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
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.
They are just SO. DANG. GOOD.
Ingredients Needed for Italian Baked Chicken Thighs
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.
Video Tutorial: Baked Chicken Thighs
Let’s Bake Some 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.
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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10 min from end I layered chicken with Tuscan fontal cheese
★★★★★
That sounds like a delicious addition Phil. Thanks for leaving a review!
Super easy recipe that is a flavor bomb! I had to keep it warm in the oven for almost an hour after cooking before eating, and it was still moist and delish! Will definitely be a regular recipe I make. I served the Simple & Delicious Boiled Baby Potatoes and sauteed green beans on the side. Wonderful!
★★★★★
Flavor bomb! I love it! My high school senior makes this every time it’s her turn to cook dinner. So easy and everyone loves it. Those sound like perfect side dishes for this recipe. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!
We loved the flavor and it was nice and moist ☺️
★★★★★
Hi Rosemary! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review.
This chicken is one of the first meals we ate after giving birth and I gotta say that it hit the spot! We had it with corn on the cob, a bagged salad, and some baked beans and it felt like when you go to your in-laws for a fabulous Sunday dinner! The chicken cooks up perfectly moist and so so flavorful in the oven (I thought I might need to broil it at the end but no, perfection). I’m just so thankful that I bought this 1 hour freezer meal prep! (This was one of the fall ones)
★★★★★
Aww, we love hearing that 1 Hour Freezer Prep has been helpful to your family. You’re right, this is a great one for an easy Sunday dinner. Thank you so much for the review!
This is seriously the only way I make chicken thighs anymore. So flavorful and juicy!
★★★★★
Hi Emily. My HS senior said the other day that she will probably just make these over and over when she moves out on her own! They are delish!
I made this for my boyfriend who is working from home. He said his mouth was watering smelling the chicken cooking in the oven. He quickly stated this is some of the best chicken! Love the flavor of all the spices coming together in delicious harmony!!
★★★★★
Thanks so much for the feedback! Love hearing that it was a win for you guys.
Easy and good. My toddlers ate a chicken thigh each! That’s success in my book!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for sharing, Marie.