Is there any food that isn’t good when drenched in garlic butter? It’s the easiest, most fool-proof way to make something insanely delish. So, because it’s the week after Thanksgiving and I don’t feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen, I whipped up these quick Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Thighs. They only require about five minutes of prep, about 30 minutes in the oven, and then they’re ready to eat!
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What to Serve with Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs
First things first, you’ll have a lot of delicious lemony garlic butter in the bottom of your baking dish, so you definitely want to serve this chicken with something to soak it up, or spoon it over. Today I served mine with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and some simple steamed green beans, both of which benefited from a generous drizzle. Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes would also be awesome, as would some Homemade No Knead Bread, or even just a bed of rice. Are you a garlic lover? Double up and serve Homemade Garlic Bread on the side!
Can You Make This With Chicken Breast?
The cooking times and temperatures listed below are specific to boneless, skinless chicken thighs. If you prefer boneless chicken breast, I suggest following the instructions in my Garlic Herb Baked Chicken Breast recipe. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs will require a longer cooking time, but unfortunately I have not tested this with that type of chicken so I don’t know the exact time needed.
For the Best Results, Use a Meat Thermometer
Ovens can vary, baking dishes can vary, the size of chicken thighs can vary. All of these factors can affect baking time, which is why it’s so important to have a meat thermometer. The digital meat thermometer (affiliate link) I use is extremely affordable and let’s me know without a doubt whether my meat is cooked to a safe temperature, and whether I’m in danger of overcooking my meat. ;)
Baked Garlic Butter Chicken Thigh Recipe
Servings 5Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.40)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced ($0.32)
- 1/4 tsp paprika ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
- 1 fresh lemon ($0.79)
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional) ($0.10)
- 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1.25 lbs.) ($4.36)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Place the butter in a bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds, or until the butter is melted. Stir in the minced garlic, paprika, salt, some freshly cracked pepper (about 1/8 tsp), and about a tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley. Stir to combine.
- Place the chicken thighs in an 8×8" baking dish. Spoon the garlic butter mixture over the chicken thighs, using the back of the spoon to spread it over the surface of the chicken.
- Slice the lemon into half-rounds. Scatter the lemon pieces around the chicken in the dish.
- Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake the chicken for 30-35 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken thighs reaches 165ºF.
- Use a spoon to drizzle the baking juices over top of the chicken, then sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley over top just before serving.
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How to Make Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Add 4 Tbsp butter to a bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds or until the butter is melted. Add 4 minced cloves of garlic, ¼ tsp paprika, ¼ tsp salt, some freshly cracked pepper (about ⅛ tsp), and 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley.
Stir the garlic butter ingredients to combine.
Place five boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a baking dish, then spoon the garlic butter mixture over top. Use the back of the spoon to spread the garlic butter over the surface of the chicken thighs.
Slice a lemon into half-rounds then scatter the lemon pieces in the baking dish with the garlic butter coated chicken.
Bake the chicken in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165ºF (use an instant read thermometer to make sure). Use a spoon to drizzle the juices from the baking dish over the chicken pieces, then top with another tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley just before serving.
Don’t waste a drop of that garlic butter from the baking dish! It’s great on the chicken, potatoes, to sop up with bread, or drizzled over your vegetables!
New favourite! No marinating, no chopping, no basting halfway through baking, etc. It was easy and delicious, and the chicken cooked perfectly. I served it with your seasoned brown rice and roasted brussels sprouts. Thanks for another great recipe!
I’d use skin and bone in and stuff butter under the skin 😋
Great recipes
The chicken was tender, juicy, and tasty! The sliced lemons added just the amount of zing to the dish! Some changes that worked for me: I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper before putting it in the baking dish, increased the paprika to 1/2 teaspoon, and microbladed the garlic to incorporate fully into the sauce. Have to watch my cholesterol so four tablespoons of butter is too much for me: I substituted 2 T olive oil and 2 T dairy free butter. The parsley was perfect – I can’t imagine the dish without it! Served it with sauteed mushrooms and kale, jasmine rice, and a spinach salad.
I don’t have any lemons…Will the recipe work without lemons or without a substitute for lemons?
The onions definitely add a nice contrast in flavor to the rich butter, so the flavor might be kind of one-dimensional without them. I don’t think there is anything I’d use in their place.
So delicious! I used lime bcus i had no lemons and it turned out fine. I will make this again!
This is SO good and easy. I didn’t have parsley on hand so I left it out, and followed the rest of the recipe exactly. I baked my chicken thighs in an oven-safe non-stick skillet and they were fully cooked in 30 minutes; I’m glad I checked and didn’t leave them in longer. I had some leftovers today with garlic & herb rice pilaf – I’ll probably cut up whatever is left and enjoy it in a salad. The sauce congealed in the fridge due to the butter in it, but it melted easily when warmed in the microwave. I will be making these often as they are so versatile. Thank you Beth!
How would I make this a crockpot meal?
