Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Thighs are the ultimate solution for a flavorful and easy weeknight dinner. These oven-baked chicken thighs are perfectly seasoned. They are coated in a rich garlic butter sauce, which makes the meat juicy and tender. Ready in just 45 minutes, these chicken thighs with crispy, golden skin is perfect for busy families looking for a delicious and easy dinner.
I’m so excited to share this family favorite with you today! This is my go-to chicken thighs recipe because my son and husband absolutely love it. They even fight over the crispy skin on top! 😂 Every time I make it, they go back for seconds, which makes me so happy.
I’ve made this chicken countless times, and I figured it was finally time to share it with you. What I love most about this recipe is that you only need three key ingredients to make the juiciest, most flavorful chicken thighs.
Chicken Thighs – I use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs to get a crispy outside while keeping the inside moist and tender. Of course, if you only have boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts, you can use those too. However, after making this recipe many times, I’ve found that keeping the skin and bone in makes the chicken much juicier and more flavorful.
Garlic – I like to use crush fresh cloves because freshly crushed cloves have a stronger, more vibrant flavor and aroma compared to store-bought pre-ground cloves.
Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter because it lets you control the salt level and enhances the natural flavors of the ingredients.
How To Cook Chicken Thighs
- I always use a paper towel to pat dry the chicken thighs.
- Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
- 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.
- 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 it in the oven and bake chicken thighs for 30 minutes or until they are done. If your chicken thighs start darkening excessively while in the oven, cover them with foil until they are fully cooked.
- Use a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thighs to make sure your garlic butter chicken thighs are perfectly cooked without overcooking them. The internal temperature should reach 165°F (74°C).
1. The baking 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.
To Store: Transfer the baked chicken thighs to an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 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.
Roasted Vegetables – They’re great side dish to go with any kind of protein, especially with this baked chicken thighs. Or you can always serve it with mashed potatoes.
Roasted green beans or roasted sweet potato are good side dishes to go with these baked chicken thighs.
Broccoli salad – Such an easy and flavourful salad.
More Chicken Thigh Recipes
Grilled Chicken Thighs
35 mins
Chicken Thighs with Potatoes
1 hr 10 mins
Baked Chicken Thighs and Rice
1 hr 30 mins
Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs
4 hrs 10 mins
Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Thighs Recipe
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.
Notes
- 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.
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
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Absolutely delicious!
Happy you liked it!
Delicious! 🙂
They are so GOOD!!!
It’s an OK base recipe but definitely needed extra spice. I added herb de Provence and smoked paprika. Maybe my thighs were on the small side, but 400 degrees at 30 min would have made jerky. I pulled them out after about 15 min, they were already over 180.
If I ever make this again, I’ll cook them at 350, or just cover the pan and finish on the stovetop. Flavor was good, everybody enjoyed the chicken, even the picky kids.
Hmmm…tasty chicken, but bitter, burned crushed garlic by the time the chicken reached 165. Any advice?
Same thing happened to me. I still have 5 minutes left to cook and the garlic is burned.
This dish was amazing! I made some Haricot Vert, put them on the platter with the chicken, drizzled some of the cooking juices on top and OMG! So simple and so delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Tight? They’re amazing. We love this recipe too!
Can this be done on the grill?
Yes it can. Just grill it until it gets the internal temperature of 165F degrees.
Oliva!!! This was sooo quick, easy and DELICIOUS!!! I used the skinless, boneless chicken thighs, and they turned out sooo tender!!! My husband usually doesn’t like chicken, but he LOVED these!!! I served them with sautéed garlics and steamed broccoli!!! Thank you so very much for a TERRIFIC recipe!!!
Mm.. love that you served it with steamed broccoli. So yummy!
This was amazing! I typically tweak recipes but aside from adding a touch of rosemary I made this just like you said. It was super easy, looked fabulous and was so moist! Clearly a family favorite – even it is fried. 🙂
You’re message made my day. Thank you so much!
I love how crispy these chicken turned out. Looks so good. Yum!
Happy you liked it!
What kind of cooking dish are you using in the video?
Is it a Dutch oven?
It is a cast iron skillet!
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.
Happy to know that. We love this recipe too especially because of the crispy skin. Yummy!
Where’s the oven rack placed?
Middle.
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!
We love chicken thighs! It’s the most flavourful part of the chicken in my opinion. Glad you liked it!
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!
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.
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.
That’s amazing! I’m so so happy to hear that. This recipe is so so flavourful and also easy to make 😉
turned out much better than I thought. Season well.
Right? When I created this recipe I didn’t think it was going to be this good!! Glad you liked it!
unique flavor is what i like about your recipe, i don’t know how long it takes you to make?
As I chickens lover, I really appreciate that you share this recipe, thank a lot Olivia!
You’re very welcome!
Made this tonight for dinner and it is delicious!
Awesome!
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?
A simple one with olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon masters and garlic.