Italian Baked 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
Disclaimer: This post was created in partnership with Hy-Vee (Columbia).
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, 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:
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (Bone-in thighs turn out much more juicy than boneless.)
- Olive oil or avocado oil
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Italian seasoning
- Poultry seasoning
- Paprika
- Salt & Pepper
Now that you know what you need, let’s look at a quick video on how to make this recipe.
Where to Get Your Ingredients
We suggest grabbing these ingredients at your local Hy-Vee, since they are well-stocked year-round. The employees at the meat counter are so helpful, if you have any questions
Let’s Make Oven Baked Chicken Thighs!
Mix the Seasonings
In a small bowl, mix together the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, and paprika.
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 will show you how to cook frozen chicken thighs in the Instant Pot here.
FAQs About Baking Chicken Thighs
Can I use boneless chicken thighs?
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 a skin-on, bone-in thigh really helps keep the chicken be moist and juicy. It’s also hard to get that desired crisp if you don’t have a skin on it.
How do you store baked chicken thighs?
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.
Can I make these in the slow cooker?
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
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
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.
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Excellent! The thighs remained moist and full of flavor. Thighs are a budget friendly meat and the seasoning ingredients are probably in your pantry.
★★★★★
Yes Paula! Those are the things I love about this recipe. If I don’t have a meal plan for the night, I can stop by the store and grab some thighs without breaking the bank and I know everything else is in my pantry. And of course the flavor! 🙂 Thanks for leaving a review.
Super delicious, juicy, the seasoning was amazing, rubbed it under the skin too! So looking forward to grilling this recipe on the grill!!
★★★★★
Oooh, I haven’t tried these on the grill Sherry, great suggestion!
This was really good & easy to make on a week night! My daughter & husband are picky eaters & loved it 😍
★★★★
Yay! Picky eater compliments are our favorite. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and review, Heather.
Even my picky eaters loved these!
★★★★★
Always good to hear when picky eaters love one of our recipes! Thanks for leaving a review Amy.
Made these tonight—wow, these were delicious! The seasoning is perfection. I ran my finger under the skin, to separate it from the meat. I’ve found this helps it crisp up more. I even sprinkled some seasoning into the “pocket” directly onto the meat under the skin. I’m definitely going to make this again!
★★★★★
Thanks for the suggestions Brian! I can’t wait to try separating the skin for more crispiness and more flavor on the meat. It’s making my mouth water!
Loved this !
Would it work as well with drumsticks ?
★★★★★
While we haven’t tried it yet, I don’t see why it wouldn’t? If you give it a try, let us know how it turns out Tina.