This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Delicious and crispy golden baked chicken thighs made with a simple blend of garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, and onion powder. These roasted chicken thighs take about 5 minutes to prep and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes for a really easy weeknight meal.
The dry rub in this recipe pulls some inspiration from Jamaican jerk chicken. While it’s miles from true jerk chicken, it tugs on similar characteristics with garlic, onion, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, nutmeg, and fresh citrus. The dry rub is paired with olive oil and fresh lime juice to create a paste-like texture that spreads easily and gets crunchy in the oven.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- Easy to make with basic spices: pair with bacon brussels sprouts, roasted fingerling potatoes, or cream cheese mashed potatoes for a complete meal!
- Serve over salad: this chicken is great over your favorite salad. The crispy skin adds awesome texture.
Looking for more easy chicken recipes? Roasting chicken breast over butternut squash is an amazing combination. Chicken piccata gives you a great salty, umami meal. For another perfect presentation, give grilled caprese chicken a try.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- bone-in skin-on chicken thighs: this recipe calls for skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. The dark meat is naturally tender and not as susceptible to overcooking or drying out as a boneless chicken breast. You can make this recipe with boneless skinless chicken thighs too, it’s just not quite the same in terms of flavor.
- Lime juice: use fresh citrus for best results. If you don’t have lime, try lemon juice!
- Olive oil: olive oil helps the spices stick to the chicken and also helps crisp the skin. You can alternatively use melted butter.
- Spices: I use a blend of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, brown sugar (light or dark), and nutmeg. The most important spices are garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities below.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Step 2.
Combine garlic, paprika, onion, cayenne, brown sugar, and nutmeg in a small bowl and mix to combine.
Step 3.
Pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel. Season all over liberally with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle each thigh with a squeeze of lime juice and a splash of olive oil. Rub to coat.
Step 4.
Rub the dry rub into the tops of each chicken thigh until evenly but lightly coated. You can make additional rub if needed.
Step 5.
Place on a rimmed baking sheet or in a cast-iron skillet and roast for 35-40 minutes or until internal temp reaches at least 165°F. Bone-in skin-on thighs will still be juicy and tender past 165°F. They will not dry out like chicken breast. The skin should be golden and crispy at this point however you can broil on high for 1-2 minutes for extra crisp. Watch carefully to prevent burning.
Expert Tips
- Pat the chicken skin dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. This will help with crisping in the oven.
- Bake chicken thighs for 35-40 minutes at 400°F. This will bring your chicken to the perfect internal temp of at least 165°F. Always double-check with a digital thermometer. Just to note, bone-in thighs can be cooked well past 165°F without drying out.
- Finish with a broil for extra crispy skin. As a final step, I like to turn the broiler on high for 2-3 minutes at the very end to really brown up the skin and make it crispier. Be careful, broiling moves very quickly.
- Roast chicken on a rimmed baking sheet or cast iron skillet. There will be plenty of juice and fat runoff that you don’t want spilling into the bottom of your oven.
More Chicken Recipes
Enjoy this recipe? If you made this recipe, please leave a ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ star rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments!
Simple Roasted Chicken Thighs Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- Juice from half a lime
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar, light or dark
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Combine garlic, paprika, onion, cayenne, brown sugar, and nutmeg in a small bowl and mix to combine.
- Pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel. Season all over liberally with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle each thigh with a squeeze of lime juice and a splash of olive oil. Rub to coat.
- Rub the dry rub into the tops of each chicken thigh until evenly but lightly coated. You can make additional rub if needed.
- Place on a rimmed baking sheet or in a cast-iron skillet and roast for 35-40 minutes or until internal temp reaches at least 165°F. Bone-in skin-on thighs will still be juicy and tender past 165°F. They will not dry out like chicken breast. The skin should be golden and crispy at this point however you can broil on high for 1-2 minutes for extra crisp. Watch carefully to prevent burning.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
