Make perfectly roasted chicken thighs in the oven every single time! These chicken thighs are crispy on the outside while being tender and juicy on the inside, cooking at a high temperature for 40 minutes. Post includes affiliate links. (This post was originally published in 2013).
There are a few staple meals that I make on a regular basis and these perfectly roasted chicken thighs are one of them. This is a method that I first started using with crispy chicken drumsticks and I've been using it for chicken thighs ever since.
Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are one of the most budget-friendly cuts of chicken available, so whenever they are on special, I'll pick some up and throw them in the freezer.
What is the secret to perfectly roasted chicken thighs? It starts with brushing with some olive oil and cooking at a high temperature, I'm talking 450F. The next secret?
Roasting on a write rack on a rimmed baking sheet. This allows the air to circulate around the chicken in the oven, mimicking the kind of cook you'd get from an Airfryer.
What I love about this recipe is that it's literally just for the chicken thighs. It's the answer to your panic at 3pm: "What should I do with those chicken thighs I took out of the freezer?".
One tip to keep in mind is that these crispy chicken thighs are best fresh-the crispy skin doesn't reheat well, so plan on eating them the night that you cook them. If you do have any leftovers, I'd use the leftover chicken in a chopped salad, or thrown into a quick stir fry.
For this recipe, I opted to use dried herbs (read my thoughts on dried vs. fresh herbs) because the chicken is cooked at such a high temperature, fresh herbs just wouldn't withstand the heat as well; I went with oregano which is one of my favourite herbs (I'm Greek after all).
Oregano is an herb that, in my opinion, gets more flavourful when dried and is one of the herbs that stands up to this dehydration process - woodier herbs like rosemary and thyme also do well when dried.
Perfectly Roasted Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, excess fat trimmed
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- Brush both sides of chicken with olive oil and sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Roast, skin side down, on a wire rack on a sheet pan for 18 minutes.
- Flip chicken over and roast for another 20 minutes or until cooked through.
This recipe is definitely one of my favourites and my family absolutely loves it! We hardly ever have any leftovers because we eat them all – I recommend doubling this recipe if you want extra.
Before you know it, these Perfectly Roasted Chicken Thighs will be making a regular appearance on your weekly rotation.
Waz
Absolutely delicious follow recipe so good thank you
Shirley Clements
I will be making this recipe for my dinner tonight! I made it before & it is delicious!
Ivana
Easy recipe, and it turned out perfect! I roasted sweet potatoes at the same time on the bottom rack.
Louisa Clements
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Ivana!
Jeannette
Thighs I got were fully cooked half way thru @ 18 *i*utes (apologies for keystroke ish)
Ski* stuck to foil & ca*e off really obliterati*g the whole poi*t of ski* o* bo*e i* thighs
Louisa Clements
Hi Jeannette, thanks for your note. The chicken thighs shouldn’t be placed directly on the foil, they should be placed on the wire rack that is on top of the foil, the foil is only use for easier cleanup, the chicken thighs should never touch it. Let me know if you have any additional questions.
Donna
If you are a fan of chicken thighs follow this recipe to the T is pretty darn good!!! I fix this all the time.
Louisa Clements
Thank you Donna, I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe!
Heidib
What type of wire rack???
Louisa Clements
Hi Heidi, just a regular wire rack that goes on top of a baking sheet.
Gemma
Oh wow these look insanely good! Almost as if they’re straight from a page in a recipe book. I’m always a bit intimidated by using thighs, but think I need to give it a try! xo
Louisa Clements
Thanks Gemma! Thighs are the best part of the chicken, no need to be intimidated! They always end up extra juicy & crispy with this method.
Trusty
What if you don’t have a wire rack
Louisa Clements
You can roast these on parchment paper, start skin side down, and then flip halfway through! :) I hope you enjoy!
alex
I made this tonite and it was FANTASTIC and like the title ‘perfectly roasted’
Lou
Thanks Alex, so glad you enjoyed!
Cortney Anderson
Louisa! I’m making this recipe for the second time tonight. Love your blog so much.
Cortney Anderson
Lou
Cortney! Thank you so much! I’m so glad you like this recipe – it’s one of my favourites!
Chelsea
Do you cover the chicken when you’re baking it?
Lou
Hi Chelsea,
No you don’t cover the chicken when it’s baking – this lets the skin crisp up and is super delicious. Let me know how it goes!
Ellen Hakala
Looks delicious. I’ve never cooked chicken at such a high temperature, but it makes sense. I’m going to try this recipe tonight. Thank you!
Lou
Thanks, Ellen. I don’t usually cook chicken at such a high temperature either, but in this case it makes the skin so nice and crispy. Let me know how it goes!
Liz
Another great recipe, Lou. Thanks! Have a wonderful day.
Lou
Thanks, Liz! Have a wonderful day as well!
Brianna
Making this right now and it looks delish! I had a disaster though haha…our dirty oven decided to fill the house with smoke so I had to turn it down to 400 after the first 18 minutes! Can’t wait to dig in :)
Lou
Hi Brianna,
Yikes – that’s happened to me so many times in the kitchen! Once I even set my oven on fire by accident – hah! Let me know how they turned out. Hope your family enjoyed them!
Shirley
Another delicious, easy-to-make chicken recipe…I am going to pick up chicken thighs for my dinner tonight!
Love the photo too!