When I need a fast no-brainer meal, it’s all about a quick skillet-cooked chicken and an easy pan sauce. Those rich flavorful pan sauces are absolute heaven and can be spooned over rice, tossed with sautéed vegetables, or even drizzled over a small pasta, like orzo. This time I used a pre-mixed Italian herb blend to make this rich and buttery herb pan sauce, which was so good that I wanted to just sit there with a chunk of bread to sop it all up. Alas, these Herb Butter Chicken Thighs are part of my meal prep this week (stay tuned tomorrow to see what I paired them with), so I couldn’t just dive into the skillet. But I sure wanted to!
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Use a Pre-Mixed Herb Blend for Convenience
I used a pre-mixed Italian Seasoning blend of herbs for this pan sauce, just so I wouldn’t have to measure out 4-5 herbs individually. Plus, this particular Italian herb blend includes a few items that I don’t usually keep in my pantry. The blend I have is Kroger brand and it includes marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil. Don’t worry if you can’t find an herb blend exactly like this, any Italian herb blend is sure to be just as scrumptious. Or, if you’re lucky enough to have your own herb garden, feel free to use fresh herbs!
Can I use Chicken Breasts Instead?
I love how tender and juicy chicken thighs are, so that’s what I used, but you can use chicken breasts if you prefer. The only change you’ll need to make is to pound the breasts until they are an even thickness (about 1/2″ thick) so they cook quickly and evenly. You can even dust them in a bit of flour, if you like, to create a nice thin browned coating, like in my Chicken Piccata.
Herb Butter Chicken Thighs
Servings 5 1 thigh eachIngredients
- 5 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 1/3 lb. each) ($5.08)
- pinch salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning herb blend ($0.15)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth* ($0.07)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.13)
- handful fresh parsley, chopped (optional garnish) ($0.11)
Instructions
- Season the chicken thighs with a pinch of salt and pepper on each side.
- Heat a large skillet over medium. Once hot, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the chicken thighs and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown and cooked through. Remove the thighs to a clean plate. There should be plenty of browned bits left on the bottom of the skillet.
- Add the minced garlic and Italian seasoning blend to the skillet. Sauté the garlic and herbs in the leftover oil in the skillet. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic softens a bit and becomes very fragrant.
- Pour in the chicken broth and stir, dissolving all the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Let the broth simmer (still over medium heat) for about 5 minutes, or until it has reduced by half.
- Once the broth has reduced, add the butter and stir until it has melted into the sauce. Add the chicken pieces back to the skillet with the sauce and spoon the sauce over each piece. Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped parsley, if desired. Serve while hot.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Herb Butter Chicken Thighs – Step by Step Photos
Season both sides of five (or four, if that’s what you have) boneless, skinless chicken thighs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Heat a large skillet over medium, then once it’s hot, add a tablespoon of olive oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the chicken thighs and cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown and cooked through. You should have plenty of browned bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Remove the chicken thighs to a clean plate.
Add 2 cloves minced garlic and 1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning herb blend to the skillet. Continue to sauté for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic is softened and very fragrant.
Add 1/2 cup chicken broth (I used Better Than Bouillon to make my broth) and continue to stir and cook, dissolving the browned bits off the bottom as you stir. Let the broth simmer for about 5 minutes, or until reduced by half.
Once reduced, add the butter and stir until it has melted into the sauce.
Add the chicken thighs back to the skillet and spoon the sauce over top. If you want to make things extra pretty, sprinkle some chopped parsley over top of the Herb Butter Chicken Thighs just before serving!
So simple and full of flavor!
Could using garlic herb butter be used as well? Instead of the premade seasonings
You could definitely make something similar using garlic herb butter. It might not be exactly the same and I’m not sure how much seasoning is in the butter compared to what we used here, but you can definitely play it by ear. It’s hard to mess this one up. :)
Absolutely loved this one! My sauce took a while to cook down but I was patient and so glad I was – FULL of flavor! I served with mashed potatoes and garlicky green beans and it was fantastic.
At first I thought it doesn’t look flavorful. I was wrong. I even add another pat of butter to add green beans to the skillet with chicken. Delicious
This is one of the few meals my kids willingly eat. Thanks for yet another great recipe!
Great flavour and super easy. We love boneless skinless thighs. Served cut up over Caesar salad – super yummy and I will definitely be keeping the vampires away with how much garlic I consumed!
Beth this is amazing! Chicken thighs are so juicy and makes me never want to go back to chicken breast! I have been using your website for several years and have lost count of how many recipes I have tried of yours. I only came across one I didn’t like and that was mostly because I didn’t follow directions. Please never stop with this site! This is my lifeline!
