This baked chicken thigh recipe is easy and delicious, with only 10 minutes of prep time before baking in the oven. Chicken thighs are roasted over thinly sliced potatoes with garlic, lemon and thyme.
Here’s a simple dinner idea that only requires a few minutes of prep before going in the oven to bake—roasted chicken thighs with garlic, lemon and thyme, baked over a bed of sliced potatoes. As the chicken thighs cook, the potato slices get infused with their flavorful juices and get crispy around the edges. So much flavor and texture!
Right before it’s done, make our easy steamed broccoli recipe to serve alongside and mop up all the flavorful pan juices.
I especially love these quick and easy Sheet Pan Dinners on busy nights when I don’t feel like dirtying up a bunch of pots and pans. With minimal prep and easy clean up… a wholesome dinner is on the table with minimal effort and everyone is happy! My husband Brian loves this dinner, especially with the broccoli.
Oven Baked Chicken Thigh Recipe Ingredeints
- Chicken thighs – use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe, organic, free-range if possible. The important thing is not to use boneless skinless chicken thighs, which will take less time to cook than the potatoes. The skin will lock in the moisture, making the oven-roasted chicken thighs perfectly juicy and tender.
- Potatoes – Russet potatoes or Yukon Golds
- Olive oil– or use olive oil spray
- Fresh Lemon– thinly sliced- Meyer Lemon is nice here. I love how the lemon slices get tender and caramelized and infuse flavor into the dish. I actually eat them too, rind and all!
- Garlic cloves– leave them whole.
- Onion – red, yellow, sweet or white onions, sliced (optional)
- Salt and black pepper to taste – a general rule of thumb for salt is 1 teaspoon per pound of chicken.
- Fresh thyme – plus sprigs for garnish
How to make Oven-baked Chicken Thighs
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Spray a sheet pan with olive oil. Use parchment paper to prevent sticking.
Slice. Using a mandolin, thinly slice potatoes and lay them down on the sheet pan, overlapping just slightly.
Season. Brush or spray the tops of the potatoes lightly with olive oil. Season them with salt and pepper them. Scatter whole garlic cloves (or sliced onion if you like), lemon slices (don’t skip) and fresh thyme.
Nestle. Place the seasoned chicken thighs (bone-in chicken thighs, with the skin on) over the top.
Bake. Place the chicken in a preheated oven on the middle rack for 40-50 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165°F at the thickest part. Be sure to use a meat thermometer.
Broil them for a few minutes for extra crispy.
Spoon a little of the pan juices over the chicken and potatoes, and if you want a little more color, continue baking for 5 minutes or broil for just a few minutes.
SErving Suggestions
Serve with a side dish like our steamed Broccoli or Roasted Asparagus. They are also tasty with fresh green salad or with Popovers.
Storage
Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Or freeze in the freezer for up to 3 months, thawing overnight in the fridge.
More Favorite Chicken Thigh Recipes
- 35+ Must-Try Chicken Thigh Recipes
- Chicken Cacciatore
- Chicken Adobo
- Mediterranean Chicken
- One Skillet Creamy Orzo Chicken
- Gorgonzola Chicken with Mushrooms & Sage
- Chicken Marsala
- Sheet-Pan Szechuan Chicken and Brussels Sprouts
Happy week. xo
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Baked Chicken Thighs Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 60 mins
- Yield: 4
- Category: Main, chicken thigh recipe, dinner idea, sheet pan dinner
- Method: Baked, Roasted
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These easy oven-baked chicken thighs are roasted over thinly sliced potatoes with garlic, lemon and thyme. A delicious, easy sheet pan dinner with only 10 minutes of prep time, before baking in the oven.
Ingredients
- 4–6 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
- salt and pepper to taste (3/4 – 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of chicken)
- 4 medium potatoes (russets, Yukon)- or enough to cover a baking sheet or larger size baking dish in a slightly overlapping single layer, )
- olive oil, or olive oil spray
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced- Meyer Lemon is nice here.
- 8–10 garlic cloves, leave whole
- 1/2 an onion, sliced (optional)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, plus sprigs for garnish
Serve with 15-minute broccoli
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spray or brush liberally with olive oil.
- Using a mandolin, slice potatoes into rounds, leaving skins on. If cutting with a knife, remember thinner is better, about ⅛ inch.
- Lay the potatoes down on the greased sheet pan, just slightly overlapping. Spray or brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Scatter the lemon slices around, then the garlic, optional onion and fresh thyme.
- Season the chicken thighs generously on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Nestle the seasoned chicken over the potatoes.
- Place the chicken in the preheated oven on the middle rack for 40-50 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165°F at the thickest part. Be sure to use a meat thermometer.
- Broil for extra crispy.
- Spoon the flavorful pan juices over the chicken and potatoes. Garnish with thyme sprigs. Yes, it is ok to eat the lemon slices, rinds and all- they are so good.
