What could be better than crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside chicken thighs that are so damn easy, it would be a crime to pass these up! These crispy chicken thighs have been a constant favorite if you have been following me on Instagram for a while. They are simple, easy to make, but are also crazy flavorful. I mean I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but you may not want to buy chicken breasts ever again after out make this recipe.
When it comes to health, I think everyone leans towards chicken breasts as the “lower calorie” option (which is true in some ways). I’ve always been a huge fan of chicken thighs over breasts simply because they are winning when it comes to retaining flavor. However, what a lot of people don’t know is, although they are a bit higher in calories, cholesterol, and sodium, thighs do not differ much from the breast when It comes to protein, iron and many other nutritional values.
Even if you are a fan of a lower calorie lifestyle, there is nothing wrong with switching it up between chicken thighs and breasts. Try serving the thighs alongside lower calorie veggies or good carbs. In my opinion, as long as the quality of your chicken is good, it does not matter which cut you choose. Again, healthy eating is all about balance.
How to serve Crispy Chicken Thighs:
Some of my favorite vegetables/dishes to pair these with:
Let’s get cooking
Let’s get cooking
CRISPY CHICKEN THIGHS
Chicken thighs are the star of the show in this simple and easy recipe. Salt, pepper and lemon juice is all you need to have a full on party in your mouth. Enjoy it with roasted vegetables for a complete meal.
Chicken thighs are the star of the show in this simple and easy recipe. Salt, pepper and lemon juice is all you need to have a full on party in your mouth. Enjoy it with roasted vegetables for a complete meal.
Prep Time:10 mins
Cook Time:40 mins
Total Time:50 mins
Yields:4 Serves
1X
2X
3X
Ingredients
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4
bone in, skin on Chicken Thighs
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Salt and pepper
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1
Tbsp Ghee
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A few wedges of lemon to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
- Heat the ghee over high heat in a 12 inch cast-iron/any oven safe skillet.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry using paper towels.
- Season the thighs with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Nestle the chicken thighs in the skillet, skin side down and sear for 2 minutes.
- Lower the heat to medium high and continue cooking, skin side down, for ~ 7-10 minutes or until the skin is golden brown.
- Now, transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and cook for another 15 minutes with the chicken still skin side down.
- Flip chicken and continue cooking for 5-8 minutes or until an instant thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165° F.
- Let rest for a few minutes.
- Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice.
These turned out amazing for me! I was a little nervous because I just used butter due to not having ghee, but they were still so good! These will definitely be a new staple in our house.
Get it girl! I’m so happy it turned out great for you.
These crispy chicken thighs were delicious!!! It smelled so good as it was cooking that I had to get more thighs going!! Even my little one loved it. Thank you!
I love to hear it! Makes me so happy when the kids enjoy my recipes as well. Thank you so much, Alexandria
I make this every week. Kid you not. The husband is obsessed. Best chicken recipe on the internet.
That is the best compliment! Thank you so much!☺️
SO GOOD!!! This is a keeper!!
Thank you Carol! It really is so yummy and easy!
Where do the 13.3 Grams of Carbohydrate in this dish come from?
Thank you so much for pointing that out Jenn. I had someone help with these in order to get them up for you guys quicker. I am going to take time and go through them and correct some. Because I’ve noticed a few are off. Thank you again. Will get hem fixed and back up for you asap! Thank you again.
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/perfect-pan-roasted-chicken-thighs correct me if i’m wrong but didn’t bon appetit post (create) this recipe in 2011? i came across this through you on the whole30 channel and have made and loved this recipe but now i found it on bon appetit. disappointing.
There are MANY crispy chicken thighs recipes out there.. Bon Appetit did not “create” the recipe. There are many ways to make crispy chicken thighs. There are many other blogs who have their own recipes for crispy chicken thighs. I do not copy recipes from anyone. If I see something I like, I am inspired my them. But I recreate it my way. That’s like saying if I have a recipe for chicken Parmesan and you saw it somewhere else, would you say I stole that recipe from the thousands of other bloggers who have put their versions of chicken Parmesan out there? I think it’s disappointing for you to insinuate that I would copy another recipe and put it on my site. And, if I get inspiration from another blogger or website or chef, I always shout them out in the post. I’m glad you enjoy the recipe whether you make it from my site, bon appetit or anyone else’s.
I love LoVe LOVE this recipe!! It’s a great fix to ease the pain of avoiding deep fried foods and it taste so very yummy!! My kids loved it too. Winner! Winner! Chicken dinner!!
I am so glad the whole family approves. Thank you so much for sharing with me.
So crispy and delicious! But it created a ton of smoke in my oven. Did you cover the skillet, or any tips to avoid the smoke?
Yea that’s the only drawback with this recipe. I have tried this and it helped a bit. Before I transferred the pan to the oven, I wiped some of the ghee from the pan. That helped with the smoke.:)
Well, I am not sure what I did wrong but the skin burnt before I put it in the oven. Help! Any ideas why? I followed the recipe.
Oh NO!! I’m sorry. Were you using a cast-iron pan or a regular one? I recommend using cast iron because it retains the heat better so it doesn’t burn. And you used ghee, right? If you aren’t using a cast iron, I would turn the heat down a bit when you are searing. Please let me know if that helps, if not we can figure out what else went wrong. Thank you doll.
As someone who is not the most skilled at cooking, this recipe turned out absolutely flawless. Easy to execute and absolutely delicious.
Keep ‘em coming, Confessions of a Clean Foodie!
You make me very very happy love. Thank you so much! And I will definitely keep ‘em coming for ya.
Hands down THE BEST crispy chicken recipe! Minimal ingredients, simply made….it is perfection with juicy insides and crispy outsides. Next time I make it, I’ll probably add some red pepper flakes cause mama likes it
spic-ay!!!
Recommended: double the recipe so that you have leftovers. You’ll want leftovers.
Awww. Thank you, love. I am so glad you love this recipe as much as I do. And great tips!!