Italian Baked Chicken Thighs

Name: Italian Baked Chicken Thighs
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Italian
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

★★★★★ 5 /5

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By: Polly ConnerPosted: 4/17/23Updated: 4/11/23

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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.

Italian Baked Chicken Thighs on a white platter with another plate of oven roasted asparagus on it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“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).

Table of Contents

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, 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.

Air Fryer Chicken Thighs

Ingredients Needed

As promised, the ingredients in this recipe are simple. Here is what you’ll need on hand:

Italian Baked Chicken Thighs Ingredients measured out and labeled.

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

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

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.

Seasonings for italian baked chicken thighs separately piled in a bowl.

Season the Chicken Thighs

Arrange the chicken on the baking sheet. Pat dry with paper towels and trim off any excess skin/fat.

Someone patting chicken thighs dry with a paper towel.

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.

Seasoned chicken thighs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper ready for the oven.

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.

Baked Chicken thighs straight from the oven still on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

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.

Raw chicken thighs seasoned and in a freezer bag ready to be frozen.

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 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 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.

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

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Spoon with Instant Pot Mac and Cheese being lifted out of an instant pot.

6-Ingredient Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

5-Ingredient Coleslaw

Polly Conner

As co-founder of Thriving Home, Polly’s passionate about helping busy parents get dinner on the table. With a house full of kids, dogs, and (usually) a DIY project in the works, she knows firsthand how every minute (and every dollar) counts. As a business owner, she enjoys wearing multiple hats and serves best as a project manager for Thriving Home.