Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs

This recipe for oven roasted chicken thighs always comes out moist and its blend of spices lends delicious flavor to each succulent thigh! They are so good you are going to want them every week. Learn how to make this quick and easy meal.

When I was growing up, we used to eat chicken thighs a lot. My dad would grill them either plain or with a tasty sauce. My mom used to roast them in the oven. I have to say that although I love my chicken thighs grilled, I’m partial to this recipe.

The combination of the spices and herbs together give the chicken unique flavor. Roasting the thighs makes for nice crispy skin, which keeps the chicken moist and delicious.

So yes, this is my go-to recipe for chicken thighs. Thankfully, Christopher loves them too and happily eats them alongside of me.

I’ve always been vocal about my preference for thigh meat over breast meat because of how moist dark meat can get. What’s your favorite cut of chicken? Leave me a comment as I’d love to know.

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Helpful tips

• If you have kitchen shears, use them to trim the fat and some of the skin off the thighs. It is much easier than trimming them with a knife.
• Use organic chicken thighs that don’t have added hormones or antibiotics. They truly taste better than non-organic.
• Don’t wash chicken because the latest best practice says if you wash it, you can spread bacteria. I just trim the chicken and pat it dry with a paper towel.
• Use your hands to sprinkle the herb and spice mix over the chicken. This is the easiest way to make sure all the pieces are covered.
• Use skinless and boneless thighs if you want to lower your fat intake, but remember to adjust the cooking time to 35 minutes.

Ingredients and substitutions

• Olive oil – I use extra virgin cold pressed olive oil.
• Chicken thighs – Organic, trimmed and excess fat removed.
• Herbs and spices – I use organic whenever I can get it. Oregano, thyme, tarragon, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. If you don’t have smoked paprika, regular paprika is fine.

How to make oven roasted chicken thighs

Pre-step

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and get a large baking dish.

Step one

Gather the ingredients – herbs and spices, olive oil and chicken.

Step two

Place the herbs and spices in a glass mixing bowl and use a whisk to mix them together.

Step three

Dribble a few tablespoons of oil in the baking dish. Lay the chicken thighs in the baking dish and dribble a little more oil on the chicken.

Step four

Sprinkle the herb mixture evenly on top of the chicken.

Step six

Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes. At the 30 minute mark, take the foil off.

Step seven

If you want extra crispy skin, set the oven to broil/high and place the baking dish under the broiler for 2 minutes. Stand there while the chicken broils as you don’t want blackened skin.

Doesn’t that look delicious?

Time to plate one of the oven roasted chicken thighs!

Time for a bite.

And the overhead shot.

I hope you enjoyed this oven roasted chicken thighs recipe.

Christopher and I enjoy eating it!  Yum, yum!

Other popular chicken dishes

• Cordon Bleu
• Swiss chicken
• Mustard chicken
• Stir fry chicken

And as always, may all your dishes be delish.

If you’ve tried this Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs recipe, I’d love the know what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!

Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs

This incredibly easy chicken thigh dish is so delicious you will think you spent more time preparing it.

5 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Poultry

Keyword: baked chicken thighs, how to cook chicken thighs, oven roasted chicken thighs

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 199kcal

Author: Elaine Benoit

Equipment

• glass bowl
• whisk
• baking dish

Ingredients

• 8 chicken thighs (or as many thighs that comes in a package) (organic and trimmed of excess fat and skin)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil (approximate - eyeball it)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
• In a small mixing bowl add all the herbs and spices and mix it together with a whisk
• Dribble a few tablespoons olive oil in the bottom of a medium baking pan
• Place the chicken thighs on top of the oil
• Sprinkle the herb mixture on top of the chicken
• Dribble a few more tablespoons of oil on top of the chicken
• Place baking pan in the oven and bake for 50 minutes
• If you like super crispy skin then adjust oven rack, set boiler to high and broil for 2 minutes. It's important to stand at the oven so the skin doesn't blacken
• Serve
• Smile
• Enjoy

Notes

Helpful tips

• If you have kitchen shears, use them to trim the fat and some of the skin off the thighs. It is much easier than trimming them with a knife.
• Use organic chicken thighs that don't have added hormones or antibiotics. They truly taste better than non-organic.
• Don't wash chicken because the latest best practice says if you wash it, you can spread bacteria. I just trim the chicken and pat it dry with a paper towel.
• Use your hands to sprinkle the herb and spice mix over the chicken. This is the easiest way to make sure all the pieces are covered.
• Use skinless and boneless thighs if you want to lower your fat intake, but remember to adjust the cooking time to 35 minutes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1thigh | Calories: 199kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 174mg | Potassium: 277mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 89IU | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg

Originally published in July 2016.