These baked chicken thighs have been a staple in my house for years and for good reason. Bone-in, skin-on thighs go into a cast iron skillet with garlic butter, then straight into the oven for 30 minutes. The result is incredibly crispy skin with juicy, tender meat underneath. You only need a handful of ingredients and 45 minutes to get dinner on the table.
The Chicken Thigh Recipe My Family Fights Over
I’ve been developing chicken recipes for busy families for over 10 years on Primavera Kitchen, and I can tell you with confidence that bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are one of the most forgiving and flavourful cuts you can cook.
They stay juicy even if you leave them in the oven a few minutes longer, something you simply can’t say about chicken breast. I’ve made this garlic butter version more times than I can count, and it never fails.
The key is the sear-then-bake method. I always start the chicken skin side down in a hot skillet before finishing it in the oven. This is what gives you that deeply golden, crispy skin that Pierre and Thomas absolutely fight over at the dinner table. The garlic butter sauce does the rest, keeping every single bite incredibly juicy and tender.
If you love cooking chicken thighs as much as I do, my Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs are just as easy and perfect for those days when you want dinner to cook itself. And if you’re more of a chicken breast person, my Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Breast uses the same flavour profile and is one of the most popular recipes on Primavera Kitchen.
For sides, I always serve this with my Creamy Mashed Potatoes cause they soak up that garlic butter sauce perfectly and my Parmesan Green Beans to round out the plate.
Chicken Thighs – I use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs to get a crispy outside while keeping the inside moist and tender. Of course, if you only have boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts, you can use those too. Just remember to reduce the baking time to 20–25 minutes. However, after making this recipe many times, I’ve found that keeping the skin and bone in makes the chicken much juicier and more flavorful.
Garlic – I like to use freshly crushed cloves because they have a stronger, more vibrant flavor and aroma compared to store-bought pre-minced garlic. Store-bought garlic usually comes as a paste or finely minced, which means it burns much faster in the pan and can turn bitter before the chicken is done.
Butter – I prefer unsalted butter because it lets me control the salt level and lets the natural flavors of the other ingredients shine.
Olive Oil – I use a small amount of olive oil to sear the chicken before baking. It helps the skin get golden and crispy without burning.
Salt and Black Pepper – Simple seasoning makes a big difference here. I season both sides of the chicken thighs generously before they hit the pan — it’s the foundation of all the flavor.
How to Make Baked Chicken Thighs
1. Season the chicken: Preheat your oven to 400°F and move the rack to the center. Now, before you do anything else, pat your chicken thighs completely dry with paper towels. I know it sounds like a small thing, but trust me on this one! Any moisture left on the skin will turn into steam in the oven and you’ll end up with soft, pale skin instead of that gorgeous golden crispy skin we’re going for. Once they’re dry, season both sides generously with salt and black pepper. Don’t be shy with the seasoning! This is where all the flavor starts!
2. Sear the skin: Heat your olive oil in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken thighs skin-side down and leave them alone for about 5 minutes, no moving them around! My cast iron skillet is my best friend for this because it goes straight from the stovetop to the oven, which means less mess. Once golden, flip the thighs over, push them to one side, melt the butter, add the crushed garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Keep the heat at medium here, fresh garlic burns fast and turns bitter!
No cast iron skillet? No worries! Sear in any regular skillet, then transfer to a baking dish to finish in the oven and pour the garlic butter sauce over the top.
3. Bake and finish: Transfer the whole skillet to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 165°F at the thickest part. If the skin starts getting too dark, loosely tent with foil. When it comes out, spoon all that garlic butter sauce over each thigh. Don’t skip this! Let them rest for 5 minutes before serving, then finish with fresh parsley and dig in!
How Long to Bake Chicken Thighs
Baking time depends on whether you’re using bone-in or boneless thighs, so I always keep this in mind before I start cooking. Here’s a quick guide I go back to all the time:
| Cut | Oven Temp | Bake Time |
|---|---|---|
| Bone-in, skin-on | 400°F | 30–35 min |
| Boneless, skinless | 400°F | 20–25 min |
Olivia’s Best Recipe Tips
Spoon out the excess fat. Bone-in, skin-on thighs release a lot of fat as they sear. If there’s too much fat pooling in the pan, spoon some out before adding the butter and garlic. Too much fat in the pan means the skin fries instead of crisps and it can also cause the garlic to burn faster.
Let the chicken rest before serving. This is a step a lot of people skip because dinner is ready and everyone is hungry. I get it! But even just 5 minutes of resting makes a real difference. It lets the juices settle back into the meat so every bite is tender and juicy instead of dry.
