Baked Chicken thigh is wonderfully seasoned with a crispy skin and super juicy! Easy to bake in the oven and taste great with your favorite sides. No marinating needed. Enjoy this delicious chicken dinner!
If you love this chicken thigh recipe, try this Easy Dijon Chicken Thighs Recipe, Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs and Chicken Thighs and Bell Peppers Skillet too.
It doesn’t take a lot of fancy ingredients to have a delicious meal. This recipe is a great example of that. I’ve made this chicken recipe so many times, and each time it comes out perfectly.
I always believe that simple is better and can be exactly what you need on a busy weeknight. These chicken thighs in the oven is simple to make but the garlic butter sauce is amazing. This sauce is the base for so many recipes like these ones below:
I think the best part is that butter sauce goes well with any kind of protein too. I enjoy using this sauce with baked pork chops, rainbow trout, shrimp, and cod recipes. It adds great flavor to my meals.
ingredients to Make Baked chicken thighs
Chicken thighs – Use bone-in, skin-on to get the outside crispy while keeping the inside moist. You can also swap for boneless skinless chicken thighs.
Salt and pepper
Olive oil – Substitute any other neutral cooking oil like avocado, canola, or vegetable.
Garlic – I like to use crush fresh cloves.
Butter – I used grass-fed butter. Be sure to use unsalted butter.
Fresh parsley – or use any fresh herb of your choice or use dried herbs such as Italian seasoning!
How To Cook Chicken Thighs
Prep the ingredients
- I always use a paper towel to pat dry the chicken thighs.
- Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
Brown and cook chicken thighs
- Add olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken thighs in a single layer and cook until skin is golden brown.
- If you’re using a regular nonstick pan, heat oil before adding chicken thighs to prevent sticking.
Make garlic butter and bake the chicken thighs in the oven
- On the side of the pan, melt the butter.
- Add in the garlic and stir to combine. Make sure it’s not on high heat as you don’t want the garlic to burn.
- Place the frying pan in the oven and cook the chicken thighs for about 30 minutes or until they are done. If you don’t have a cast iron pan, transfer everything to a baking tray. If your chicken thighs start darkening excessively while in the oven, cover them with foil until they are fully cooked.
Baste and serve
- Remove from the oven and spoon the garlic butter over the chicken.
- Garnish this oven baked chicken with the chopped parsley before serving.
How To Make Baked Chicken Thighs Video
how long to bake chicken thighs?
1. The cooking time for boneless chicken thighs is about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken thighs.
2. For bone-in thighs, it cooks in about 25 and 30 minutes.
Olivia’s Recipe Tips
I always make sure to heat my oven before cooking chicken. A hot oven helps the chicken cook evenly and makes the skin crispy.
I love using a meat thermometer to ensure that I cook my garlic butter chicken thighs to perfection without overcooking it. The internal temperature should be at 165°F (74°C).
After you’ve baked the chicken thighs, let them rest for a few minutes before serving. This allows the juices to redistribute, resulting in tender and moist meat.
Can I use chicken breasts in this recipe?
Yes, Absolutely. This Baked Chicken Breast recipe explains how to make this recipe with chicken breast.
Storage And Reheating
To Store: Transfer the baked chicken thighs to an airtight container. I prefer to keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To Freeze: Simply allow it to cool and then transfer it to a freezer safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
To Reheat: Thaw it in the fridge overheat and then, I like to reheat in the oven until warmed through. If you reheat it in the microwave, the skin will be soggy.
What To Serve With This Recipe
Roasted Vegetables – They’re great side dish to go with any kind of protein, especially with this baked chicken thighs. Or you can always serve it with mashed potatoes.
I also love to serve this recipe with my Mushroom Cauliflower Rice Skillet.
Roasted green beans or roasted sweet potato are good side dishes to go with these baked chicken thighs.
Potato salad – My favorite potato recipe.
Broccoli salad – Such an easy and flavourful salad.
Recipe Variations
Lemon herb: Add fresh lemon juice and zest to the garlic butter mixture. Season with a blend of your favorite herbs.
Spicy garlic butter: Add red pepper flakes, garlic powder or cayenne pepper to the garlic butter for a spicy kick.
Honey Dijon mustard: Drizzle a bit of the mixture (honey and mustard) before serving for a luscious touch.
More Chicken Thigh Recipes
Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Thighs Recipe
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Video
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F degrees. Move oven rack to center. Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towel and season all over with salt and black pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet (10-inch) over medium heat. Place the chicken thighs skin-side down and sear until the skin is golden and crispy. It takes about 5 minutes to cook them through at this point.
- Flip your chicken over once the skin is crispy. If your chicken thighs releases a lot of fat, dispose it using a spoon.
- Place butter in the same skillet. When the butter melts, add minced garlic. Stir the garlic around the pan for 30 seconds.
- Place the whole skillet in the oven and bake for 30 mins for until chicken gets the internal temperature at 165°F.
- When the chicken is cooked, spoon some of the garlic butter sauce over the top of each chicken thigh. Top with parsley before serving.
Tips
- Click HERE to watch the web story.
- If you do not have an oven-safe skillet, you can transfer the chicken thighs to a baking dish (baking sheet or sheet pan) to bake.
- Make sure to get chicken thighs with the bone in and skin on for maximum flavour.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
Sandra says
I live in Texas and my mom always made oven fried chicken or electris skillet & I also do its great us Texans know how to do this & Texas food is great.
Olivia says
That sounds delicious! Texas does have some amazing food traditions, and it’s wonderful that you’re keeping them alive. Oven fried chicken is such a classic! 😊
Rita says
I followed the recipe as stated. I had 9 chicken thighs though. The only thing I had to do differently was cook the chickens for closer to 8 minutes to get the skin nice and crispy. The garlic butter sauce was delicious and great to add over the chicken once taken off the bone, sprinkled the fresh parsley over the chicken–delicious! will be keeping this receipe for my family of 5 with kids ages 11, 8 and 8.
Olivia says
Thank you for your lovely feedback! Cooking the chicken longer for extra crispiness sounds perfect, and I’m so glad your family enjoyed it. Happy it’s a keeper for you all! 😊
Vanessa says
I will never make chicken thighs any other way from now on! Supperrr delicious 🤤
Olivia says
Aww wow!! So happy to hear that! Your comment made my day 😉
David says
I love recipes like this! One question: will the chopped garlic burn in the butter and be hard to chew?
Olivia says
Great question! The chopped garlic shouldn’t burn if cooked on medium heat as the recipe suggests. It will infuse the butter and stay tender. Hope you enjoy the recipe! 😊