Love this easy Baked Tender Chicken Thighs Recipe that is full of so much flavor. The combination of garlic with Italian seasoning and paprika work so well when combined. This recipe will become a staple in your home, no doubt.
PIN this recipe to your DINNER board HERE!
I am blown away by the awesome response to one of our newer recipes, the Easy Baked Thighs Recipe. It has become one of the most popular recipes on our blog, and for a good reason. It is a phenomenal recipe. The prep time is like 10 minutes (that even includes covering the dish with foil). How simpler can a recipe be? So, today, I share a similar dish, the Baked Tender Chicken Thighs Recipe.
We really enjoy oven baked chicken thighs and so this is another recipe I am really happy to share with you. The inspiration for this recipe came from my niece, Victoria. She is young but is a wonderful cook. I stopped by their home not too long ago and she had just made chicken thighs and they were so good. I couldn’t believe the key ingredient was Italian seasoning. I was hooked.
INGREDIENTS FOR BAKED TENDER CHICKEN THIGHS RECIPE:
- Chicken thighs, skinless & boneless
- Oil (Olive oil or Canola oil)
- Garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and Pepper
- Italian seasoning
- Paprika powder
TIPS HOW TO MAKE BAKED TENDER CHICKEN THIGHS RECIPE:
- Trim off and remove any excess fat from chicken thighs.
- For best result, season the chicken thighs, cover tightly and refrigerate for at least two hours (up to overnight). The seasoning penetrates deep into the chicken and becomes flavorful.
- If you don’t have two hours, baking the chicken immediately is fine as well, just maybe not as flavorful.
- If you like to prep dinner in the morning, this is a great recipe. Season the chicken, cover tightly and keep stored in the refrigerator. When you come home from a long day of work, all you have to do is bake the chicken. So easy.
- Leftovers are wonderful to use in different recipes that require cooked chicken (like the Chicken Quesadilla recipe).
- To reheat, cover with foil and bake until warm.
WHAT CAN I SERVE BAKED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH?
You can serve baked chicken thighs with mashed potatoes, pasta, fried or steamed rice, or even buckwheat. A salad, would of course compliment the dinner with some homemade bread (like this amazing bread machine bread).
CAN I SUBSTITUTE THE THIGHS?
CHICKEN BREAST- You may substitute the chicken thighs for chicken breast. However, the flavor and texture will slightly change because chicken thighs have a stronger flavor, higher fat content and softer texture once baked than chicken breast. Depending on the size of the breast, the baking time will vary and most likely be less than the indicated time in this recipe. Use a food thermometer to cook breast until the thickest part registers at 165°F.
BONE-IN THIGHS- You most definitely may substitute for bone-in chicken thighs. The bone keeps the thighs juicier and even adds flavor. The only setback with bone-in thighs is the baking time will be longer. Keep the dish cover with foil for one-half of the cooking time plus an extra ten minutes. Then, removing the foil and allow the chicken to brown during the second half of cooking.
I hope you LOVE this Baked Tender Chicken Thighs Recipe and it becomes a regular in your home. 🙂 Don’t forget to share your creations with us on Social Media. We LOVE seeing your recipes. Tag us with #ValentinasCorner! We so appreciate you, our online friends. <3
If you are looking for a baking dish, I just got this CASSEROLE DISH
Easy, juicy and tender oven baked chicken thighs recipe. Prep time is like 10 minutes! So easy.
- 3 pounds Chicken thighs, skinless and boneless
- 3 Tbsp Olive oil (or Canola oil)
- 3 Garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Ground pepper
- 1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ¾ tsp Paprika powder
-
In a bowl, combine olive oil and minced garlic. Layout chicken thighs and coat with oil mixture (on both sides).
-
Prepare the seasoning: In a bowl, combine the salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and paprika.
-
Season boat sides of chicken with the seasoning. Transfer chicken thighs to a baking dish. Cover with foil. Set aside to marinate at least 2 hours (*or see note).
-
Bake 45 minutes at 375°F. Remove foil and broil for 8-10 minutes (at same temp), until tops of thighs are crispy.
-
Enjoy, friends.
Note: Marinading at least 2 hours will give best results. If you don't have two hours, still bake the chicken it will still be great.
< div>
Excellent flavor! I let them marinate about 4 hours and they were tender and delicious – very flavorful! However, 45 minutes at 375° is way too long. I put them in the oven straight from the fridge and the thighs were up to 190° after just 30 minutes. Other than that, this recipe is overall excellent.
Thanks for the feedback, Brian! Appreciate it. We do make a note several times that the cooking time will vary depending on the size of your thighs and oven. 🙂 Thank you for visiting our online home. 🙂
Really good recipe. Used bone in as usually maintains moisture better for me. Also reduced fat leftover in baking dish with some water then added some flour to make a very tasty gravy to top the chicken off.
Thanks so much for the feedback, TB! It’s so appreciated:)!
Delicious! My teens loved it and said they’d rather have this recipe for Thanksgiving instead of traditional turkey! I served by today with roasted sweet potatoes and salad! So easy to prep and I all ingredients on hand! Thank you!
Oh my, thank you so much, Belinda. What a sweet comment. These thighs are perfect with sweet potatoes. I have teens, so if teens approve of a recipe – it’s a big deal;). <3
I made these this evening, my family just loved it! Thank you for such lovely recipe and your time to share it on the Internet,
Kind regards
Edward
That’s wonderful, Edward. Thanks for the awesome feedback. Stop back and visit our online home again. 🙂
Made this last night for my husband and kids, they loved it. Easily modified the measurements because I had less chicken thighs than the recipe called for. I trimmed the fat from the chicken thighs as mentioned in the recipe and then decided to put it back in with the chicken to cook. The added fat worked great. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Barbara. I hope you come back and visit our online home.