Note: If I have leftover chicken thighs, my next move is almost always my baked chicken thighs and rice. The thighs go straight into the baking dish with the rice and it’s one of Pierre and Thomas’s favourite dinners.
More Chicken Thigh Recipes
Grilled Chicken Thighs
35 mins
Chicken Thighs with Potatoes
1 hr 10 mins
Baked Chicken Thighs and Rice
1 hr 30 mins
Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs
4 hrs 10 mins
Baked Chicken Thighs (Garlic Butter, Crispy & Juicy)
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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
Follow @primaverakitchen on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag it #primaverakitchen. We’d love to see your recreation.
I totally spaced marinating the bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs I thawed out for another recipe. So, I scramble-googled and saw this. It came out perfectly. The only thing I changed was to take the skillet out of the oven at 15 minutes and throw some sliced Dutch potatoes in the pan and stick it back in the oven for the last 15 minutes. This is really the perfect weeknight dinner. Bonus: only one pan!
Thank you. What a lovely feedback!
Tasty, quick, and easy! Perfect weeknight meal! The whole family loved it and asked to put it in regular rotation. Success all the way around! 😉
Happy to hear that 😉
Great recipe, the kids even like it!
Happy to know they liked it!
So you cover the chicken or cover it with foil while baking
When in the oven, if your chicken is getting very dark, cover it with a foil, until the chicken is completely cooked. If it’s not very dark you don’t need to cover it.
Can you make this in the instapot?
Yes but you need to make the garlic butter sauce in a pan and then serve it on top of the chicken when it’s time to serve.
Can you make in a convection oven?
Yes you can.
Nice, easy to make and tasty. But I completely disagree about not rinsing raw chicken. As long as you are careful, and don’t thrash wildly about, you’re not going to spread germs. Just have a board with paper towels next to the sink, and wash your hands well after rinsing.
Not that good.
Can I use airfryer if I don’t have an oven?
Yes you can. Just make the garlic butter sauce in a sauce pan. Then pour it over the chicken when it’s time to serve.
Excellent flavor and perfectly cooked chicken. We were hungry so I forgot to take pic… Next time!
Yes please, take picture next time! I would love to see it 😉
Best chicken ever! My boyfriend would now like to eat this everyday for breakfast lunch and dinner!
That’s awesome!!!
Can this chicken continue to cook in a covered nonstick fry pan until done
Yes it can.
This sauce sound fantastic and I am going to make it…but I just have to comment on the “grass fed butter”….I would rather have a cow that hasn’t received antibiotics/hormones instead of worrying about grass fed as that doesn’t follow into the milk production…but your hormones do…
Thoughts on adding thin sliced lemon in with butter and garlic ? Wondering if at same time or waitting 15 or so minutes in
yes you can add sliced lemon in with butter and garlic.
Absolutely delicious, delightfully quick and easy. I increased the garlic by about two cloves because I used five thighs. I’d modify the instructions to say be sure to check internal temperature every 10 minutes. The time needed in the oven can vary a lot based on size of thighs and how long you browned them beforehand. I checked mine at the 25 minute mark and they were already at 200 internal. Fortunately thighs are forgiving but they were overdone and I should’ve taken them out at 15 minutes probably. Anyway, they were still great.
Also, I did the BA thing and started the thighs in a cold skillet, no olive oil. They browned up beautifully. Didn’t have any fresh herbs so I gave them a few shakes of za’atar. Will definitely be making this again.
Also don’t bother rinsing. What are the skillet time and 400 in the oven doing to any bacteria? They don’t survive it. Think of it like autoclaving your chicken. : )
This was soooo good…and so easy. I oven roasted green beans at the same time and the garlic butter was delicious with them as well. I added lots of extra garlic. I also took Paul’s advise and started the thighs in a cold, dry cast iron pan. So simple and so so good!!
Awesome!
The recipe called for crushed garlic but the photo used shows it looks like minced garlic. I actually used minced fresh garlic. Nice easy and done in time to avoid the afternoon heat. 385 is better and keeping close watch on it was better.. Best easy peasy chicken dish to go with rice and mixed veggie! Love it!!!!.
You can use crushed and minced garlic.
Awesome but my oven is broken so i did them on the stove
happy you could find a different way to make this recipe 😉
this will be our go to chicken recipe, very moist and tasty!
Right? It’s our go to chicken recipe too! My family loves it 😉
Why I’m the measurements does it say smashed, but in the directions is says minced?
It can be both.