I’m showing you How To: Roasted Chicken Thighs (bone-in) to simplify a kitchen staple and give you an easy, healthy meal. The juiciest chicken ever!
So, you find some chicken thighs on sale…
You’re meandering through the grocery store, and eventually, you make your way over to the meat aisle. You scan the cases for the hottest deals and $1.99lb chicken comes into your peripheral view. You all but run over to see what you’re going to score for dinner and then you see it “BONE-IN chicken thighs”. Umm…gross. What are you supposed to do, touch bones or something? You don’t know how to butcher a chicken. You pick up a pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts for double the price and leave the store feeling defeated.
Sound like you? That was me, too!! For some reason, whenever we see bone-in anything it automatically triggers anxiety for some of us. I get it! Are you supposed to remove the bone before cooking? Leave it in? When do you take it out? How do you know if it’s cooked?! The questions are honestly endless. Try my Instant Pot Chicken Thighs for another easy way!
Okay everybody – take a deep breath. I’m going to show you. Even if this is your first time cooking with chicken, you can totally do this. The secret to cooking wonderful roasted chicken thighs (or breasts) is to roast them with skin on and bone in.
Why bone-in, skin on roasted chicken thighs?
Because this literally traps the flavor and the moisture so when you’re through cooking, you have an incredibly flavorful piece of meat that is anything but ordinary. When it’s time to eat the chicken, I simply remove the skin and eat around the bone, or, I wait for it to cool and remove the bone and skin by pulling on each gently.
One more thing before we begin – DO NOT THROW AWAY THE BONES AND THE SKIN (if you choose not to eat the skin, which is delicious). I repeat, do not throw away the bones and the skin. Because if you set them aside, you can literally toss them into your slow cooker with scrap veggies, onions, and garlic, fill to the brim with water, add a dash of ACV, and let it sit on low for 24 hours to make chicken bone broth. Like, is that a LIFE HACK or what, people?! Here’s the bone broth recipe I use by Danielle Walker with Against All Grain. This will make about $15 worth of chicken bone broth.
Want more easy, how-to recipes like this?? Try out my Golden Raisin Skillet Chicken Thigh Dinner or learn How to Roast a Whole Chicken easily!
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Back to the bird…
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How To Roast Bone-In Chicken Thighs
- Total Time: 47 minute
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
I’m showing you How To: Roast Bone-In Chicken Thighs to simplify a kitchen staple and give you an easy, healthy meal. The juiciest chicken ever!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
- 2 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground sage
- 2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. of olive oil – 1 tsp. for each thigh
Instructions
- Thirty minutes prior to baking, grab your chicken thighs out of the fridge and allow them to come to room temp. This allows for more even cooking.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Get out a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper or spray with olive oil.
- Measure all of your spices, salt, and pepper into a small ramekin or bowl. Mix the spice rub together.
- Remove your chicken from the package and pat dry with a paper towel. Lay the pieces on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
- Next, evenly divide the spice mixture between each piece of chicken, and rub the mixture in, making sure to get a good bit of it under the skin. This will lock in moisture from the oil and flavor from the spices.
- Place the chicken into the preheated oven for approximately 30-32 minutes or until a cooking thermometer reads 165 degrees. There should be no pink left in the middle. Before cutting or eating the chicken, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE allow it to rest for around 10 minutes to seal in the moisture you so carefully tried to create.
- Once you eat or remove the bones and skin, be sure to save them for chicken bone broth!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 32 +/- minutes
this post was published March 2017 and was updated and republished November 2021.
Images + video clips by Amber Rice
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I’ve finally been getting past my fear of bone-in meat and I’m so excited about it. I roasted a whole turkey last weekend and I plan to use the bones for broth soon 🙂 Love these “how to” posts!
Ashley @ The Small Town Foodie recently posted…Teriyaki Shrimp and Broccoli
girl you killed it with this one! one of my favorite ways to stay on budget is to shop the discounted meat in the meat cooler…it’s usually big ol family packs of bone in meat & it helps us save so much money!
jess larson | plays well with butter recently posted…the best bloody marys (+ tips for a diy build your own bloody mary bar!)
WOW. Allie, these are beautiful! I do love working with bone in meat, but it’s definitely not as easy. The bones and skin give it so much more flavor, and I love how you encouraged us to use it to make broth so nothing is wasted.
I am definitely guilty of being intimidated by bone in anything. Thanks for breaking this down and making it seem much easier. And you mastered it – the spices and cooking looks absolutely perfect!
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Aww thank you, Sarah! And it is intimidating!
The chicken looks simply divine! I can’t wait to try making it for the family. Thanks!
Andy Bishop recently posted…The Best Sugar Substitutes for a Low-Carb or Keto Diet
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Nice easy recipe but Bone In was the ONLY way you could get chicken when I was your age. Glad to see a new appreciation for it and the value of the bones for broth. What was old is new again. 😉
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Martha!
Delish!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed!
This looks awesome, I love chicken. I imagine it smells amazing while roasting. Thanks for sharing.
adams@nationalrestaurantny recently posted…Top 7 Best Built-In Gas Grill Reviews [Updated 2019]
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So glad you love them, too!
ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS is great! To be honest, I’m not good at cooking but I like them, they give me joy and excitement every time I finish the dishes, which is a great thing. With your recipe, just need to follow the instructions and the rest is simple, thank you for sharing them.
Williams Chris recently posted…Top 5 Best Asphalt Driveway Sealer Consumer Reports for 2019
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Glad you enjoyed!
I never comment on a recipe, however you must know that this is the BEST CHICKEN RECIPE EVER!
I love bone-in, skin on thighs,…. the seasoning, & cooking method is perfect! (I do add 1/2 tsp turmeric) I bake mine on 375 convection roast, but have also cooked at 400 per your recipe. Either way the dish turns out perfect every time! Also works great for chicken legs !
Thank you!
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Oh, I need to try with legs, what a fabulous idea!! I love your addition of turmeric, what beautiful color they must have. Thank you for commenting!
Quick and easy for a weeknight! Thanks for the recipe and the beautiful photos!
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These are some great tips! And you’ve got it right; it makes a massive difference. Choosing the right Gas Range For Home Chef can be pretty tricky, but this guide made it a lot simpler! Thank you so much for writing; this was helpful!
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You’re welcome!
This looks so delicious and yummy food recipe. Such an amazing and wonderful reading article for me as I’m trying to learning new recipes by reading some blog article. I always enjoy your all article. Thank you for sharing this.
Elan recently posted…Things You Can Clean with Your Carpet Cleaner
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Thanks For Sharing this Amazing Recipe. My Family Loved It. I will be sharing this Recipe with my Friends. Hope They will like it.
Helan recently posted…Flipkart Guess What Answers Today 21 March 2021
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Great recipe ! The only thing I would add is to be prepared for a much longer baking time depending upon the size of the chicken thighs. Mine took just over an hour to be done. They turned out delicious!
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Interesting! This can vary due to bird size, but glad you enjoyed them!
Hey guys am rate this recipe after tried it at home
You made our last diner full of LOL
Thank you so much
moozi recently posted…Best RV vacuum cleaner
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Once you’ve done making bone broth, put skins in oven and bake for about 20 minutes for the most delicious chicarrones