Crispy Oven-Baked Chicken Thighs have delicious crispy skin and are moist and tender inside. This simple recipe requires trimming, patting dry, seasoning, and baking. Follow the easy step-by-step photo instructions for perfect chicken thighs every time in your oven, whether using convection or not.
🐓Ingredients
Chicken thighs—bone-in or boneless thighs
Seasoning—salt, black pepper, and garlic powder mixture (All-Purpose Seasoning) OR
Optional seasoning of your choice OR BBQ sauce
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🐓Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Bake Chicken Thighs—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- ⏰ How long to bake chicken thighs
- 🐓Baking skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 🧂Seasoning options
- 🌡️The best final internal temperature for thighs is 185°
- 🐓Related chicken recipes
- 🍽️Serving chicken thighs
- ❄️Storing and reheating leftovers
- ❓FAQs
- 🔥What to do about smoking ovens
- ⚕️Food safety
- 📖The Recipe Card
Featured Comment from Gretchen :
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"This is by and far my FAVORITE recipe. I’ve always hated chicken thighs, and now I know why… the internal temperature. I generally will modify a recipe to my liking, however yours is hands down sensational."
Make them right every time! There are only a few secrets to making the best baked chicken thighs.
- Use a high-temperature oven, preferably with convection.
- Use a rack to elevate the chicken thighs above the drippings, if possible.
- Lastly, and most importantly, cook to the proper internal temperature of 185° to melt the connective tissue—don't stop at 165°.
Make this recipe for chicken thighs in your oven with the easy step-by-step photo instructions with only 5 minutes of preparation and 30 to 35 minutes of baking time.
👨🍳How to Bake Chicken Thighs—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Pat dry and trim off loose skin and easily trimmed fat.
2. Prep a sheet pan with aluminum foil and a rack—coat with and PAM cooking spray.
3. Spice both sides with the seasoning of your choice.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 425°F convection until the internal temperature is 185°F—about 30-35 minutes.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏰ How long to bake chicken thighs
It will take 30 to 35 minutes to bake chicken thighs at 425° convection. The time will vary depending on the weight and thickness of the thighs and your oven temperature.
Times are approximate and provided for planning only. Cook to a final internal temperature of 185° using a meat or instant-read thermometer.
- Chicken thighs baked at 350°F conventional takes about 50-55 minutes—will dry more.
- Chicken thighs baked at 350°F convection or 375°F conventional takes about 45-50 minutes.
- Chicken thighs baked at 375°F convection or 400°F conventional takes about 40-45 minutes.
- Chicken thighs baked at 400°F convection or 425°F conventional takes about 35-40 minutes—recommended.
- Chicken thighs baked at 425°F convection or 450°F conventional takes about 30-35 minutes—recommended.
ALWAYS COOK TO A FINAL INTERNAL TEMPERATURE. PLEASE, NEVER BY TIME ALONE.
🐓Baking skinless, boneless chicken thighs
This recipe assumes skin-on bone-in chicken thighs. Skinless chicken thighs, with or without bone, will also work well—brush them with vegetable or olive oil. They tend to be smaller and thinner, which will decrease the cooking time. And, if boneless, the cooking time will decrease even more.
Remember, you are cooking to a final internal temperature of 185°+, not by time. The cooking time will probably be 5 to 10 minutes less.
🧂Seasoning options
A good sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper for seasoning will be enough. I usually use my All Purpose Seasoning, which has kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
You may also use other spices, such as paprika, oregano, thyme, Italian spice mix, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and spice rubs.
Make great baked BBQ chicken thighs with a BBQ dry rub and brush with your favorite BBQ sauce for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Or make some tasty marinaded chicken thighs with my butter, garlic, and lemon chicken marinade or any marinade you love.
🌡️The best final internal temperature for thighs is 185°
According to American Test Kitchen (subscription required), the best final internal temperature for chicken thighs is 185° to 195°F*. You need to melt some connective tissue for the best texture.
The USDA's minimum safe internal temperature is 165°, perfect for white meat like chicken breasts, but dark meat with connective tissue will still be stringy and tough.
🐓Related chicken recipes
For other inside quick chicken recipes, check out Oven Baked Chicken Legs, Sear and Bake Chicken Breasts, or Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven.
You can also fire up the gas grill for Grilled Chicken Breasts on a Gas Grill or Grilled Chicken Drumsticks.
Grilled Chicken Thighs
Perfectly Grilled Chicken Thighs are juicy and tender, with crispy skin and delicious char. They are fast and easy on your gas grill with only a few simple steps.
