Italian Chicken Thighs
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Italian Baked Chicken Thighs are the most amazing, flavorful, juicy chicken thigh recipe you’ll find! With just a handful of simple seasonings, these chicken thighs turn out crispy on the outside and amazingly tender and juicy on the inside.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Super easy recipe that is a flavor bomb! Will definitely be a regular recipe I make.” – Jennifer
About This Recipe
Reader, beware. You are about to encounter one of the most amazing chicken thigh recipes on the Internet.
It’s not only amazing in flavor and texture, but it’s amazingly simple. This is one of those recipes that will become part of your regular meal rotation.
Serve it with one of our easiest side dishes, Garlic Green Beans, Boursin Cheese Mashed Potatoes (or Healthy Mashed Potatoes) and our Bread Machine Dinner Rolls for a delicious well-rounded meal.
They are just SO. DANG. GOOD.
Want to make these in the air fryer?
If you have an air fryer, this recipe is a must! We give you all the details on how to make air fryer chicken thighs in this post.
Ingredients Needed
As promised, the ingredients in this recipe are simple. Here is what you’ll need on hand:
Ingredient Notes:
- We use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs because they turn out much more juicy than boneless. However, you could easily use boneless chicken thighs. As a general guideline, boneless chicken thighs may take around 5-10 minutes less to bake compared to bone-in chicken thighs at the same temperature.
Let’s Make Oven Baked Chicken Thighs!
Mix the Seasonings
Mix the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, and paprika in a small bowl.
If you think you’ll be making this recipe frequently, scale the seasonings up 3-4x and save the mix in a mason jar in your spice cabinet. I do this often with our Taco Seasoning Mix.
Season the Chicken Thighs
Arrange the chicken on the baking sheet. Pat dry with paper towels and trim off any excess skin/fat.
Drizzle the oil evenly over the chicken and rub in on all sides. Sprinkle the seasoning evenly over the chicken and rub in on all sides.
Bake and Enjoy!
Bake the chicken, skin side up, for 40-45 minutes, until done. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F (source) and/or have no more pink inside.
Baking Tip
You can turn on the broiler and broil the chicken for a few minutes to get the skin even crispier, if desired.
How to Freeze Chicken Thighs
As self-proclaimed freezer cooking evangelists, we can’t help ourselves from sharing how to turn these chicken thighs into a freezer meal. Again, it’s SO easy.
Freeze For Later: Place the seasoned, raw chicken thighs into a gallon-sized freezer bag in a single layer. Seal and freeze flat.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw using one of these safe methods for thawing chicken and then cook as directed.
Pro Tip: Cook them straight from frozen!
Forget to thaw your chicken thighs? Want to cook them straight from frozen? If you have an Instant Pot, no sweat.
We show you how to cook frozen chicken thighs in the Instant Pot here.
FAQs
You totally can, but just decrease the baking time to 25-30 minutes. Check the internal temperature to make sure it gets to 165°F.
While boneless chicken thighs are an option, having skin-on, bone-in thighs really helps keep the chicken moist and juicy. It’s also hard to get that desired crisp if you don’t have skin on it.
Baked chicken thighs can be refrigerated for four to five days. If you won’t be eating them during that time, you can freeze the leftovers for future use.
Yes… but they may not be as good. It’s hard (actually impossible) to get that crispy skin if they are cooked in the slow cooker. One solution would be to broil the slow-cooked thighs at the end but it’s hard to replicate roasting in the oven.
When it comes to chicken thighs in the Crock Pot, we have found it’s always best to cook them on Low and only for 3-4 hours at the very most. While chicken thighs can cook a bit longer than chicken breasts in the Crock Pot, they will definitely start to dry out after that amount of time cooking.
Recipes That Go Well With Baked Chicken Thighs
Here are some recipes that would pair well with Italian Baked Chicken Thighs
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Italian Baked Chicken Thighs
With just a handful of simple seasonings, these chicken thighs come out crispy on the outside and amazingly tender and juicy on the inside. Baked chicken thighs are so easy to make and we show you how to turn them into a make ahead freezer meal too!
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 lbs)
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, crushed in hand
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- In a small bowl, mix together the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, and paprika.
- Arrange the chicken on the baking sheet. Pat dry with paper towels and trim off any excess skin/fat. Drizzle the oil evenly over the chicken and rub in on all sides. Sprinkle the seasoning evenly over the chicken and rub in on all sides.
- Bake the chicken, skin side up, for 40-45 minutes, until done. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F and/or have no more pink inside. Optional: You can turn on the broiler and broil the chicken for a few minutes to get the skin even crispier, if desired.
