Baked Chicken Thighs are a delicious and very simple main dish. These chicken thighs have a perfectly crispy skin and extra juicy meat! They are perfect served alongside mashed potatoes or Scalloped Potatoes.
Cook up a large batch to feed a hungry crowd, add to your favorite Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup or freeze the leftovers for another meal. Oven baked chicken thighs can stay frozen for up to four months. Just thaw and then wrap in foil for reheating.
Baked Chicken Thighs
Chicken thighs are sold with bone in and skin on, or boneless and skinless. They are dark meat making them extra flavorful, they contain more fat which ensures they bake up succulent and tasty. Thighs are more forgiving than Chicken Breasts which can more easily be overcooked.
In this recipe, I choose skin on (because it tastes amazing and makes the chicken extremely juicy). As with any meat cooked on the bone, this has tons of flavor. I love using chicken seasoning or Italian seasoning in this recipe, but feel free to change it up to suit your taste buds!
For chicken seasoning I either create my own mixture (like the one I sprinkle on my Roast Chicken) or purchase a favorite chicken rub mixture.
How to Bake Chicken Thighs
For the juiciest oven baked chicken thighs, choose bone in and skin on. The skin crisps up nicely, and the bone imparts more flavor while keeping the meat moist. A high temperature helps crisp the skin (my favorite part).
For easy baked bone in chicken thighs, follow these simple steps:
- Pat each thigh dry with paper towels.
- Place the chicken thighs in a bowl and toss with olive oil and a generous amount of seasonings.
- Line a pan with foil and add a rack. Place chicken (skin side up) on the rack.
- Bake until chicken reaches 165°F.
How Long to Bake Chicken Thighs
Baked bone in chicken thighs require about 35 minutes baking time at a high temperature. Bake them until the juices run clear, and there is no more pink at the bone. Keep in mind that boneless skinless chicken thighs will require about 10 minutes less time.
- Chicken Thighs at 350°F – 50-55 minutes
- Chicken Thighs at 375°F – 45-50 minutes
- Chicken Thighs at 400°F – 40-45 minutes
- Chicken Thighs at 425°F – 35-40 minutes
Chicken thighs may vary in size so it’s a good idea to use a meat thermometer any time you are cooking poultry. The safe cooking temperature for chicken is 165°F.
More Recipes You’ll Love
- How to Make Poached Chicken – great for shredding or salads!
- Oven Baked Chicken Breasts – simple and healthy
- Crockpot Shredded Chicken
- How to Boil Chicken
- Easy Grilled Chicken Breast – super easy
Baked Chicken Thighs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in chicken thighs with skin (approx. 5-6 ounces each)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-3 teaspoons chicken seasoning or Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a pan with foil and place a baking rack on top.
- Dab chicken skin dry with a paper towel to remove any moisture.
- Drizzle chicken with olive oil and season with seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Place on the rack and bake 35-40 minutes or until chicken reaches 165°F.
- Broil 2-3 minutes to crisp if needed.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Entree
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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My apologies Holly. I just saw in your Chicken Salad recipe how to cook chicken breast/thighs.
Thanks much,
Debi
Oh perfect! I am glad you were able to find it. Enjoy!
The cooking times are off. I followed the time for the 350 temperature and the chicken wasn’t done.
Hi Sabrina, how long did it cook for? It can take 50-55 minutes at 350°F. And how big were your chicken thighs? This recipe is for thighs 5-6 ounces each, but chicken can greatly vary in size.
Perfect! And truly easy for those days when you don’t feel like thinking about your dinner recipe. Thanks for sharing!
This is my go to recipe for chicken thighs in the oven, simply delish. I use olive oil and vary between McCormicks chicken seasoning and lemon pepper seasoning. Always a hit for dinner.
Excellent recipe! Tossing the thighs in the oil and seasoning really increased the flavor. I used Tony’s for the seasoning and broiled at the end. Fantastic.
Is it okay to cover the chicken with tin foil when I bake it?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Lea. The skin will likely not get as crispy, but otherwise will still be delicious. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
How do you recommend re-heating?
My favorite way to reheat chicken is to pop it in the air fryer for a few minutes. You can also put it back into the oven until heated through.
Hello! I was surfing around looking for ideas with chicken thighs and came across your recipe. After checking out your chicken spice concoction I’m definitely going to go this route. Question: for this recipe did you add the brown sugar as well? It didn’t look like it, but not sure.
I didn’t add brown sugar to the thighs in the photos. Enjoy!
Added a little paprika for color and slight spice…..um good !
So good and so simple as is.
I had one boneless thigh and two bone in. I used avocado oil and Traeger’s chicken rub. 165 for the boneless, 175 for bone in. Perfect in every way.
I very rarely comment on recipes but this chicken recipe was amazing! I made the chicken seasoning linked in this recipe and i’m so happy I did. I will use it on those busy nights when I don’t have too much time to cook but still want a delicious dinner. Thank you for sharing!
Will update when my kids try it!
A lovely meal when I added red pepper slices, red onion slices, sweet corn cobs and tomatoes after 25 minutes cooking time.
Some mistake as I gave it 5 stars! Also put in corn cobs at same time as the chicken.
Delicious… and I made your seasoning mix as well! I used more than the couple of teaspoons of seasoning you called for- the thighs I used were large and we like a lot of seasoning. The chicken came out crispy on the outside and juicy and delicious inside. Whole family- small kids included loved this. And now I have the seasoning for next time!
Super tasty and bakes up really fast! Will definitely make this again
Great easy and cheap. All your recipes the same way. You are my go to.
Thank you so much for the kind words Dennis! I’m so glad you have been enjoying the recipes.
I had one boneless thigh and two bone in. I used avocado oil and Traeger’s chicken rub. 165 for the boneless, 175 for bone in. Perfect in every way.
Very tasty recipes I’m going to give all of them a try ,thank you
This came out great!
First of all? I’m not a fan of thighs. Too grisly. Too “picky”. The fat is…. Too fatty… whine whine whine. Tonight I made YOUR recipe. To a T. The chicken seasoning was a masterpiece. Seriously. So dang good! Baked the chicken til 165. I usually Overcook or undercook/- there’s never an in between. This is the BEST OVEN ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS EVER. Thank you. Seriously. THANK YOU!!!
Hi! I see the serving size says 6…. Im curious… is the nutritional information based on a serving size of just one chicken thigh?
Hi Kylie, yes the nutrition is for one chicken thigh.