Baked Chicken Thighs

4.46 from 238 votes
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Baked chicken thighs with crispy skin, brown sugar, garlic and cayenne pepper. This is one of the best chicken thigh recipes that takes 10 mins prep time!

Baked chicken thighs in a serving platter.
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Chicken Thigh Recipes

One of the best ways to cook chicken thighs is using the oven.

Chicken thighs always turn out extremely juicy, tender and moist after roasting and baking them the oven, for example: Cajun Chicken.

Bake chicken thighs recipe is also one of the easiest chicken thigh recipes, with short active prep time of just 10 minutes.

One of the best chicken thigh recipes is baked chicken thighs in oven.

Ingredients

Ingredients for baked chicken thighs.
  • Bone-in chicken thighs with skin on
  • Brown sugar
  • Garlic
  • Salt
  • Cayenne pepper
  • Parsley

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.


How To Make This Recipe

Preheated oven.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).

Chicken thighs, brown sugar, salt, cayenne pepper in a bowl mixed using a spatula.

Step 2: Score the bottom part of the chicken thighs with a few slits. Rub the bottom part of the chicken and the skin with the garlic, leave them on (the garlic should get inside the slits and flavor the chicken thighs). Add brown sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, stir to mix well.

Baked chicken thighs garnished with parsley on a pair of tongs.

Step 3: Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the skin turns crispy and brown. Remove from heat, garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.


Cooking Tips

Oven baked chicken thighs is one of the best chicken thigh receipes.
  • You can use skinless and boneless chicken thighs or bone-in chicken thighs. Personally, I prefer bone-in thighs. After baking the chicken thighs in oven at high temperature, the skin crisps up to golden brown color and becomes crispy.
  • If you use skin on thighs, the skin adds grease to the chicken so you don’t need butter or oil in the recipe. The chicken meat will also be tender and juicy.
  • Score the bottom of the thighs a few times. This will make more flavorful with the marinade.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long to bake chicken thighs?

Bake thighs takes about 35-40 minutes in the oven, at 425° Fahrenheit (220° Celcius).
The total time depends on the size of the bone-in chicken thighs.
The skin will turn crispy and brown and the internal temperature of cooked chicken thighs is 165° Fahrenheit.

Do I need to bake the chicken with foil?

This recipe produces juicy and tender chicken thighs so you don’t need to use foil.
Plus, you want crispy skin so do not wrap or cover the chicken with aluminum foil.

Can I use boneless and skinless chicken breasts?

Chicken breasts are great for this recipe, especially if they are boneless and skinless.

How many calories per serving?

This baked chicken thighs recipe is only 402 calories per serving.

One of the best baked chicken thighs recipes, so tender and juicy.

What To Serve With This Recipe

Baked chicken thigh recipe oven, ready to serve.

This recipe is great with rice and vegetables. I love serving them with cilantro lime rice and a healthy vegetable dish.

For a healthy meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.

I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on FacebookPinterest, and Instagram for new updates.


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4.46 from 238 votes

Baked Chicken Thighs (Extra Juicy!)

Baked chicken thighs with crispy skin, brown sugar, garlic and cayenne pepper. This is one of the best chicken thigh recipes that takes 10 mins prep time!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings
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Ingredients  

  • 1 1/2 lbs. (750g) bone-in chicken thighs, 5 small thighs or 4 big thighs
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 dashes cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
  • Score a few slits in the bottom part of the chicken thighs. Rub the garlic onto both the bottom and skin of the chicken, ensuring the garlic gets inside the slits to flavor the meat. Add brown sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper, and stir to mix well.
  • Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and browned. Remove from heat, garnish with chopped parsley, and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

  • You can use skinless and boneless chicken thighs or bone-in chicken thighs. Personally, I prefer bone-in thighs. After baking the chicken thighs in oven at high temperature, the skin crisps up to golden brown color and becomes crispy.
  • If you use skin on thighs, the skin adds grease to the chicken so you don’t need butter or oil in the recipe. The chicken meat will also be tender and juicy.
  • Score the bottom of the thighs a few times. This will make more flavorful with the marinade.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 402kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 28g, Fat: 28g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Monounsaturated Fat: 12g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 167mg, Sodium: 570mg, Potassium: 387mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 487IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Please rate and comment below!

