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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This recipe was quick and easy. Very tasty too!
Thanks!
As so many others said, great recipe! My garlic however, burned…how can I best remedy this?
Thank you!
Happy you liked it!
Don’t put the garlic in right away with the chicken. Try this.
Was the garlic crushed or minced? That might be the reason it burned.
Add a smidgen of water add garlic a bit later
Very tender and juicy! My husband would give it 5 stars, he said it was the only chicken he ever wants to eat. I think it just needs a little something extra to add a pinch more flavor, but I would 100% make this again.
Happy you both liked it!
I haven’t cooked chicken thighs too often, but this recipe came out PERFECT and DELICIOUS! Very easy for someone still trying to perfect certain foods (chicken is one for me) and you can guarantee it will cook all the way through and be a hit! Will definitely be making this again!
Thank you so much for your feedback. So happy you like this recipe. We eat it every week and we love it too!
Love this recipe, it’s super easy and delicious!!
We are love this recipe too. Easy, tasty and quick to make!
Can you clarify if you used minced or crushed garlic? The ingredients say crushed but the recipe says minced??
You can do both!
Absolutely delicious.
Thank you!
Really good flavor
Oh yes it’s very flavourful!
Juicy and so easy
Happy you liked it!
Made this tonight at my parents. didnt have cast iron but got skins crispy on 12 thighs then put butter and garlic in pan and cooked for a few minutes. put over chien before oven ad sooooo good.
Love to know you cooked it for your parents. happy you all liked it.
Why does the end result look different from the photos
So easy, so tasty! With or without skin, boneless or not this dish is so easy and delicious. While the chicken is simmering the veggies can roast in the oven and dinner is done in no time. Easy to double the recipe for a larger crowd.
You’re so right! Dinner is done in no time and it’s so easy to make!
Absolutely loved this recipe! I had just roasted some whole Garlic bulbs to make Garlic Hummus…so I saved some of the roasted garlic for this recipe. Turned out soooo DELICIOUS 😋🤤
That’s awesome!
You should always wash your chicken when you take it out the pack and place it on a paper towel and dry it. Just make sure you clean your sink after
Also I found this recipe to be super bland. I ended up making a roux and smothering the Chicken.
this recipe was very easy and smelled amazing, but i followed it to the letter and wound up with burned garlic in my pan. should have listened to my gut on this one and made a separate garlic butter sauce on the stove top.
Not sure how u don’t burn the garlic. I cooked it at 350 for 20 mins and the garlic still got too done and bitter.
Telling people to not clean their chicken is dirty business
Well according to the USDA, it’s way safer to destroy bacteria when you cook the chicken. A recent study looked at people who washed raw poultry for a meal. They discover that 60% had bacteria in their sink afterward, and 26% had transferred bacteria to their salad lettuce. So, yes I do not recommend to wash your chicken.
Incredibly easy, restaurant quality chicken. I just have to respond to those scolding over washing chicken. Beyond the USDA recommendations, unless you’re washing your meat with antibacterial soap and scalding hot water, you’re literally wasting your time. Harmful bacteria doesn’t just rinse away.
Thank you for this incredible recipe!!
Turned out perfectly. So easy and so tasty
So nice!!
This chicken is a staple in our family. My small children (6 & 4) even love it. I make it about once a month. I also support the idea of not washing chicken- studies show it’s much safer. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
Yes it is. I’ve been researching a lot and all the trustful articles say to not wash the chicken. It’s not safe.
Question, would this recipe work for skinless boneless thigh fillets? TIA
Yes it would.