This turned out delicious and beautiful! Followed exactly! Will put in my winner file! My bf loved it too! Served with garlic mashed potatoes and corn on the cob! Thank you!
You had me at garlic mashed potatoes and corn on the cob, Pam. Sounds like a wonderful dinner. Thanks for sharing the wonderful review.
Made this to the recipe – love it. Can it be marinated and then bake in a slow cooker?
Hi, Norma! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. I’ve never made this is a slow cooker so I’m not sure how it would turn out. Sorry, that wasn’t very helpful.
Did them on the grill…even better!
Thanks for the awesome feedback, Tracy. So glad to hear that. 🙂
Valentina…the image looks like bone-in thighs…just want to confirm you used “boneless.” Thanks!
Yes, boneless thighs, Connie. 🙂 Enjoy..
Hello. Thanks for great chicken recipes!
Can you tell me what font you used for “Valentina’s”. It’s perfect for my new business logo- have been searching for this look. I’d really appreciate knowledge where to find it.
Sincerely,
Carole
You’re so nice, Carole, thank you. I actually created it in PicMonkey. Super easy and quick. 🙂
The flavor was good but the thighs were outrageously overcooked. Maybe half the recommended time…..
can you grill these instead of baking?
Though I’ve not tried it, I think it would work wonderfully if grilled. Enjoy, Charles.
You say to bake at 375 for 45 minutes then broil for 8-10 minutes at same temp. I don’t understand that. How do you broil at 375? Do I broil on low or high? Please help! I’m making now!
Just click the broil button and it will turn on the direct heat from the top of your oven that will give the chicken some crispiness :). Or maybe that’s just my old oven that is able to do that. If yours will not broil at the same heat, turn broil on for 2-3 minutes at the higher heat it turns onto. Each oven is different. Hope you loved the chicken and thanks for visiting our online home.
How much longer do I bake bone in thigh/leg combo? Still at 375?
Hi Rhonda, just look at our notes. We have a section for chicken thighs:). ENjoy.
I wanna try this recipe tomight. Can u do it with frozen, bone’in chicken thighs? if so for how long. Thanks
I’m so sorry I didn’t respond right away, you cannot use frozen meat. It must thaw first.
Tried this last night and my picky guy give it thumbs up I really liked it and so easy. Thanks for the receipe
That’s wonderful, Sue. Thanks so much for sharing. Come and visit our online home again. 🙂
It’s in the oven right now! Found this recipe on my lunch break at work, so didn’t have time to marinate. Hope it’s as good as it looks!
Margaret, thanks for visiting and trying our recipe! I hope you loved it. 🙂
will This work with chicken breast?
There’s a subheading that talks all about that in the post. I hope it’s helpful. Thank you for visiting.
I’m baking the thighs from frozen right now ??
How did it turn out? how long did u end up cooking it for?
These were very moist and tender. My hubby and I loved them. I think I might cut back a bit on the salt but that is the only thing. The flavor was amazing. Thank you
Thank so much for the wonderful review, Vickie! 🙂 We so appreciate it.
Thank you for visiting our online home:)
These were really yummy!!!!! And so easy!
Thanks so much for sharing, Kate! Happy to hear you enjoyed this simple recipe. 🙂
Do I use dry italian dressing seasoning or regular italian seasoning?
I’m not sure what the difference is, the one needed for the recipe is the dry seasoning in the spices section. ☺
Hi there valichka darling made this recipe a few weeks ago and omg wow it was really way good and yummm leftovers are great for chicken Schwarma or chicken lo mien sans the soy sauce thanx a million and one for your recipes am so hooked
Tzivia, you’re so sweet. I am so glad enjoyed the recipe and you are right, there are so many different ways to use the leftovers. 🙂 Thanks for being a part of our online family.
Can you make this with Chicken Tenderloins?
You sure can. You’ll may need to make them less. Enjoy.
This was so easy and so good. The only modification i did was mix everything with the chicken thighs and put it in ziplock overnight to marinate. Even my pickiest eater ate it all up! Thank you for the recipe!
Annabelle, I am glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Will it turn out the same if I used regular chicken thighs (with bone & skin)?
They sure will, Jasmine. You will just need to bake the chicken longer and may need to cover towards dish towards the end of baking so the tops don’t burn. Enjoy!
How much longer.
These look absolutely perfect.
Thank you so much, they taste just as wonderful. 🙂
Love this easy baked chicken thighs recipe that is so full of flavor. The combination of garlic with Italian seasoning and paprika work so well when combined. The recipe will become a staple in your home.so wonderful baked chicken recipe.
I agree, this is an amazing combination of flavors and oh so easy!!
I don’t have time to mairinate will they still be ok?
Yes, Courtney. They will be fine, not as flavorful but will be okay. 🙂 Enjoy.
I will be making this tomorrow night. Several times it says “see note” but there’s no note…what’s the note??
Hi Liz, sorry for the confusion, I’ll fix that. Reach the Note where the asterisk is in the wording before the ingredients. 🙂 Hope that helps.
I made these today, very yummy and so quick!! Will be making these again, it’s a nice change from using mayo all the time. Thanks!
Thanks so much, Alenka. I am so happy to hear that. 🙂 🙂