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).
TLDR: MAKE THIS ASAP. But add cooking time! This is a gorgeous dish that’s easy enough for a weeknight but delicious enough to impress guests. Serve with salted white rice and sautéed asparagus.
I made this for my family on a night when everyone was sick. We needed a quick, nutritious meal, and boy did it deliver. The recipe came together beautifully, with minimal prep and no fussy techniques needed. For ease, I skipped the fresh garlic (I’m sure it’s even better with it, but it tasted perfect without it. There is plenty garlic powder). I cooked the chicken for 5 full minutes on each side before adding the butter and wine (I do recommend cooking it longer than directed, then checking the thickest spots with a meat thermometer). After the sauce thickened, I added a little water. It might not look like much, but the sauce is SO flavorful, it really is plenty—make sure you coat the meat with it on both sides before serving, then use a small spoon to scoop some more on top. I cannot express how tasty this was for a dish so simple. My husband kept gushing over it then made the astute observation that it’s giving adobe chicken—it’s rich and lush, but the acidity of the wine cuts through and rounds everything out. Lastly, use garlic POWDER not garlic salt, as I suspect one commenter did. We will be making this on repeat.
This is absolutely an excellent and super recipe I will definitely use over and over again. Not only does it come together quickly, but is very economical..
I followed this pretty much as suggested, but had to make a couple minor tweaks.
First I seasoned with garlic salt and paprika, then placed them on medium heat in a cast iron skillet pressing down gently for about 4 minutes. ( Yes they really were nice and brown with a thin crust ) Flipped them over about another 3 minutes, depending on how thick they are. While I was cooking, I added alot of mushrooms.
I didn’t have white wine so I added just enough vegetable stock to scrape all the bits off the bottom.
Thats it!! Easy Percy. This comes together pretty quickly, so i would suggest making your sides ahead of time.
Thanks SO much, and I will definitely be trying more of these recipes 😋
Oooops forgot to rate it, 5 stars for ease and taste
Amazing! I used garlic & herb seasoning and seasoned salt, and then added fresh ground pepper at the table. So flavorful! A big hit with my family. Served it with roasted cauliflower & broccoli and drizzled the sauce over that as well.
This is such a winner. I made it tonight and it’s perfect as written. So easy and so good! I served it with a parsley rice pilaf and the plates were clean. Thank you for a great recipe.
Quite lovely! Used dry sherry instead of wine. Added a titch of Chicken bouillon. Wanted to lick the plate!
This was delish. On the cooking time, I think it varies. I did mine a couple of minutes extra on turned over side and 5 minutes simmering in the sauce, mmm that sauce! Was perfect with your creamy cauliflower mash and lemon broccolini. Thanks x
Juicy thighs and tasty sauce, it was the perfect meal for guests and so easy!
Great foolproof recipe for a weeknight. Might even try with duck next time!
Not a fan! No sauce at the end (and had to cook it longer than 7 minutes) and extremely salty (think with the garlic powder and salt on each thigh). This won’t be on our rotation again 😟
This was so easy and delicious! And as with all Nagi’s sauces, I could drink it!
Can this work in the oven?
So good & quick…so much flavor and loved the crispy outside. I cooked for 6 min’s on both sides, then simmered for a minute in the sauce and it was perfect! I was afraid that was going to be too long, but it was great! I think because it’s dark meat, there’s a bit of time forgiveness since dark meat takes longer to cook. Thanks for a great, easy weeknight meal. Will be looking through your recipes for more great meals!
Your recipes are always a rave! This one, deceptively quick and simple-I am fond of fond. Since I had 16 thighs, I did a side by side comparison of cast iron and enamel. Cast iron for the win for sear and for sauce. Just better results-better fond. Good to see the garlic shy commenter exploring a recipe as this. Try it!
I had bone-in, skin-on thighs and this was still absolutely fantastic. I ended up having to bake them a bit to get them done, probably because of the bone. I also added a ton more garlic because we love garlic in this house. But yeah it was delicious and my picky husband requested we add it to the regular rotation. Thank you!
These chicken thighs are awesome! The only change I made was to slightly increase the cook time because cuts are slightly bigger here. Next time I am going to try increasing the sauce a bit after the chicken is done to toss pasta into.
This was delicious. I used regular butter since I didn’t have unsalted one and to lower the amount of salt I substituted very low sodium broth for regular broth. It worked well. I’d make this again.
Wow – pleasantly surprised – Simple, no-nonsense tips on how to make a quick weeknight meal. Delicious!
Cooked longer than suggested after flipping over but gave me time to finish the green beans and rice that I served alongside. DELICIOUS.
Super delicious. Easy, fast, and cheap! I served with a rice blend and green beans. It was perfect.
Perfection! Mine take a bit longer to cook, around 12 minutes or so, but come out so moist and delicious! Thanks for this quick, easy, delicious recipe!!