Baked Chicken Thighs are 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 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 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.
- 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 Prepare Chicken Thighs Recipe
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 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 thighs 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.
Expert 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.
Storage And Reheating
To Store: Transfer the 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 Goes With Chicken Thighs?
- Roasted Vegetables – They’re great side dish to go with any kind of protein, especially with this 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.
Recommended Tools
- Kitchen tongs: Help you flip chicken thighs one by one without touching the others, giving you better control and grip.
- Cast iron skillet: A cast iron skillet will help you get a nice golden sear on the chicken.
Frequently asked questions
Thighs are more flavorful because their higher fat content, providing moisture and more calories compared to chicken breasts.
Yes, they’re considered dark meat as well as drumstick (the legs of the chicken).
You can definitely swap for boneless skinless chicken thighs. But you would not get that crispy skin though! Don’t need to place them in the oven to finish off as they cook in less than 15 minutes on the stovetop alone. Just sear each side for 5 to 6 minutes.
More Chicken Thigh Recipes
Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Thighs
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.
Rhonda says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a big hit. Quick and easy recipe. The skin was perfectly crispy. This is going in my recipe box for a regular rotation of meal planning.
Olivia says
Happy to know that. We love this recipe too especially because of the crispy skin. Yummy!
Bo Alexander says
Where’s the oven rack placed?
Olivia says
Middle.
Paris says
This chicken is the bomb and so are you for sharing it! As much as I love garlic, butter and chicken this was the last thing I thought to do with it. It’s so delicious and savory! I normally use boneless chicken thighs, but I’m going back to bone in! I love my dark meat but don’t like to fight with the skin sometimes. But after this recipe, I’m going back. I need more meat and a bone to sop this sauce up!
Olivia says
We love chicken thighs! It’s the most flavourful part of the chicken in my opinion. Glad you liked it!
Caitlyn says
This was such a great recipe! The chicken came out with such nice crispy skin and juicy insides! I don’t have a cast iron skillet, I just have a nonstick pan so I started with that and then once both sides were crispy and I added the butter and garlic, I transferred everything into my glass 13×9 pan and placed it in the oven a the temperature and time mentioned and it turned out perfect! I had 3 chicken thighs left over and stored them in the fridge. Whenever anyone wanted to eat them I would just throw them in the air fryer at 400 degrees for a couple minutes and the crispiness of skin would come right on back!
Olivia says
Happy you like this recipe. It’s so flavourful and easy to make. Yes the best way to reheat it is by putting in the oven again or in the air fryer. I don’t recommend to put it in the microwave.
Natalya says
This is my weeknight go to dinner that leaves kids and husband wanting for more. Once chicken thighs are done, I turn on broil for a few minutes to further crisp up the skin. I am not easily impressed by chicken thighs, but this recipe is amazing in its flavors and simplicity.
Olivia says
That’s amazing! I’m so so happy to hear that. This recipe is so so flavourful and also easy to make 😉
Karen says
turned out much better than I thought. Season well.
Olivia says
Right? When I created this recipe I didn’t think it was going to be this good!! Glad you liked it!
Richard says
unique flavor is what i like about your recipe, i don’t know how long it takes you to make?
Sereyboth Yorn says
As I chickens lover, I really appreciate that you share this recipe, thank a lot Olivia!
Olivia says
You’re very welcome!
Colleen says
Made this tonight for dinner and it is delicious!
Olivia says
Awesome!
Natalia says
This was so easy, fun to make and delicious!
Question: if I wanted to marinate the chicken a day before, just so that the meat itself is even more flavourful.. what marinade would you suggest?
Olivia says
A simple one with olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon masters and garlic.