Awww, thank you, Tiffany!! <3
Cooked this and it smelled so good I was absolutely devastated when I sat down to eat and my chicken was still raw! I used bone-in chicken thighs and they needed way longer to cook than this recipe calls for- my bad! After 40 mins of anxiously waiting for them to finish cooking in the oven, I finally got to taste them and my boyfriend and I both agreed they were well worth the extra cooking time! Will be making again and again and again
Hi Beth, this is Eliot Frosst from Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia Canada. I will try this chicken thigh recipe. I have a similar one using plain yogourt. I use a bit more butter (regular salted type) and only a pinch of Black Hawaiian Sea salt. I do a batch of three or four, then another batch with honey and lemon juice and a third batch with tandoori seasoning and dill. Unfortunately (or maybe it’s fortunate as also keep physically active), I do not keep amounts as I go by taste. Why do I do three batches. First, I wait until I can get the the highs on sale and they only seem to go that way in larger batches, and this recipe freezes well. My wife has the first stages of Alzheimer’s and I substitute teach (when there is no COVID-19 here). I only teach (I am a 68 year old marine biologist with an education degree as well) and often need a quick nutritious meal for myself and her.
Was very easy . Made it as written and we liked it very much. I like making a recipe as written the first time and then might experiment the next time so instead of chicken broth, will try white wine and see if that changes anything. Thanks for a tasty recipe.
Turned out great. Thank you for a recipe to keep!
Happy to hear it Leigh!
This was really easy and delicious with minimal ingredients. Next time I’ll double the sauce :). Thanks for another winner, Beth!
Thanks Alexis!
Could you do the same thing for skin on thighs?
Yes!
This was absolutely delicious and simple to make! It’s also pretty affordable, which is good since I’m a university student living on my own. I have this recipe meal prepped, and I tell ya, I look forward to dinner now.
Super easy and very tasty! Used a nonstick skillet, so omitted the oil to ensure the thighs browned and I got the good brown bits for the sauce. Cooking time was about 15 minutes for the thighs. Served with parmesan orzo and side salad. Going into our monthly rotation for sure!
I COMPLETELY forgot the butter, and it turned out great to be so easy, I’m from a country where half the stuff can’t be aquired so this recipe was a good change.
We didnt love this. I followed the directions, but we felt like it came out oily. I served it with rice, which helped, but when i asked my husband what he thought he said, “mmmmm, well, i liked the steamed broccoli” i think this is the first budgetbytes recipe in years of using the site that we hvnt loved.
These are incredibly delicious, especially considering how few ingredients it takes to make the flavors pop. YUM. Will be making again.
So good and SO easy! I’m not gonna lie–cooking is not my favorite activity. But recipes like this definitely make me more inclined to get in the kitchen! ;) Thanks, Beth!
Is there any non-dairy substitute for the butter that would give a similar enough mouthfeel and amount of flavor to work?
Unfortunately I haven’t tried to make a pan sauce with a non-dairy butter substitute, so I’m not sure if there is anything that would work here.
I used Earth Balance and it was great.
This was SO easy and SO good! This will make a novice (like me) think they can cook! Used leftover fresh herbs. Will make again.
I have had this chiken about 7 times now and it is soooo good !
I have tweaked it a little by adding just a tiny splash of white whine vinegar and ooooh my taste buds are in heaven 💗
Very simple recipe ,nice and quick too but oh oh oh soo good !
Quick, easy, and delicious! Easy for a beginner cook, like myself :) Thank you!
What they fail to tell you is that the thighs will be raw inside for over an hour. Don’t get discouraged and enjoy picking off the black skin. At least it smells good!
This was fantastic! Crispy on the outside, tender inside. The sauce is sooo good! My husband & both kids ate it with no complaints. Thx for a great recipe!
This is so simple and delicious! Only used one pan and even used the leftover herb butter sauce to cook up some spinach
This is so yummy! I have 0 cooking talent and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this recipe is. It was really quick and simple! Tastes great with rice and green leafed veggies :)
Just made the dish and it was absolutely delicious. I did double up the garlic and onion for more flavor and it was so yummy. Definitely will be making this again
Just made this dish. I did change it up a bit though. Before re adding the chicken to the pan, I added some frozen veggies and let them cook in the juice for awhile, then put the chicken back in and let it all simmer covered for a bit.
I made this meal in a jiffy and it was delicious! I added lemon slices to the boiling broth and it made the recipe that much better. I will cook chicken thighs more often. Thanks you Beth! You’ve never let me down 😁.
Made this tonight with mashed potatoes. So yum! I had to de-skin and de-bone my chicken thighs. I dredged them in flour to get that nice browning on them, doubled the garlic (it’s just what I do, lol) and made a bit more sauce in general so we could use it as a gravy. To that end, I added a corn starch slurry to the finished sauce to thicken it up and cooked the chicken just a bit longer in that to mingle the flavors more.
I loved it. My boys loved it. It was a *tad salty, but that’s an easy fix.
Great, easy weeknight recipe!
Hi, I’m planning to make this tomorrow but I cannot find skinless/boneless. So will skin-on/bone-in thigh work?
You’ll probably need to cook them longer, since bone-in chicken takes more time to cook through.
I made this last night and it was simple and absolutely delicious. I used bone-in thighs and legs so it took quite a bit longer, but it was even tastier than I expected based on the simple ingredients.
