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.
Lou says
Did not taste like garlic at all just plain chicken.
Olivia says
Did you follow the recipe exactly?
Jeannine says
No I made a few adjustments. I changed it to 4 chicken thighs instead of five. I used a little less butter and 4 cloves of garlic. I also used dried parsley and Italian seasoning for flavor.
Olivia says
Sounds good!
Jeannine says
How much garlic did you add? I used one clove of garlic for each chicken thigh. I also added parsley and italian seasoning to give it extra flavor.
Lisa says
Have not pulled out of oven yet but can smell burnt garlic. I new in my heart garlic would burn then it all becomes bitter
Kim says
It is very rare that I comment on any recipe but I had to say something about this one. It is so good and very easy to make. I was feeling lazy and wanted something quick and easy. This did not disappoint. I will be making this often. I did add extra garlic which we always do because we love it. I am very pleased with this recipe thank you so much
Olivia says
Wow so happy you liked it. Thanks for your awesome feedback!
Melinda says
This was delicious! It is just a few simple ingredients. Browning the thighs first in oil made this chicken perfection! So easy and inexpensive.
Olivia says
Amazing!
Jeannine says
I absolutely loved this chicken recipe. My whole kitchen was filled with the aroma of garlic and butter and it tasted amazing! I will definitely make this again.
Olivia says
happy you liked it!
Debbie says
Perfect. Followed the recipe to a T! Flavor was delicious, meat was juicy and perfectly done. This is going to be a standard meal in our home.
Olivia says
That’s amazing. Happy you liked it. My family loves it too.
Susan says
I followed the recipe but when it was time to place skillet in the oven, the minced garlic burned ☹️. It cooked overall, but burnt pieces of minced garlic was all over the thigh. It was sad.
Michelle says
I see that no one has answered your concern including the author of this recipe. So I will. Try cooking in the oven at a lower temp. I did mine at 275 and it worked. I’m sorry that had to wait so long for a response.
Olivia says
Thank you for answering her question, Michelle. I haven’t seen her question before.
KH says
Made this tonight & it was perfect! So juicy and flavorful. I did extra garlic cuz duh! I don’t have a cast iron skillet so once the chicken was browned and the butter/garlic melted, I just put it in a glass baking dish. I basted the thighs every 10 minutes or so with the garlic butter. I’ll definitely make this again. There’s no leftovers! Thank you!
Olivia says
Sounds delicious!
DJ says
This recipe has become a go to for us. Only change is I start the chicken thighs skin down in a cold pan. The skin gets super crispy that way (I also add more garlic, but that’s not really a change).
So easy and delicious!
Olivia says
So glad to hear that!!!
Mary Hardy Tamasiunas says
All I can smell is garlic & it smells delicious!’n
Olivia says
That’s the smell we love!!
Nhi says
Just made this. It was quick and easy and the chicken came out so juicy and tasted delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
Olivia says
Right? It’s so juicy and delicious. Happy you liked it!