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I love the tenderness of chicken thighs, especially bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. The skin helps keep the chicken super juicy and of course tastes phenomenal, especially when it’s seasoned with my super simple dry rub. These roasted chicken thighs take about 5 minutes to prep and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes.
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 a little olive oil and fresh lime juice to create a paste-like texture that spreads easily and gets crunchy in the oven.
The final result is a crispy roasted chicken thigh with lots of flavors and subtle spiciness thanks to the cayenne pepper. You’ll absolutely love it, along with its fried-like texture and flavor.
Tips for Roasting Chicken Thighs
- This recipe calls for skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. The dark meat is naturally tender and really juicy 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, but still really good if you don’t like or want the skin.
- Pat the chicken 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 165°F. Always double-check with a digital thermometer. Just to note, bone-in thighs can be cooked past 165°F without drying out. Boneless thighs may take a few extra minutes to cook.
- 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.
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Simple Roasted Chicken Thighs Recipe
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Description
Easy roasted chicken thighs made with a simple and delicious dry rub of garlic, onion, paprika, cayenne, brown sugar, and nutmeg.
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 works)
- 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 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
You can skip the brown sugar if you don’t have any or don’t want additional sugar. I’ve done both ways and it’s good either way. You can also make with boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 thigh
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: .5g
- Sodium: 232mg
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 4.8g
- Carbohydrates: .8g
- Fiber: .1g
- Protein: 25.2g
- Cholesterol: 93mg
Keywords: roasted chicken thighs, easy chicken recipes
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