Quick chicken thigh recipes are midweek lifesavers, and these Garlic Chicken Thighs are one of my gold nuggets!
With a crispy, garlic crusted surface, juicy insides and a garlic butter sauce, this is a 5 ingredient boneless skinless chicken thigh recipe. It’s almost unbelievable how outrageously delicious such an effortless recipe can be!
The BEST quick chicken thigh recipe I know
There’s one key thing about this recipe that distinguishes it from most quick and easy chicken thigh recipes – these are CRISPY skinless chicken thighs.
Crispy crust? With skinless chicken thighs?
YES YOU CAN!
Here’s the secret: garlic powder, salt and pepper sprinkled on the chicken thighs. Cook on a relatively low heat = deep golden, crispy crust with terrific savoury garlic flavour.
And not only do you get all the pleasure of devouring that garlicky crispy crust, the brown bits in the pan from the searing* is the base for an incredible pan sauce that takes 1 1/2 minutes to make.
* The official word for the gold stuff in pans is fond.
Chicken thighs – all the way!
I’m pretty sure chicken breast is the most popular cut of chicken here in Australia – and probably many western countries.
Yes breast is leaner – just marginally. Does it surprise you to know that 100g/3.5oz chicken thighs only has 2 teeny tiny grams more fat than breast? 2 grams is nothing for all the extra flavour and juiciness you get from chicken thighs!
In all honesty, when it comes to stress free quick and easy meals with chicken, go chicken thighs all the way. It’s juicier so easier to cook, less prone to drying out because you overcooked it by 90 seconds, can be cooked with less oil and it has better flavour than breast. 🙂
What to serve on the side?
Make dinner extra fabulous by serving these Garlic Chicken Thighs with this addictive Curried Basmati Rice or Mushroom Rice! Add this Everyday Cabbage Salad for crunch (a great standby salad) or make a quick garden salad.
There are very few recipes in this world that are truly made from scratch that call for such few ingredients, are seriously quick and easy, don’t call for a tub of butter and cream, are economical and yet so lip smackingly delicious, you’d proudly serve this up for company.
This Garlic Chicken Thighs recipe makes the cut. Terrific back pocket recipe! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 – Nagi x
More skinless boneless chicken thigh recipes:
Greek Chicken Gyros – long time reader fave!
Sticky Baked Chicken Thighs – country style sauce, pantry staples!
Asian flavours – Thai Grilled Chicken, Chinese BBQ Chicken, Thai Coconut Chicken, Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken
Bone in, skin on chicken thigh recipes:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Crispy Garlic Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 700 g / 1.2 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs (5 to 6)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml dry white wine (or broth or water)
- 25 g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 large garlic cloves , minced
- Finely chopped parsley , optional
Instructions
- Sprinkle both sides of chicken with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken in skillet smooth side down.
- Press down lightly with with spatula. Cook for 5 minutes until deep golden and crispy.
- Turn and press lightly with spatula. Cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and butter, cook for 1 minute until garlic is light golden and it smells amazing.
- Add wine, then turn up heat. Stir around the chicken to dissolve golden bits stuck on the skillet into the wine. Simmer rapidly for 1 1/2 minutes or until alcohol smell evaporates.
- Remove from heat. Serve chicken with sauce.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
This is what’s in your face if you eat on the couch (with or without grey trackies and ugg boots).
Hi! I was wondering if I could use bone in thighs instead of boneless? I accidentally bought the wrong ones. If so how long do you recommend cooking for?
Hi Nagi! Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful recipes. I saw you confirmed for another commenter that the short cook time listed is indeed long enough. How big are the thighs you use? The post mentions a 3.5 oz serving, which is quite a bit smaller than the thighs I see in the grocery store here. But maybe I misunderstood because the nutrition info is for a 6 oz serving. Sorry to be dense. I’m in the US and I’ve had friends from other countries comment on how weirdly big our chicken is so I thought maybe the thighs you have are a smaller size?
Hi Elizabeth – it’s true that chicken pieces in the USA run larger than the ones we have here. Our boneless, skinless thighs run about 120 grams (around 1/4 lb or 4 oz). I would usually serve 1.5 or 2 boneless thighs per person (thus the 6 oz serving size). If yours are much thicker then you will need to cook them another minute or so rather than the 9.5 minutes total called for in this recipe. N x
Delicious, rich and garlicky. You don’t need much! So easy
Very, very good and easy to fix. Will definitely make this dish again. Also made the mushroom rice which also was delicious. Great dinner recipes!
Loved your garlic chicken thighs! I’ll definitely try other of your recipes. I was inspired by your suggestion to pair these with mushroom rice, and did rice in chicken stock plus separately sauteed shitakes in butter with white wine. Yum!
Yummy! So simple to make. Thank you Nagi for another great recipe.
Thanks so much I needed something simple but tasty for dinner! I used chicken broth and it worked perfect!
I added a bit of cream, delicious
Fabulous for such a simple recipe!
just loved this so so tasty and quick! 🙂 Thanks Nagi for another great recipe
So easy to make and absolutely delicious. Loved it
oh my gosh! so easy so tasty, so good , and so quick to make! i served the sauce over rice, with chicken, and asparagus! YUMMY thank you!
Delicious recipe. I substituted the garlic powder with twice as much granulated garlic and simmered it an extra minute after pouring the broth in. It came out perfect. I will definitely make this again.
Good, Tasty, Easy Recipe. I will make it again. I did not have white wine so I looked up a substitute of 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/4 cup of water. It worked well. I do think I used slightly thicker cuts of thighs so I had to let it simmer a couple of minutes longer in the sauce to bring the meat up to proper temperature. The meat seared nicely per your instructions. I will make this again. Thank you!
This recipe was awesome. I did not have white wine so I used 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1/4 cup of water. It’s a great simple recipe. I will make it again. Thank you!
Good tip Brian! N x
Thank you Nagi for sharing this wonderful recipe! So easy and SO delicious! A lifesaver when in a time crunch. I had to cook mine on med-high heat because my stove runs a little cooler. 5 minutes made a perfectly beautiful and delicious crispy crust on the smooth side. I am so indebted that you share your mid-week recipe treasures!!!
Was afraid to cook it because the total cooking time in the recipe was around 7-8 minutes. That is a little too quick for me.
Is there an error in the recipe?
I was thinking the cook time seemed short.
Hi Paul – nope! The published times are correct (9.5 minutes total). The only thing that might change it is if your thighs are really thick and larger than normal or your stovetop is weaker than standard. N x
Very delicious for how little prep is needed! I’m not sure if it’s just my stovetop, but with medium heat it needed 7 minutes for the top to be crispy. So for others, before you flip it, make sure it’s as crispy as you like it.
Yes Ethan well done – cook temps vary from oven to oven or on different stoves! N x
Fine recipe! After removing the chicken from the pan, let the sauce simmer another minute or two for a more gravy like consistency. Yummy! And love your philosophy on clever, quick, tasty, economical dishes! Thanks Nagi!
Delicious. Easy, moist, flavorful. I did check the internal temperature before serving, and it was perfect. Thank you, Nagi!