About Rasa Malaysia

Bee is a recipe developer and best-selling cookbook author, sharing easy, quick, and delicious Asian and American recipes since 2006. With a strong following of almost 2 million fans online, her expertise has been featured in major publications, TV and radio programs, and live cooking demos throughout the United States and Asia.

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Recipe Rating





54 Comments

  1. Michelle says:

    Literally so good! Made this for my boyfriend and I and we loved it, we are making it again for dinner tonight. So simple SO delicious!

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Awesome please try more recipes on my site!

  2. Jay says:

    5 stars
    This chicken is super simple to make and delicious! favorite baked chicken hands down

  3. Eva Wence says:

    Hello, Chef Rasa! Holy smokes! This is a fabulous recipe! I made it and it turned out beautifully. Not only was it delicious, it was quick and easy to make. It is definitely a restaurant quality main meat.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Eva, thanks so much. Please try more recipes on my site: https://www.666630.xyz/recipe-index-gallery/

    2. Jay says:

      This was super easy and delicious! Never had a better tasting baked chicken. Will be a staple in my home ! Thank you

      1. Admin says:

        Awesome!

  4. Kathy says:

    Can you use boneless and skinless thighs?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Yes.

  5. Yoseline M says:

    5 stars
    Amazing !

  6. Virginia Rose says:

    I started out looking for a simple recipe for chicken thighs. I had no idea, I was about to strike some gold!! Your page is wonderful. So far I have followed 3 of your recipes.
    โ™ก Chicken thighs with brown sugar, cayenne and garlic
    โ™ก Boiled red baby potatoes with parsley
    โ™ก Brown butter, garlic and honey roasted potatoes.
    And this was just one meal! Haha I love love love the recipes, and I adore the short matching videos, to go along with! Tomorrow I will be sauteing my pork chops with tomatoes. Thank you very much. ?

  7. Joan F Harris says:

    I made this in my toaster oven on convection bake for 1 hour. Wow, it was delicious. Thanks for the most flavorful chicken recipe ever. So yummy.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Awesome thanks and please try more recipes on my site!

  8. Chilong Cheong. says:

    Dear Rasa Malysia,
    Have you tried this recipe in air fryer ? The temprature remains the same; and baked time will be shortened to ca. 20 minutea , because of the smaller size of the air fryer’s oven and the blower in the air fryer.
    I also bake loinribs and steaks etc. In the air fryer saving a lot of bsking time and frying oil.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      No I haven’t tried this in air fryer. Thanks for sharing the information!

    2. Jamie says:

      Yes, I do almost everything in the air fryer. I even BBQ my beef and chicken satay in the air fryer. Spring rolls, samosas, you name it. With or without oil, the air fryer is a much faster and healthier option to cook baked dishes.

  9. T says:

    Can I substitute maple or applewood bbq rub for the brown sugar? I am all out.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Sure, you can!

      1. Teo H. A says:

        Where can i get cayenne pepper n show me the picture ? I only know white n black pepper.
        Pls guide me. TQ.

        1. Rasa Malaysia says:

          You can get bottled cayenne pepper in a bottle.

  10. Eunice Walach says:

    This was absolutely delicious Made with skin on chicken thighs,Definitely in going into my folder of Only the best For me 5 Stars Made with elephant Garlic An served With homemade bruschetta pasta Absolutely heaven โค๏ธ??euwalach @gmail.com

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Eunice, thanks for trying my recipe. Please try more recipes on my site: https://www.666630.xyz/recipe-index-gallery/