When I baked the lemons with the chicken, the chicken turned out super bitter. So I’m going to do it without the lemons this time, and just add them after for the flavor. Great recipe though!
What causes that bitter flavor when cooking with lemons is usually the rind (the white part). So if you find yourself having this issue I’d reccomend peeling your lemons.
This has been a COVID staple for our family. I have tried it with limes and lemons. I’ve also added apples. Next I am swapping out the lemon for orange. Really delicious!
Hi…Can this recipe be used as a freezer meal?
This would probably freeze okay, but I’m sure the flavors are going to be a little more pronounced when fresh. I’d probably freeze this with some mashed potatoes and maybe Brussels sprouts and make sure to spoon all that butter sauce over the mashed potatoes. :)
If I have 2 chicken thighs in the freezer with 3 breasts, how can I modify this recipe to make sure they all cook the same?
Thanks!
Unfortunately I probably can’t give exact advice, since the cooking rate is really going to depend on the size of the pieces, but one thing that will help them cook at a more similar rate is to make sure to pound the chicken breasts until they are roughly the same thickness as the chicken thighs.
Yumm so good, doubled your on garlics and added maple syrup in the mix
Made this tonight using bone in chicken thighs, doubled up the garlic butter mixture as I had 8 thighs in my pack. Also, I cooked uncovered at 320 for 2 hours so it was falling off the bone yet crispy on top.
Very delicious
Just had this for Dinner! Absolutely delicious and so so easy to make….gotta Love that! I think this will be great using fish too. Cooked for 30 minutes and then covered and let rest for a few minutes. So juicy!
Great, easy, family-friendly recipe! Served along side simple orzo with olive oil & Parmesan, plus some steamed broccolini. Huge hit with the family!
I’ve made this several times now. The first time was because I had to get rid of lemons. This recipe is fantastic and easy. I use skin-on/bone-in thighs because of the price difference ($0.99/lb versus $2.99/lb). I usually cook about 2 lbs as that is the quantity at Costco in those individual Kirkland packages (6 packages of approx. 2 lbs each sold together–easy to freeze). Also at the regular store it’s hard to buy less than that as the thighs are huge and 2lbs is about 4 of them. 4 big thighs fit perfectly in a glass 8X8 inch pan. When I cook 2 lbs of chicken, I double all the other ingredients and just slice the lemons into full rounds and love to put them under the thighs when possible. I usually cook the chicken for a minimum of 45 minutes. If the thighs are huge, sometimes I increase the temp to 425 for the last 15 minutes. I rarely use parsley because I hardly ever have it on hand. Love this with rice or crusty bread and broccoli (pour sauce over broccoli). This is one of the yummiest recipes I’ve ever made. Full disclosure, I love lemon & garlic!
Would love to know if anyone has used olive oil instead of butter!
This is easy fast and delicious. Made it last night when I was in a hurry. It would be great for company.
I made this tonight and it was so yummy and tender! I didn’t have parsley but used fresh basil from my garden and it was perfect. Will definitely make again! Thank you.
So yummy and juicy! Will definitely be added to our dinner rotation!
Thanks for sharing this excellent recipe! Turned out so tender and tasty. Will definitely be making this again and again and again………
This was so easy and absolutely delicious! I love anything with garlic and this one delivers! I will definitely be doing this recipe quite often!
So easy and SO good! The easiest way to make tasty chicken, definitely will be doing this again. I had it with some brown rice and glazed carrots, delicious!
So darned good! Wrestling a cold & psyched myself up to cook a decent meal on a Sat night. Shouldn’t have bothered. This was so easy, it almost rivaled a frozen dinner. And SOOO tasty! I will definitely be making it again. Thanks again for always having such well defined steps and photos.
The Best chicken I’ve had in my 60 yrs of life !! OMG..I WILL FOR SURE MAKE AGAIN !!
Thanks Therese!
This was so easy and really tasty too. I had everything I needed in the pantry and freezer so no grocery shopping required. Teen boy and husband liked it too. Teen daughter is a vegan now … so she ate the rice and green beans. I used chicken thighs and the 35 minutes cooked them perfectly. Total prep took me 13 minutes – not 5, but for me, that’s a lightening fast meal.
I’d say that’s a win all around! Great work Heather!
Hard to believe that when I was growing up in the 50s, garlic was considered both vulgar and exotic–try to marry those concepts. I don’t think I could cook today without gobs of it! Great recipe–boneless breasts in our house, and while I know they are dryer than thighs, they still turned out delicious. A word of caution, however, to those using breasts–current huge sizes are a problem and I usually try to half mine horizontally and pound to uniform thickness and they will still take up more space in a pan. Once you do that, check on them after 20 minutes so you don’t overcook, since that is way easy to do. Thighs are definitely more uniform and easy to cook properly
Great tips Janet. Thank you for sharing!
This sounds ridiculously delicious, and similar to a recipe I sear the chicken in a pan first and use mix some cream into the butter. Not even remotely good for you, but it tastes so good!
Ha yes! Let us know if you give it a try!