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
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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).
Great recipe! Delicious, quick and simple to make! I will definitely make this again!
I love this recipe! I’ve started making it with extra butter and garlic to use as a sauce for plain pasta. Super easy and delicious.
Such a delicious and easy dinner! Thank you, Nagi!
So sorry to read about Dozer. I lost my baby of 19 years last year…🥲
So good! Made it exactly as recipe says. It’s just my husband and I so we didn’t eat the entire amount but the leftovers made a fantastic chicken salad!
This may have been the easiest, quickest most delicious recipe I have ever found. Saved dinner on a late winter Tuesday evening, thank you!
Wonderful
My husband can’t tolerate a lot of salt so I had to use just a little bit of salt and garlic powder (which tastes salty) and pepper then I sprinkled it with panko bread crumbs and pressed them into the chicken. Browned nice and crispy but they were kind of bland even after adding extra garlic to the sauce. But it is a good quick way to make chicken thighs. Make sure to use a blade tenderizer to flatten and tenderize the chicken.
Gotta love the one who rates their own creation 4 stars instead of following the recipie to lower the overall ratings
Why rate it 5 stars when you didn’t follow the recipe exactly? You’re actually rating your own version NOT this RTE recipe.
Delicious but next time I will make more sauce!
Very easy to make. My kids loved it. Will definitely make again.
My fiancé and I loved this, but I have a question, I frozen part of the chicken thighs uncooked to have extras for this week, how do you recommend I cook it frozen and still have that amazing crispy layer ?
So delicious and easy. Even my super picky toddler loved it. This is my new go-to for chicken thighs 🤤
I have never looked for recipes on line before but finding myself living for 3 months as a live in nanny for my daughter and her young family, my great joy is finding nice things to cook. Nagi’s recipes always make it to the top!! Just reading them makes me hungry and they never disappoint!!
Winner, winner chicken dinner! Family LOVED it! Quick & easy to make. Had all ingredients in my pantry. Added portobello mushrooms to the chicken & served with rice & salad. Definitely will make again!
Great recipe! The only deviation I made as my cookware are not stainless steel and my chicken never had that beautiful dark golden look, was to transfer it in a pan, after the sauce was made, and broil the chicken for 3 minutes. I then transferred the chicken back in the sauce and it was delicious. My chicken thighs were larger than the ones depicted and I did cook them longer than the recipe. Nonetheless, it turned out very moist and tender. Both my husband and daughter had seconds.
What a gorgeous photo of Dozer, Nagi, he’s a dear wee boy
I made this exact as the recipe suggested but found I needed to cook the chicken thighs an additional 10 mins to be cooked through. Serves as the image suggests but added garden peas as well
Very nice recipe for a quick k and easy family meal thank you for sharing!!
It was a very easy and not to mention DELICIOUS and TASTY. I have to make a double batch next time.
Highly recommend this recipe.
Very easy a very tasty. Served with baked mushroom rice & it was perfect meal
This recipe was GREAT! I really dont like thighs but i found some on sale and thought i’d give it a try. It was so easy and delicious that i now buy chicken just for this recipe!
Excellent recipe. We’ve made this several times and its delicious. I often put a bit of Wondra in at the end to thicken the sauce a bit. Tonight I added sliced mushrooms with the garlic and butter – they were excellent. Highly recommended.
Fabulous and the sauce was to die for! I’ll need to make double quantities next time! Paired perfectly with your smashed potatoes recipe.