🍽️Serving chicken thighs
Serve with one-pot mac and cheese, Stovetop French fries, Oven Roasted Red Potatoes, or vegetables like a fresh spinach salad, green beans with almonds, or microwave corn on the cob.
Finish the meal with Fresh Strawberry Pie with Jello or Old Fashioned Apple Crisp.
❄️Storing and reheating leftovers
Leftovers can be stored sealed in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days or frozen for 3-4 months.
To reheat leftovers, thaw overnight in the refrigerator if frozen. Leftovers will have a much better texture when reheated in the oven at 350° for about 15 minutes. An air fryer works well, also. A microwave can be used, but it affects the texture adversely.
❓FAQs
No. It will interfere with the crisping of the skin. So, no aluminum foil or lids.
It is not needed, and I don't. Thighs are high in fat, and that will generally be enough. But you can, and the skin will still be crispy, but a little thicker and with a different texture. So, brush a few and see which you like.
A baking rack is highly recommended. Fat drainage will be rendered, and the rack will get the thighs out of the drainage for better texture. You can cook this without a rack, but you will be happier with a rack.
Use the rack on a baking tray with sides since there is drainage during cooking. Add aluminum foil to help clean up.
Most toaster ovens can cook chicken thighs. The oven must have a controlled higher temperature and account for drainage. Like in bigger ovens, you cook to a final internal temperature and never by time.
🔥What to do about smoking ovens
Smoking ovens have been an issue for some due to high-temperature cooking. If you do have a problem, here are a few tips.
- If there is trimmable fat, trim it along with excess skin.
- The oven should be clean so the smoke isn’t coming from a previous splatter.
- Use a pan with some sides to keep any splatter contained.
- If your oven has a convection roast and convection bake, use the convection bake mode. Otherwise, skip the convection entirely.
- You could turn down the oven by 25°-50°. This will increase the cooking time slightly and may cause some to dry out. Remember to cook to an endpoint, not by time.
- Adding water to the pan under the rack will prevent smoking by cooling the fat when it drips. This always works, but the moisture may interfere with some crispiness.
⚕️Food safety
Raw chicken and other poultry should be considered contaminated and handled with care. Wash your hands carefully before and after touching raw chicken. We do not routinely wash raw chicken due to water splatter. See Chicken... To Rinse or Not To Rinse? for more information.
You must cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165° for safety—see the USDA for more information. You need to check this with an instant-read thermometer.
📖The Recipe Card
Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
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Ingredients
- 2 chicken thighs - do as many as you want
- coarse salt and pepper to taste - or seasoning of your choice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°F convection. If you don't have convection, use 450°F.
Pat dry the chicken with paper towels. Trim off any loose skin and easily trimmable fat.- Prep a sheet pan by lining it with aluminum foil. Add a rack and a heavy coat of PAM cooking spray.
- Place thighs skin down and sprinkle lightly with the spices of your choice. Flip and tuck in any thin parts underneath and sprinkle the skin side. Just Kosher salt and black pepper are fine, or the seasoning you like. We use our homemade 7:2:2, which adds some garlic.
- With skin side up, bake until internal temp of 185°F—about 30-35 minutes of cooking time. Rest for 5 minutes or more before serving.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- DO NOT SKIP THE PAT DRY, or you will not have crispy skin.
- Trim off any trimmable fat or extra skin.
- Get the thighs up on a rack to let the rendered fat drain. This will also remove them from the drained fat. You can cook without a rack, but it is nicer with one.
- Cook at high heat and use a thermometer to ensure you reach 185°+. Do not guess. Thighs are safe to eat at 165°F but tender at 185°F.
- A convection oven is recommended but not required. Options for other oven temperatures are in the blog post above.
- Spice as you want. I often add a touch of Cayenne.
- Scale to any amount you need.
- This recipe can also be done in a toaster oven or an air fryer.
- Skip the seasoning and brush with your favorite BBQ sauce for 5 minutes to make great oven-baked BBQ thighs.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors.
Editors Note: Originally Published January 24, 2014. Updated with re-edited photos and added information since the original version.
kate says
hi,
I love this recipe....it's the only one i use to bake chicken thighs.
would there be a time difference to bake chicken quarters and if so, what would it be?
thanks
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Kate,
Welcome to the blog.
Chicken quarters will take a few more minutes usually. But cook with the dame instructions and to the same internal temperature.
Hope that helps.
Dan