Freeze For Later: Place the seasoned, raw chicken thighs into a gallon-sized freezer bag in a single layer. Seal and freeze flat.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw using one of these safe methods and then cook as directed in Step 4.
Notes/Tips
- This seasoning can be used on all cuts of chicken. Cooking times will vary.
- Use this recipe for Air Fryer Chicken Thighs is you want!
- Not all chicken thighs are the same size. Be sure internal temperature is at least 165°F to determine if it’s safe to eat.
- We show you how to cook frozen chicken thighs in the Instant Pot here.
- If using boneless chicken thighs, decrease the baking time to 25-30 minutes.
This was an excellent recipe! Seasoning was delicious! Made a second batch as a freezer meal!
Love to hear this! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
It’s in the oven now…
Been looking for a recipe that was almost identical to my Grandmother
Palmieris..this is it !!!
Made it twice and my husband took one bite and the eyebrows went up, he closed his eyes, and made a big smile.
That was enough proof for me !!
Love to read this Angela. Thank you for taking the time to leave such a fun review. Glad you found what you were looking for!
Delicious and easy!
Hi Anne. So glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for leaving a review!
Well this is just the holy grail of recipes because EVERY member of my family (3,5, 7yo and husband) loved it and there not was not a scrap leftover, AND it was so easy to make. Thank you!
Wow, love to hear this Emily! I know how amazing it is to find a recipe that everyone loves. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review.
This recipe looks so good! I’m not seeing poultry seasoning in my supermarket, do you have any advice on making my own? Thanks!
Hi Emily. Poultry seasoning is a blend of ground sage, thyme, nutmeg, pepper, and sometimes other spices, too. Try this recipe from our friend, Holly, at Spend with Pennies. It sounds the most like what I buy from the store. https://www.spendwithpennies.com/homemade-poultry-seasoning/
Delicious. A bit hot, and will make with less pepper next time.
Hi Anne. Glad you enjoyed this. It is always a hit in our house!
Made enough for two batches, which is great since it is such a simple recipe and very good. I do agree that for my family cutting back the salt a tad was the right choice. I also substituted sage, thyme and marjoram for the poultry seasoning.
Hi Alisa. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review and let others know what substitutions worked for you. Glad you enjoyed these.
I made this last night because I had spaghetti pomodoro left over from the previous night. This chicken was delicious. The skin was crispy and the herbs and spices were perfect. I added a bit of shredded Parmesan cheese in the last 2 minutes of baking. Was a nice addition we thought. Very easy which makes it perfect.
Hi Debbie. Thanks for the suggestion of adding the shredded Parmesan – that does sound delicious. Our family loves how easy this is to make as well. Glad you found it!
Delicious! Super easy and was a hit with the whole family!
So glad to hear it Tara. Thanks for leaving a review!
Tasty. Chicken was cooked perfectly but was too salty for my family. I will make it again but with less salt.
Hi Jo. Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad that most recipes can be tweaked for individual preferences like saltiness. Glad you liked the overall recipe.
I made this tonight using a cast iron skillet. Followed the recipe and didnt change anything except making one less chicken thigh (avoiding to overcrowd the skillet) Saved the remaining seasoning to make this again one day soon! It was very delicious !
As a side with this I cooked:
*Linguini with tomato, onion,spinach and garlic
*Garlic bread
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
I wish I was at your house for dinner Gypsy! That all sounds amazing. So glad you liked this recipe. It is a fan-favorite around here. 🙂
My husband said this was a new top meal for him! Very flavorful rub and crispy skin make this a recipe we’ll make again.
Glad you won the husband over Renee! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
I did not think I would like this because I usually regret eating italian seasonings due to stomach complaints. I am a die hard white meat eater but budget constraints and a Walmart mistake forced me to try dark meat. I went with the highest rated recipe I could find and I’ve now made this twice and on my 3rd go-round. I am very thankful I found a way to enjoy dark meat again! I like it best on drumsticks.
What a wonderful review Shirl! We love to hear stories like this. We all have those recipes that we’re a little leery of whether it’s the seasoning or the cut of meat or whatever. It’s so fun when it turns out to be a new favorite!
I’ve had a hard time finding a good recipe for thighs. Absolutely delicious
You are not alone in the search for good recipes for chicken thighs. I’m so glad you found and enjoyed this one! Thanks for leaving a review Jamie.
Delicious!! I served it on top garlic/butter/evoo Angel Hair Pasta.
That does sound like a delicious combination Mona! Thanks for sharing. 🙂