Oven-Fried Chicken Thighs

Love fried chicken but don’t feel like dealing with an enormous vat of oil? We feel the same! With a little preparation, oven-fried chicken thighs can be just as juicy and crispy as traditional fried chicken thighs. So crank up your oven to 400°F, and get ready to crisp up some delicious oven-fried chicken.

How to Make Crispy Chicken Thighs in the Oven

To make oven-fried chicken thighs that become both juicy and crispy, we have a couple of secrets. First, for the breading, add cornstarch to the seasoned flour to create a protective casing around the chicken that will lock in moisture so the meat becomes meltingly tender. Then, finish the chicken with crunchy panko bread crumbs to give the chicken a crisp exterior.

When learning how to make crispy chicken thighs in the oven, another key is to preheat your baking pan. Some people swear by baking chicken on a pan lined with a wire rack, which helps the breading crisp by promoting airflow around the chicken. That works, but the chicken turns out crispier if you bake it in oil. Preheating the baking pan with oil mimics preheating the fryer oil to the proper deep-frying temperature—and the chicken starts to oven-fry the moment it hits the pan.

Ingredients for Oven-Fried Chicken Thighs

• Chicken thighs: We love bone-in chicken thigh recipes because the bone regulates the temperature inside the chicken as it cooks, keeping the meat juicy and moist. You can substitute boneless chicken thighs, but you’ll want to shorten the cooking time (as boneless chicken cooks faster).
• Butter and olive oil: This flavorful combination of cooking fats helps the chicken crisp up in the oven.
• Seasoned flour: The chicken gets its seasoned flavor from all-purpose flour, cornstarch, seafood seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Seafood seasonings like Old Bay give the chicken a signature flavor.
• Bread crumb mixture: Panko bread crumbs are crunchier than traditional bread crumbs, giving these baked chicken thighs a head start in the crispy department. Mix the bread crumbs with grated Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning to create a bold-flavored breading.
• Egg wash: Eggs and milk help the breading stick to the chicken.

Directions

Step 1: Preheat a baking pan

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Preheat the oven to 400°.

Add butter and olive oil to a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Place it in the oven while preparing the chicken.

Step 2: Dredge the chicken

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In a shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. In another shallow bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, seafood seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper. In a third shallow bowl, whisk the eggs and milk.

Dip the chicken in the flour and coat both sides. Shake off any excess. Dip the chicken in the egg and then in the crumb mixture, patting to help the coating adhere.

Editor’s Tip: Pat the chicken dry before adding it to the flour. Flour adheres better to dry chicken, ensuring the crispy breading will stick to the chicken as it cooks.

Step 3: Oven-fry the chicken

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Carefully remove the baking pan from the oven, and mix the melted butter and olive oil. Add the chicken, skin side down. Bake for 30 minutes.

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Turn the chicken, and continue baking until a thermometer reads 170° to 175°, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the chicken to paper towels to drain before serving.

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Recipe Variations

• Change the seasonings: Feel free to add spices like paprika to the seasoned flour. Or, create a custom blend of herbs and spices, perhaps from another fantastic fried chicken recipe like copycat KFC fried chicken or Cajun fried chicken.
• Use another type of chicken: You can make oven-fried chicken with any chicken part, bone-in or boneless. Try making crispy oven-fried chicken wings or oven-fried chicken breasts.
• Finish with a sauce: If you like saucy fried chicken, toss the chicken thighs in Buffalo sauce (just as you would with hot wings!). In fact, you could use any of these chicken wing sauce recipes. Or, serve a sauce on the side for dipping. We like Alabama white barbecue sauce or the sauce from this honey barbecue chicken recipe.

How to Store and Reheat Oven-Fried Chicken Thighs

Store leftover oven-fried chicken thighs in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The cooked chicken will last for up to four days. The breading can get a little soggy as it sits in the refrigerator, so we like to reheat fried chicken in the oven or air fryer instead of the microwave. Bake it for about 15 minutes at 350° degrees before bumping the heat to 400° to crisp up the skin. Or, air-fry the leftovers at 350°, flipping the chicken every three minutes. Either way, reheat the chicken thighs until they reach an internal temperature of 165°.

Oven-Fried Chicken Thigh Tips

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Should you use skin-on or skinless chicken thighs?

Chicken thighs in the oven taste best when you use skin-on, bone-in chicken. The skin adds flavor and protects the meat from drying out. If desired, you can remove the skin before breading the chicken to reduce the chicken’s fat and calorie content. You could also substitute boneless skinless chicken thighs, but the bone helps regulate the heat as the chicken cooks, so boneless chicken may not be as tender.

How can you tell when oven-fried chicken thighs are done?

Use an instant-read meat thermometer to know when chicken thighs in the oven are done cooking. They should reach an internal temperature of at least 170°. You’ve probably heard that 165° is the safe internal temperature of chicken, but dark meat chicken can be cooked to as high as 195°. Dark meat has more connective tissue than white meat, so it benefits from higher temperatures to become tender. The thighs have enough fat to keep the meat juicy, so don’t worry about them drying out.

What do you serve with oven-fried chicken thighs?

Serve oven-fried chicken thighs with classic fried chicken sides like coleslaw, mac and cheese, or braised collard greens. You could also keep it simple and serve the chicken over rice or farmers market orzo salad with vegetable sides like grilled sweet corn or air-fryer potatoes.