This Italian baked chicken thighs recipe with garlic and lemon packs a flavorful punch, but it’s easy to make. Marinate and bake for an easy meal.
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If you’ve been around these here parts on Miss Allie’s Kitchen for a while, you know that I LOVE chicken thighs. Praise BE that the ’90s and their low-fat movement have left the building. These Italian baked chicken thighs with lemon and garlic are a staple at our house, and you’re going to love them, too.
Why do I love chicken thighs so much? 3 reasons – flavor, juiciness (thank you, fat), and budget-friendly. And, I know you guys do too because these bone-in roasted chicken thighs have been one of the most popular recipes on my site for years now! We also love serving these Apricot Braised Chicken Thighs With Traminette Wine & Thyme to guests and these Braised Apple Cider Chicken Thighs are a weeknight staple. If you are a newbie to cooking chicken thighs, try these Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs (Bone-In).
HOW DO YOU BAKE CHICKEN THIGHS SO THAT THEY ARE BOTH JUICY AND CRISPY?
When I was developing that roasted chicken thigh recipe I found the secret for great chicken thighs – they can tolerate high heat because they have a lot of fat. This cooks them quickly and leaves them juicy, with a great crusty exterior. If you like more crunch, feel free to throw them under the broiler for a minute before serving.
INGREDIENTS AND KITCHEN TOOLS
I love simple, throw together marinades. Anything with a crazy ingredient list does NOT make it on a weeknight in our house. This one has:
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Fresh lemon juice
- Honey
- Garlic
- Italian seasoning
- Salt & pepper
For the chicken:
- Chicken thighs – bone in, skin-on chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken thighs work well too, I like the skin removed for this chicken recipe
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic powder
See? Tell me you don’t have most of that at home!
Kitchen Tools:
For this recipe you are going to need:
- A bowl and whisk to combine your marinade
- A skillet, cast iron skillet or baking dish
- Digital thermometer
STEP BY STEP
Step 1: To make the marinade, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic cloves, honey, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
Step 2: Add the chicken thighs to a zip-top bag or bowl with a lid and pour the marinade over all of the thighs, making sure each one is coated well.
Step 3: Let the chicken marinate for at least one hour, or up to 4 hours. Let the chicken thighs come to room temperature in the marinade for 30 minutes before cooking. This ensures even cooking and crispiness.
Step 4: When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400F.
Step 5: Arrange the chicken in the bottom of a skillet or baking dish. Do NOT rinse the mariande off. Sprinkle on the Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.
Step 6: Place the baking dish or skillet in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until juices run clear, or until the internal temperature is read at 165F with a digital read thermometer.
Step 7: Rest the chicken for 7-10 minutes before serving. This ensures juicy chicken!
Cooking Tip
Don’t forget to rest you chicken thighs 7-10 minutes before serving. This makes ALL the difference with any kind of meat because the juices get absorbed back in. Trust me.
HOW TO SERVE
Make sure you rest your chicken for 7-10 minutes and then serve with these delicious crispy potatoes, creamy mashed potatoes, or rice and some roasted vegetables. You can serve this over salads too!
STORING AND REHEATING
These chicken thighs store great as leftovers. Just pop them into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. Reheat in the microwave until heated through.
OTHER RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Golden Raisin Glazed Skillet Chicken
- Honey Honey Chicken Thighs
- Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
- Smoked Chicken Thighs.
Italian Baked Chicken Thighs with Garlic and Lemon
This Italian baked chicken thighs recipe with garlic and lemon packs a flavorful punch, but it’s easy to make. Marinate and bake for an easy meal.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes + 4 hour marinade time
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes + 4 hour marinade time
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Mains
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian American
Ingredients
For the marinade:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly minced
- 1 tsp. honey
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
For the chicken:
- 2 lb. chicken thighs – bone in or boneless, I like the skin removed for this recipe
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- To make the marinade, whisk together the olive oil, viengar, lemon juice, garlic cloves, honey, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken thighs to a zip-top bag or bowl with a lid and pour the marinade over all of the thighs, making sure each one is coated well.
- Let the chicken marinate for at least one hour, or up to 4 hours. Let the chicken thighs come to room temperature in the marinade for 30 minutes before cooking. This ensures even cooking and crispiness.
- When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400F.
- Arrange the chicken in the bottom of a skillet or baking dish. Do NOT rinse the mariande off. Sprinkle on the Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.
- Place the baking dish or skillet in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until juices run clear, or until a digital read thermometer reads 165F.
- Rest the chicken for 7-10 minutes before serving. This ensures juicy chicken!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 thigh
- Calories: 202
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 522 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 140 mg
Made these tonight in a cast iron skillet and they were EXCELLENT! I served it with pasta primavera and a fresh green salad.
I love recipes that I can make with what is already in my pantry. This is a quick and easy keeper! Thank you!
Of course! Thank YOU for being here! 🙂
so delicious and easy to make! I don’t usually love chicken thighs but this is my new favorite way to cook them
Thank you it was delicious with my vegetarian wife’s Sicilian cauliflower pasta – I had some Italian organic chestnut honey which went great with the lemon
so glad you enjoyed it!
Does the acid in the lemon and vinegar start to cook the chicken in the marinade?
It can if you leave it too long, so follow the directions for the proper marinade time.
Cooked on the bbq – delicious! My family’s favorite marinade
I’m so glad! We’ll have to do the same this summer 🙂
I have angel hair pasta id like to serve with this. Any recommendations or recipes for this. So far the marinade looks and smells wonderful!
I made this alongside a simple salad and penne with a garden vegetable sauce. It was light and end of summer.
This was really tasty and EASY. Marinated the chicken overnight. I quartered some small potatoes, threw em under the chicken to cook and it made for an easy, quick meal. Plenty of leftovers for lunches. Will 100% make again!
Through this article I get know about more things about chicken, how we can cook tasty chicken very easily. So, thanks fore sharing such a useful information with us.
Can I sub for the lemon? Lime or apple cider vinegar? Thanks.
Hi, Is is best NOT to marinate this overnight? Just stick to the 4 hours? Thanks, Lyn
This was absolutely delicious! I used skinless, boneless thighs. Mouth watering! My husband and I loved it so much that we had the leftovers the next night. (We never do that!)
I immediately forwarded the recipe to our daughters.
Thanks for this recipe.
YUM! Love this one, Elisa and I am so glad you both are loving it as well. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe & your review, I appreciate it!
Great recipe but we found the cooking time needed to be 45 minutes to get the thighs with bones fully cooked
Hi Jian! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. I will have to retest this to double check the time. It could also depend on the thickness of your chicken thighs!
This recipe wasted a lot of ingredients. I could have poured a bunch of Italian salad dressing on these thighs and gotten the same thing. And there was no “crispness” whatsoever.
Oh no! I am so sorry to hear this recipe did not turn out for you, Linda.