Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs and Rice is a hearty dinner recipe that's made in 1 skillet with everyday ingredients. This budget-friendly dish is total comfort food!
‘Tis the season for comfort food like the Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs I’m sharing with you today!
This budget-friendly recipe has been a go-to of ours over the past few months and I’m so excited for you to give it a try. It’s inexpensive, easy, made in 1 skillet, and my whole family cleans their plates.
Ah, the power of chicken thighs!
Chicken Thighs vs Chicken Breasts
If you haven’t ventured into the world of chicken thighs, it’s time. Not only do bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs cost a fraction of boneless, skinless chicken breasts – we’re talking ~50% less – they knock them out of the park in the taste and texture department. Juicy, full of flavor, and that crispy skin? There’s nothing better.
This particular dish calls for browning bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs on the stovetop until the skin is ultra crispy, then roasting them in the oven nestled in a pan sauce that’s delicately flavored with lemon, shallots, and garlic. I serve the chicken over cooked white rice to sop up the luscious pan sauce.
Not only are these pan-roasted chicken thighs inexpensive and family-friendly, they’re a cinch to make. Follow the recipe once and it’ll be committed to memory for next time.
How to Pan Roast Chicken Thighs
Start by trimming the excess skin and fat from 2lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 6 thighs.)
You can see how much more inexpensive these are than chicken breasts – $2.99/lb vs the usual $5-7!
Season both sides of the chicken thighs with homemade seasoned salt and pepper then add 1/3 cup gluten free flour (or AP flour if you don’t need to eat GF) to a shallow dish and season liberally with more seasoned salt and pepper.
Coat each chicken thigh in the seasoned salt, tapping any excess off.
Heat a large, oven-proof skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat then add 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken thighs skin side down then saute until the skin has browned, 3-4 minutes.
Feel free to move the thighs around a bit if they start to scorch in places. Flip the thighs then saute until the second side has browned, then remove the thighs back to the plate.
The thighs don’t need to be cooked all the way through at this point.
Pour out all but ~2 Tablespoons fat from the skillet then turn the heat down to medium.
Add 1 jumbo shallot or small onion that’s been chopped, season with seasoned salt and pepper, then saute until the shallots begin to soften, 2-3 minutes. Add 4 cloves minced garlic then saute for 30 more seconds.
Next add 1-1/2 cups chicken broth and the juice from 1/2 lemon then turn the heat up to bring the liquid to a boil. Turn the heat back down then simmer until the sauce has slightly thickened and would come about halfway up the chicken thighs once they’re placed back into the skillet.
Nestle the browned chicken thighs plus any juices from the plate into the sauce then carefully cover the skillet with foil – you don’t need a tight crimp or anything, just pat down the sides.
Roast for 15 minutes at 375 degrees then scoop a spoonful of the sauce + shallots/onions on top of each chicken thigh.
Turn the heat up to 425 degrees (no need to wait until it gets all the way there) then place the skillet back into the oven without the foil to finish cooking and brown the onions on top, 12-15 more minutes.
When the thighs go back into the oven for the second time, cook a pot of rice to serve under the thighs and soak up all that delicious pan sauce.
Scoop the rice into bowls then top with the sizzling chicken and a spoonful of sauce. You are going to LOVE these easy, pan roasted chicken thighs – enjoy!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, ~6 thighs, excess skin and fat trimmed away
- 1/3 cup gluten free flour
- homemade seasoned salt and pepper
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot or small onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 lemon
- For serving: cooked white rice
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season both sides of chicken thighs with seasoned salt and pepper. Add flour to a shallow dish then season liberally with seasoned salt and pepper. Dunk each thicken thigh into the seasoned flour, tapping off any excess, then place onto a plate.
- Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs skin side down then saute until the skin has browned, rotating if necessary to keep skin from burning - a splatter screen is helpful as the fat will spit a bit. Flip then saute until the second side has browned then transfer thighs back to the plate (thighs do not need to be cooked through at this point.)
- Pour out all but 2 Tablespoons fat from the skillet (just eyeball it) then turn heat down to medium. Add shallots, season with seasoned salt and pepper, then saute until tender, 2-3 minutes. Add garlic then saute for 30 more seconds. Add chicken broth and lemon juice then turn heat up to bring to a boil. Turn heat back down then simmer until sauce has reduced and would come halfway up the chicken thighs, 4-5 minutes, then nestle chicken thighs into the sauce along with any juices from the plate and carefully cover the skillet with foil — no need to seal, just pat down the sides as best you can.
- Bake covered for 15 minutes then remove foil and scoop a spoonful of the onions and sauce onto the tops of the chicken thighs. Turn heat up to 425 (no need to wait until it gets all the way there) then return the skillet to the oven uncovered and continue to bake until the chicken registers at least 165 degrees — I like 180-190 degrees — in the center, and the skin is crispy, 12-15 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the rice. When chicken is done, scoop rice onto plates then top with thighs, drizzle with pan sauce, and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Very tasty! I added 1/3 a can of cream of mushroom with roasted garlic and some fresh mushrooms and it made the sauce all the thicker and hearty. Pairing it with the rice and this sauce was a winer!
Ooo, love that idea, Liza! I can picture that pan sauce in my mind – YUM!
It was very good !
Love this recipe! So flavorful. This is in our dinner rotation.
Chicken thighs are my favorite so I was excited to find this recipe. I didn’t change a thing. Very flavorful and delicious and an easy and fast recipe. I will definitely make this again.
This is one of my family’s favorite meals. Thank you.
Yum! Delicious and easy!
This is the best meal that I have made in a long time. Thank you. My family loved it. Can not wait to make it again next Sunday.
So glad you loved it, Connie! This was our Sunday dinner too!
I made this tonight. My husband liked it and I did too.
Made this tonight and it was a huge hit! Thanks for such a great recipe, for all the pictures and all the how to’s. I’m 55 and this is the first time I have made chicken thighs. Where have I been?
So, so glad, Tami! This is one of our favorite dishes, too!
Just wanted to give a shout out from one Iowa girl to another (although it’s been a century or two since anyone called me a “girl”)……this recipe turned out perfectly for me. It delivered a brown, moist flavorful chicken thigh and the sauce at the end of all the cooking was just right. Your cooking times were right on and your proportions were perfect as well. So happy to try a new recipe that actually turns out just like it promises.
Oh I’m so glad to hear it, Joyce!! This is one of our weekly staples – it turns out well using just about any cut of chicken (breasts, boneless skinless thighs,) in case you ever want to switch things up!
This was incredible!! Definitely becoming part of our regular rotation.
I ended up sorta burning the shallots and garlic (I think not enough fat from our thighs). BUT they were so perfectly crispy I set them aside and made another non-crispy version. We topped the finished dish with crispy shallots.
Also, we cooked broccoli in the pan with the chicken, probably soaked up some sauce, so I added more broth to pan at the end.
You never fail us! Thank you!
You are too kind!! I’m so glad the dish worked out for you, Lisa! :)
Looks really delicious. One thing though, everyone touts how thighs provide cost savings over breasts. I have yet to find thighs that cost less than chicken breasts here in LA.
Look for the bone-in, skin-on thighs because you’re right, boneless skinless thighs will typically cost the same if not more than boneless skinless breasts because they’re such a pain in the butt to debone!