious.

I adapted the recipe from The Dish podcast by Waitrose, where Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett cooks a dish each week while chatting with co-host Nick Grimshaw and a celebrity guest. She made her version for DJ Mark Ronson, and I cooked it the very same day.

I’ve tweaked things slightly, using thighs instead of a whole chicken and adding pancetta for extra depth. It’s now firmly in my regular rotation — a proper one-pot chicken dinner favourite.

What's Ahead?

What is this one-pot recipe?

This Italian-inspired recipe is born out of many historical Italian dishes that saw home cooks create simple stews and bakes that utilised a village bakery oven to cook dishes for the evening meal.

In a time when most homes didn't have their own oven, home cooks would take their creations and cook them in the slowly cooling ovens to bake over the following hours. Later, they would collect and serve at home. This community cooking was commonplace in many Mediterranean countries.

Why it works?

• One-pot - who doesn't appreciate a one-pot dinner?! It's such a joy to just work with a single vessel to create a flavour-packed treat.
• Versatile - there are so many variations on this dish that you can make it your own using whatever you have. It's robust and can take on any personality you like. I offer some of my favourites later...
• Beans! - I'm a bean lover for sure, and as much as I appreciate soaking and cooking beans from scratch, this recipe uses canned and there's absolutely no shame in that.
• Comfort food - This is hearty, creamy and rustic, but can be enjoyed whatever the weather. In fact, I cooked (and ate) the version you see here during an Australian heatwave of 43ºC/109ºF and enjoyed every bite.

Stuff You'll Need

Making this recipe is simple, you don't need any complicated or hard to find ingredients.

• Chicken thighs - use bone-in, skin-on thighs. They'll be roasting on top of the beans so will get brown and crisp. The bone will also keep the chicken juicy and add more flavour to the sauce.
• Fennel - I love this deeply Italian ingredient for all its subtle aniseed flavour. Cooking mellows that flavour into perfection.
• Cannellini beans - as Italian as it gets and straight from the can so no time spent soaking and pre-cooking.
• Pancetta - pancetta and beans are the perfect pairing, with its salty umami undertone running through the entire dish. Use a good quality bacon if you can't get pancetta.
• Onion & garlic - the original recipe used eschalots, but I use a red onion which does the job perfectly. Garlic adds its depth of flavour.
• Oregano - I've experimented with many herbs and oregano is quintessentially Italian so is my final pick.
• Chicken Stock/Broth - reinforces the chicken flavour throughout.
• Spinach - after cooking, the leaves are stirred through the sauce and add a much-welcomed freshness.
• Parmigiano Reggiano - When stirred in at the end, the cheese creates the creaminess and comforting umami.

Step by Step

Here's how this one-pot is put to work - it's all very easy! Start by preheating your oven to 180ºC/350ºF and get an oven-proof pot or Dutch oven. You can also make this in a regular pot and then transfer to a deep baking dish at stage 4, for the oven. That's two pots I know, but that's on you... :)

1. Fry the pancetta cubes for a few minutes in the pot without any oil until they render their fat and become crisp. Pour off half the fat (keep it for frying eggs in - delicious).
2. Add the fennel, onion, garlic and oregano along with 1/2 tsp of sea salt & some freshly ground black pepper. Gently fry for 3-4 minutes until they become soft and translucent.
3. Add the drained beans and stir well to combine.
4. Pour in the chicken stock and then arrange the chicken thighs on top in a single layer, skin side up. Gently rub a little olive oil over the skins and sprinkle with a little salt.
5. Bake in the oven for 1 hour (uncovered) until the chicken is golden brown, then remove from the oven.
6. Remove the chicken from the pan and stir in the spinach until wilted, then the grated cheese and stir until creamy. Return the chicken to the top and serve family style.

Troubleshooting

• Help, my chicken is sinking into the sauce! - this sometimes happens as some beans absorb less liquid. If this happens, remove liquid with a ladle until they're out of danger.
• Don't have an oven-proof pot? Use a regular pot to start the dish off and then when it comes to the stage where the chicken is added to the top, transfer the mixture to a baking dish and arrange the chicken on that instead.

Variations and Substitutions

This is actually my favourite part of this recipe as literally every element can be adapted or played around with. It's such a versatile dish that can be made into so many delicious variations. I always include fennel & onion, but change up the other ingredients frequently.

• Chicken - You can use many cuts of chicken. A whole chicken (will take 1hr 40mins), marylands (leg & thigh) or drumsticks (1hr) and skin-on breasts (40 mins).
• Beans - White beans are my go-to, either cannellini, great northern, navy or butter beans (lima), but I've also used borlotti too.
• Spinach - Cooked kale or chard leaves are great (they must be cooked first as they can't be stirred in like raw spinach). I've also added cooked bitter chicory leaves on occasion for a deeply Italian version.
• Herbs - I have to say, I made this dish using fresh tarragon once and it was sensational, albeit leaning more towards France than Italy. I've used rosemary, thyme, marjoram and bay leaves too.
• White wine or vermouth - Splash in a little with the cooking onions for added depth.

Serving & Storage Suggestions

Serve hot direct from the pan, that way everyone can fight over every drop of the creamy sauce. This dish doesn't need any other accompaniment, but you might want some crusty bread to mop up the remaining sauce from the pan.

The beans can be cooked in advance and gently reheated (uncovered) in the oven for 15-20 minutes (180ºC/350ºF) until hot.

• Fridge - the dish will be good for 3-4 days in the fridge and should be reheated in the microwave until piping hot. You'll lose the crunchy skin, but the flavour only improves with time. Add a little water if the sauce looks a little dry.
• Freezer - You can freeze this in single portions and reheat in the microwave for 5+ minutes until piping hot throughout. Again, add a little water if the beans look a little dry.

Ready to get cooking?

I can't recommend this recipe enough to you! It's truly one of my favourite dishes on the entire site and fail-safe! It's one of my most requested dishes from friends and family and I'm only too happy to cook it. I'm pretty sure you'll feel the same once you've made your own. Hope you enjoy!

More Italian recipes

If you liked this recipe, I'm sure you'll love some more of my favourite comforting Italian recipes.

• Pulled Lamb with Nduja and Borlotti Beans
• Peposo Alla Fornacina (Tuscan Beef Stew)
• Borlotti Beans with Chard

• Beetroot Risotto with Taleggio Cheese

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