Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs – The most amazing oven baked chicken thighs! These chicken thighs come out crispy on the outside and amazingly tender and juicy on the inside. Baked chicken thighs are so easy to make with only a few ingredients and one pan!
Ok, folks! One of the questions I get asked most often is how to cook chicken thighs. Try these with a side of our Classic Baked Mac and Cheese, so good! They’re so easy to make, and this has become one of my most popular recipes! If you’re looking for other fun chicken thigh recipes, try these Garlic Parmesan Chicken Thighs and these Greek Chicken Thighs! We’re also loving these Grilled Chicken Thighs during the summer months and of course Crispy Baked Chicken Wings all year long!
Questions that I hear about them the most are:
- How long do I cook chicken thighs in the oven and at what temperature?
- How do I cook chicken thighs in a pan but make sure they turn out crispy on the outside?
- Should I use boneless skinless chicken thighs are bone in with skin?
I think people love the thigh meat because it’s super flavorful, but they just aren’t as familiar with cooking them as they are the breast meat. Luckily, it’s an incredibly easy process that takes only a few minutes of prep and then the thighs bake up to crispy tender perfection on a sheet pan.
And, I am here to answer those questions for you today with my favorite baked chicken thigh recipe ever, plus a quick video that shows just how I make them!
Let’s go directly into tips for success when making baked chicken thighs:
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Pat them dry with paper towels before seasoning. The natural moisture from the chicken can prevent getting a really good sear. These thighs basically sear right in the oven, so this is an important but quick step to take.
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How long and at what temperature should you bake the thighs? You’ll want to bake these at 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes without moving or turning them during the process. This temperature and time ensure that crispy outside and juicy inside we’re looking for. The chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees before being consumed.
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Use a rimmed baking sheet. The chicken will produce some of its tasty natural juices, and you don’t want those running off the pan into your oven!
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I use bone in and skin on chicken thighs for this recipe. I find that it produces the best results. However, if you have boneless skinless on hand or that is just your preference, they work just fine with this recipe as well! They may take about 10 minutes less to cook, so just keep an eye on them.
I hope you guys enjoy this simple chicken recipe as much as my family does! As always, leave me a comment if you have additional questions, I’m happy to answer them!
Be sure to check out our video for this recipe below and follow along on Facebook to see all of the yummy food videos we share!
~Nichole
Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 3 Pounds Chicken thighs, About 6-8
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 Teaspoons Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 2 Teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup and set aside.
- Remove the chicken thighs from their packaging and pat them dry with paper towels. Arrange the chicken thighs on prepared baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil rubbing the oil into the chicken to coat.
- In a small bowl mix together the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and paprika. Sprinkle the spices over the chicken evenly.
- Bake chicken in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes.*
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you’re looking for other tasty chicken recipes for dinner try these:
If you’re looking for baking recipes, these are some of my readers favorites:
loved this – mixed it up a little; used Hungarian smoked paprika, dried parsley, a drizzle of honey, no onion salt but mixed all dry ingredients – added olive oil and dredged skinless but boned chicken thighs. Set in shallow roasting pan and sprinkled a light dusting of seasoned bread crumbs – rubbed it all in and roasted for 40 min.
Absolutely delicious – a keeper recipe. Easy and good!
Delicious and so easy to make! Followed recipe exactly and it came out perfect! Crispy skin, flavorful, chicken juicy! My family loves it, we make this almost every week! Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!!
I made this for my teenager and I tonight. YUMMY!!! It was a hit. My son said “Oh man, this is good mom”. The only things I did different were, I used boneless and skinless chicken thighs because that’s all I had, I used vegetable oil and coated one side and seasoned, then did the same on the other side. I can’t use olive oil. I also used foil in my pan for the fast clean up. Excellent, fast, and will definitely make this again. Thank you for this recipe!!
This recipe is a keeper! Literally just finished eating this and it’s spectacular and easy. Followed the recipe, but used boneless skinless thighs that I had on hand.
This was delicious. We actually took chicken thighs out of the freezer to fry, let them defrost, and then followed the recipe exactly. I would however cut the salt in half. This is now going to be added to our weekly menu. Thanks for posting this.
Delicious. Thank you.
My 16 year old son made this for our family and before the meal was even over everyone was asking when we’re having it again. So simple and so delicious
I didn’t have italian seasoning and used herbs de provence. It was still delicious. Thanks for posting. I’ll be using this recipe again.
I was worried it wouldn’t turn out crispy, as I’ve had trouble getting things crispy before, so I made it along with another batch that used panko. This was leagues ahead – crispy on the outside, moist and juicy on the inside. I will definitely use again.
What is panko?
It is a style of bread crumbs. Not as fine as the bread crumbs you may be used to
Replying to Frank Loveccio: Panko are Japanese style breadcrumbs. You can buy them in most grocery stores, they usually come in a box. Found in the aisle with the breadcrumbs or sometimes in the Asian food aisle. They’re really good; very crispy and a little lighter in texture than regular breadcrumbs. Cheers!
They are Japanese bread crumbs.
I made this for dinner tonight using four boneless, skinless chicken thighs, adjusting spices according. (I always cut back on salt.) Anyway, I served it with cauliflower risotto, and it was so delicious.
Thank you for sharing your recipe.