Oven Baked Chicken Thighs

These Oven Baked Chicken Thighs are easy to make and come out so juicy and flavorful! Great for a healthy family dinner, and keto/low carb friendly, too.

I’m a big fan of baked chicken – be it chicken thighs baked with orzo or oven fried chicken breast or the oven baked chicken thigh recipe I’m sharing here. It’s always a favorite with the family!

I prefer using bone-in, skin-on chicken here, but I’ll be giving you tips for other options as well in case you have something else on hand.

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

Ingredient notes

• Dried herbs: You can use all Italian seasoning or all dried parsley if you don’t have both on hand. Dried oregano would be another substitute that works quite well.
• Oil: I prefer using olive oil here, but feel free to use any vegetable oil you use in your cooking.
• Butter: This is entirely optional for a touch more flavor/browning/juiciness. Just leave it out if you need your chicken thighs to be dairy free!

What kind of chicken thighs to use

I really prefer skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe. It’s how the chicken comes out best!

But if you prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs: They will bake a lot faster, they should bake in around 25 minutes. The chicken may come out less juicy. I highly recommend using the butter on top of the chicken to help keep it from drying out!

How to make baked chicken thighs in the oven

1. Start by combining the oil and all of the seasoning in a large bowl. This will form a sort of paste and it’s exactly what you want it to be.

2. Add the chicken thighs to the bowl (work in batches if the bowl is not large enough to comfortably hold all of the chicken).

Toss and dredge the chicken through the seasoning paste, then remove one by one, rubbing the seasoning well into the chicken.

3. You want to place a foil-lined pan in your oven as it heats up. Once the oven is hot, remove the pan and place the seasoned chicken thighs on it.

4. Dot the chicken thighs with butter, if using, and then bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

5. Baste the chicken with the emerging juices. Return to the oven to continue baking. Baste again 10 minutes later, then finish baking until the chicken is done.

6. You can finish the chicken under the broiler for 1-2 minutes for some crispiness. Just watch it so it doesn’t burn!

Recipe tips

• Make sure to rub the seasoning paste well into each chicken thigh to keep the seasoning on the chicken.
• In case you don’t want to touch the raw chicken, OR the fat and juices from the chicken wash away a lot of the seasoning during baking: Combine ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon dried parsley, ½ teaspoon ground paprika and pepper to taste. Sprinkle evenly over the chicken thighs after the second basting, then finish baking.
• The internal temperature of the chicken must reach 165°F before consuming. Be sure to check with a meat thermometer before removing the chicken from the oven, as each oven bakes differently/each chicken thigh is sized differently and may not use the exact baking time given in the recipe. See the USDA Minimum Safe Cooking Temperatures Chart.
• Please use a rimmed pan or a baking dish, as there will be a lot of juices emerging from the chicken during baking.

Serving ideas

This is such a great recipe for a family meal. You can customize the side dishes to fit everybody’s needs and preferences – this is even great if you’re on a low carb or keto diet yourself, just skip the starchy sides.

Here are some of our favorites:

Starchy sides

• Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Rice

Vegetable sides

• Sautéed Green Beans
• Sautéed Zucchini

Salad sides

• Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad
• Tossed salad greens with homemade ranch salad dressing or homemade honey mustard salad dressing
• Creamy Coleslaw

More easy chicken thigh recipes

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable recipe