I was looking for a quick and tasty thing for dinner that used chicken thighs. total hit with my family! made it with mashed potatoes and fresh broccoli. cannot wait to have it AGAIN!!!
Great recipe! I agree with a previous reviewer about cooking time – our chicken thighs needed 10-12 mins per side to cook through. The sauce was delicious but barely enough to cover the chicken, so next time I’ll probably up the broth a bit. Overall, an excellent, quick, easy recipe!
Made this but thighs definitely need about 10 minutes each side for cooking.
Simple & delicious! Served it atop creamed spinach with potatoes (drizzled in extra garlic butter sauce) with a green salad on the side. YUM!!!
Hi. This is the first time I tried one of your recipes and i have to say, in a happy girl. I never would have thought of using Italian seasoning with chicken but it definitely worked. I’ll be trying other recipes . Thanks
Possibly the best chicken I have ever cooked!! I added one of those frozen basil cubes to the sauce and threw some mushrooms in at the same time that I added the chicken broth. It took all of my self control not to eat literally all of the chicken at once. It was that good.
Never has this type of chicken before, but seems really good and really simple!
I made this tonight. Its really simple, quick, and delicious.
Oh man. I just made this for dinner, trying to use chicken thighs more than chicken breasts. This is such a great tasting recipe that I am forwarding it on to my sisters. It’s super easy and would be great for an end of the work day meal. I made a double batch of thighs and tripled the sauce, so we’ll have some sauce to put on our roasted potatoes. SO GOOD!!!
This was delicious with a angel hair pasta and Asparagus. I’m looking for the nutritional information so I can input it into MyFitnessPal. Would appreciate any help!
Amazing, epic recipe that I crafted last night! Total yummy bachelor meal thatg delivers full flavor. The broth, garlic, spices and BUTTER were a hit (I used awesomely-high quality Irish butter). Graced with a crisp white wine, couscous and zucchini, I munched! Totally amazing recipe!
just made this,.. it turned out delicious.. I used..sweet basil, dried parsley, we don’t have Italian herb and I used a little garlic oil for the chicken before frying it. I used bone -in chicken, yea it takes time to cook,
Hello, I didn’t have any savory or rosemary, I added onion powder, coriander. I used fresh thyme and garlic, the rest were ground seasonings. I must say this recipe was so good. I will be making again and again. Thank you!
Great Recipe!
I just made this recipe, though I had to make some slight adjustments: I used butterflied chicken breast and herbs of provence, because my local supermarket had no thighs or italian herbs in stock. Also, before adding the garlic and herbs to the fond, I sautéed a finely diced small onion, because it just made sense here. Also, in the end, I added maybe a teaspoon of lemon juice, because it is good friends with chicken.
And let me tell you, this is, without exaggeration, one of the best things I ever cooked. Even just tasting the sauce made me say “oh my god, what?!” a couple of times.
I will definitly make this again!
Thanks, Beth. I’ve just made this, it’s DELICIOUS and I’m trying not to eat the entire lot out of the pan. OM NOM NOM.
Beth. Girl. Seriously. These were so amazing and incredibly cheap to make! I loved your balsamic chicken skillet, and these were even better. I love foods that are really flavorful, and this recipe definitely wasn’t a disappointment. I was worried that my thighs were going to stew, as they were taking a while longer to cook and released a lot of liquid. But, the sauce and the chicken came out fantastic! I paired it with some steam-in-bag green beans that I seasoned with Italian veggie spice, olive oil, butter, garlic, and lemon juice. l The sauce from this recipe was so good and buttery that I couldn’t stop licking my plate. I’m going to try experimenting with this in a curry/Thai style. Super easy, and super tasty! THANK YOU! BETH WINS AGAIN!
Love how this recipe is easy because I most always have these ingredients on hand so it can be a quick go to with rice or pasta, whatever is handy. Always need a great go-to recipe that the whole family can enjoy!
This was awesome. Combined with the pasta and bean dish, this made a fantastic meal that my family raved about. I’m in school, so finding such a flavorful, quick recipe was a life saver. Thank you!
I made these tonight and they were delicious. Everyone liked them which is unusual in our house. I had a little trouble getting the thighs to cook, next time I will cut them into pieces more evenly sized.
OMG, this was so good and so easy! I made it with 2 chicken breasts that I butterflied. I doubled the sauce re ipe, but probably didn’t need to. I will definitely be adding this to my regular rotation. I always go to Budget Bytes first for recipe ideas and recommend to everyone.
Could you use skinless chicken breast instead of the thighs?
Delicious and KETO friendly!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! Could it be adjusted for bone-in chicken thighs?
Thanks, Beth!
The issue with using bone-in thighs for a recipe like this is that they take so much longer to cook through. You may need to just brown them in the skillet, transfer them to a baking dish and bake until they are cooked through while you make the pan sauce in the skillet.
Thank you!
Hey Beth! How long do you suggest baking the thighs after browning if we were to use bone-in?
Hi Candyse, unfortunately I’m really not sure. I’d need to test it in my kitchen to get a ballpark idea.