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Baked chicken thighs with crispy skin, brown sugar, garlic and cayenne pepper. This is one of the best chicken thigh recipes that takes 10 mins prep time!
Chicken Thigh Recipes
One of the best ways to cook chicken thighs is using the oven.
Chicken thighs always turn out extremely juicy, tender and moist after roasting and baking them the oven, for example: Cajun Chicken.
Bake chicken thighs recipe is also one of the easiest chicken thigh recipes, with short active prep time of just 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- Bone-in chicken thighs with skin on
- Brown sugar
- Garlic
- Salt
- Cayenne pepper
- Parsley
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
Step 2: Score the bottom part of the chicken thighs with a few slits. Rub the bottom part of the chicken and the skin with the garlic, leave them on (the garlic should get inside the slits and flavor the chicken thighs). Add brown sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, stir to mix well.
Step 3: Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the skin turns crispy and brown. Remove from heat, garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Cooking Tips
- You can use skinless and boneless chicken thighs or bone-in chicken thighs. Personally, I prefer bone-in thighs. After baking the chicken thighs in oven at high temperature, the skin crisps up to golden brown color and becomes crispy.
- If you use skin on thighs, the skin adds grease to the chicken so you don’t need butter or oil in the recipe. The chicken meat will also be tender and juicy.
- Score the bottom of the thighs a few times. This will make more flavorful with the marinade.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bake thighs takes about 35-40 minutes in the oven, at 425° Fahrenheit (220° Celcius).
The total time depends on the size of the bone-in chicken thighs.
The skin will turn crispy and brown and the internal temperature of cooked chicken thighs is 165° Fahrenheit.
This recipe produces juicy and tender chicken thighs so you don’t need to use foil.
Plus, you want crispy skin so do not wrap or cover the chicken with aluminum foil.
Chicken breasts are great for this recipe, especially if they are boneless and skinless.
This baked chicken thighs recipe is only 402 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
This recipe is great with rice and vegetables. I love serving them with cilantro lime rice and a healthy vegetable dish.
For a healthy meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Baked Chicken Thighs (Extra Juicy!)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. (750g) bone-in chicken thighs, 5 small thighs or 4 big thighs
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 dashes cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
- Score a few slits in the bottom part of the chicken thighs. Rub the garlic onto both the bottom and skin of the chicken, ensuring the garlic gets inside the slits to flavor the meat. Add brown sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper, and stir to mix well.
- Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and browned. Remove from heat, garnish with chopped parsley, and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- You can use skinless and boneless chicken thighs or bone-in chicken thighs. Personally, I prefer bone-in thighs. After baking the chicken thighs in oven at high temperature, the skin crisps up to golden brown color and becomes crispy.
- If you use skin on thighs, the skin adds grease to the chicken so you don’t need butter or oil in the recipe. The chicken meat will also be tender and juicy.
- Score the bottom of the thighs a few times. This will make more flavorful with the marinade.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! The chicken came out delicious! I will be using this recipe again, thank you.
Hi Mary, thanks for trying my baked chicken thighs recipe. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/pork-chops/
Hi,
I don’t have cayenne pepper. What can I replace with? Thank you!
You can have chili powder, paprika.
Love this recipe – no leftovers!
Thanks Karen.
I made this chicken dish not too long ago. There was a video, along with it, of skillet, honey carrots that I also made, unfortunately I can’t remember the recipe and have searched and searched. Would you which one. What I remember is, melt butter in skillet, add brown butter, from there I’m lost. I remember honey, I believe brown sugar, not positive, garnish with rosemary I used an alternative. then bake in oven until soft. Can you help!!!
Hi Tony, is it this Brown Butter Garlic Honey Carrots? https://rasamalaysia.com/brown-butter-garlic-honey-roasted-carrots/
I love chicken thigh recipes, especially baked chicken thighs.
I followed this recipe and the sugar sauce BURNED TO A BLACKENED GOOP after 25 minutes in the over. So something isn’t adding up here with this recipe!!! How did you cook it to prevent the sauce from burning?? Mix with water first? I did 425 degrees as specified, cooked on the middle rack.
Hi, that’s very strange. The photos you see on the recipe here is what you get. 2 tablespoons of brown sugar is not that much and shouldn’t burn and blackened. The only thing I would say is perhaps your oven setting is different and you can cover with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
Do you turn the chicken at all when cooking? These look delicious and I can’t wait to try them! ?
Do you add the brown sugar mixture after the garlic? Just on the top of the thighs or all over?
I want to let you know I use similar cooking technique for my baked chicken thighs. This is a real quick and easy way to cook up a healthy dinner. But I have my own secret recipe for the rub.
Awesome!
LOOKS GREAT, I love thighs or the legs, wings will do also, breast gets too dry, if I cook breasts they are always for my “SERVICE DOGGIE”. AND SHE IS SPOILED!! RASA CONTINUE THE GREAT WORK THAT YOU DO..
Thanks Marie.
What do you mean by rub the bottom of the chicken with garlic and leave them on? You don’t put garlic all over the chicken?
Rub the garlic on the bottom and the garlic would get into the slits. Leave them on means just leave them where they are.