‘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 couple of weeks and I’m so excited for you to give it a try. It’s inexpensive, easy, made in just one skillet, and all three of us absolutely love it – Lincoln especially, who has never been a big fan of chicken breasts, but gobbles down chicken thighs like a champ.
Smart kid!
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 ridiculously delicious 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. Let’s do this!
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.
Time to cook! 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.
DELICIOUS!!! FYI, 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 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 then place the skillet back into the oven without the foil to finish cooking and brown the onions on top, 12-15 more minutes. FYI, the oven does not need to have come all the up to 425 degrees before sticking the skillet back in.
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!
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Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs
Description
Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs and Rice is a hearty, gluten-free dinner recipe that's made in just one skillet and calls for simple, everyday ingredients. This dish is total comfort food!
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (2lbs), 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
- cooked white rice, for serving
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 and simmer until sauce has reduced and would come halfway up the chicken thighs, 4-5 minutes, then nestle chicken thighs into the sauce and carefully cover the skillet with foil.
- 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 then return the skillet to the oven uncovered and continue to bake until chicken is cooked through and skin is crispy, 12-15 more minutes (oven does not need to have come all the way up to temperature before returning skillet to oven.)
- Meanwhile, cook the rice. When chicken is done, scoop rice onto plates then top with thighs, drizzle with pan sauce, and serve.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
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!
Have you, or anyone else, tried cooking the rice in the sauce so it’s a one pot meal? Wondering so the rice soaks up the flavor and it will save a few steps.
Well, in case you were wondering, it does work beautifully to add the rice with the shallots, saute it as you would rice pilaf, add the garlic, broth and lemon juice and then continue as the recipe. The rice was full of flavor, perfectly cook and didn’t stick to the pan. The only change was that I increased the amount of broth to two cups and then added another half cup of water after I removed the foil. The chicken was still crispy too!
Thanks so much for letting us know, Betsy, this sounds so delicious!
Do you think I could use a mix of thighs and drumsticks? I have a pack of drumsticks sitting around. Would that impact the cooking time?
Hi L! I might bake the drumsticks separate as I could see the bottom skin getting soggy. The skin on the thighs stays nice and crisp because it’s only on the top. I hope that helps!
Hi! This recipe looks amazing. Do you think it’s okay for me to use normal flour if I’m not trying to be gluten free? Also, do you think brown rice would work instead of white?
Thanks!
Absolutely to both! :)
So, inexplicably, my rice cooking abilities have gone to hell in a hand basket over the last couple of years. It used to come out perfectly…now it is gummy! I’ve tried starting with cold liquid, warm liquid, and hot liquid. I’ve tried a different pan. I’ve tried more liquid, I’ve tried less liquid (and always end up adding more). I noticed that you said you use 1 1/4 cup liquid to 1 cup rice. I’ve always thought it was 2:1. Does that really work for you? If so I’ll give it a try. AND maybe try a SMALLER pan! :)
Ben recently perfected his rice cooking technique, taught it to me, and it’s worked every. single. time. I should first clarify that this is for long grain white rice. So, add 1 cup rice to a small, 1-1/2 quart saucepan with 1-1/4 cups cooking liquid and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil + dash of salt. Bring to a boil then place a lid on top and turn the heat down to low so the liquid is barely at a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes then remove the pot from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes with the lid on, then fluff. Voila – perfect rice every time. Let me know if you give it a try!
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious, but I was unable to get the skin crispy again after topping with sauce. I even turned the broiler on. Any tips?
I’m so glad you liked it! Hmmm, the only think I can think of is that maybe the skin didn’t get crisp enough during the initial sear and/or maybe the oven stayed at 375 instead of increasing to 425 for the second half of cooking?
These look amazing! I’m adding this receipt to my meal plan next week. I think even my lackluster cooking skills could tackle this one.
I have to fix this for dinner! My husband is gluten intolerant and I always refer to your recipes:) It’s so cool to have delish options for g/f meals! Oh and I’m a new fan of Hy-Vee stores. Lakeville MN now has one and it’s so nice!
YAYY – love that they’re making their way north – couldn’t live without them! :)
Yes, I was so anxious for the opening, once we saw the construction. It’s always busy—but worth the trip and great service! We feel like we eat healthier dinners since the g/f dx. Oh and Farmers markets—wish we had them year round! Such good veggies, etc:)
I will definitely try these — they look fabulous! Thanks for sharing such great recipes!
I love your pan…. what kind is it??
Thank you! It’s a Le Cresuet – this one is very similar (though know that a regular $30, 12″ cast iron skillet does the same job!) http://amzn.to/2canHD3
Yum! I’m definitely pinning this! It looks so delicious and I love how it looks so easy to make!
could I use bone in split chicken breasts instead of thighs?
Hi Natalie! I’ve never cooked with bone-in split chicken breasts, so I can’t say exactly how long they’d take to cook, but I bet it’d work just fine!
I cannot believe that! Lincoln might light them more than skinless boneless. Really juicy and easy to cook with. Give them a try. I do chicken marbella with them, lemon chicken, and a baked chicken similar to this recipe. You will like them!
This looks so good – and pretty easy to make too.
Yum, this looks delish! I can’t wait to make it, especially now that it’s finally cooled off a bit in NYC and I can turn my oven on!