Notes
Best made on a sheet pan, so there is ample room around the chicken thighs, allowing the potatoes air-flow, so they crisp up.
Serve with Steamed Broccoli Recipe!
Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: One chicken thigh with ¼ th of the potatoes
- Calories: 375
- Sugar: 3.6 g
- Sodium: 767.4 mg
- Fat: 9.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 37.8 g
- Fiber: 5.7 g
- Protein: 33.5 g
- Cholesterol: 140.1 mg
Delish – my older teenaged son (who does not cook) made this. It came together quickly and easily – and tasted great!
Love it!
Wonderful recipe. My husband and toddler ate every bite and went back for seconds. Thanks so much for your wonderful website. I know I can always rely on your recipes for a fool proof, healthy and relatively easy night of cooking. 🙂 can’t wait for your cook book someday!
Really appreciate this Brandi! 😊
So, so good! I love when I get a perfect bite that has the chicken, a bit of lemon, onion, and garlic… heaven. (Made it sans potato, since I used the potatoes for the French potato salad! And I only had boneless skinless chicken, but it was still fantastic). Works beautifully, very flavorful… I can already tell this is another Feasting At Home recipe that will end up in my regular rotation 😉
So happy to hear this Kat!
Nutritious, expeditious, AND delicious! I made this sheet pan dish on a day when I had little time for prepping a meal and NO time for stirring a pot, watching a pan, or even peeking in the oven. slice the potatoes and lemons, sprinkle the oil, season the chicken, and shove it in the oven. The chicken turns out flavorful and moist and the potatoes are just the right level of crispiness. I even ate the lemon pieces! I am thrilled I found this recipe and I do believe it will lead me to experiment and make this dish with some other spices, This recipe was a definite winner!
Thanks so much Annie- glad you enjoyed it. I eat the lemon slices too!~
Followed to a tee and it was so flavorful and tasty. I didn’t have any extra liquid in the pan to spoon over, but each element was moist enough without it. Will make again!
Great to hear Katherine!
Love this easy recipe. Thank you! I also enjoy your introductions to your recipes. This is my favorite recipe site.
Thank you Alisa!
I have had so much success with your recipes, I was tempted to serve this dish for guests without a “preview preparation” for just husband and myself. I read the entire recipe through (the “how-to” says to spray or lightly brush tops of potatoes before adding salt & pepper but this step was left out in the actual recipe). Preparation was quick, including slicing potatoes thin with mandoline, and spreading them on well-oiled sheet pan slightly overlapping. Added salt, pepper, lemon slices, thyme, garlic, and chicken thighs. Smelled great in the oven and looked just like photo when it came out. But the potatoes stuck to the pan horribly and the garlic was burned. We ended up eating just the chicken and had to soak the pan with all those wasted potatoes overnight. (:
Oh shoot Joyce, I’m sorry about that, how frustrating, and thanks for letting me know. This is an older recipe that needs updating. Did you happen to grease the pan first by chance? Will get this updated.
So easy and soooo good! I add thinly sliced onions with the potatoes. The house smells amazing too!
Thanks so much Debbie, glad you enjoyed this!
Great recipe! The potatoes are SOOOO good!
This recipe was super simple and fantastic! I added rosemary and onion powder to the potatoes and paprika to both the chicken and potatoes. Also garnished the plated potatoes with freshly shredded Romano cheese. I have to admit, I was skeptical about the lemon slices, but wow! They were a pleasant surprise! I will be making this again…
Great to hear!
I made this and loved it – am wondering if I can use chicken drumsticks instead of the thighs – will the timing be the same?
I think that would be fine! Great question about the timing and I’m not sure! Use a thermometer to be safe. 170 F
I love so many of your recipes, however I found that some of the ingredients I am not going to use again and I do not have in my cupboard. So I am modifying some of them or not doing them all together. I love the miso chicken recipe, however I did not like the idea of having to purchase something extra, so I am using a substitute.
Gottcha. So you would like recipes with more simple accessible ingredients?
can I use chicken breasts instead?
The breasts will cook much faster than the potatoes- resulting in undercooked potatoes. are you using bone-in? or Boneless Skinless?
Hi Sylvia! I recently discovered your blog and have LOVED every single recipe of yours that I’ve tried. I’m in the process of finding meals to take to a family going through a crisis – things that can be fully assembled and that they can just bake off at their house. Could I prep this all up in advance, so they could just pop it in the oven? If so, how long do you think it would last before needing to be baked? Any other suggestions for recipes of yours that I could either fully make ahead or fully prep would also be appreciated! Thanks! 🙂
Hi Julie- I love that you are doing this. I think this would work prepped ahead, but I worry the potatoes may discolor? Other than that, i think up to 3 days before baking. Other Ideas are casserole type things- enchiladas, lasaga etc.
Thank you so much for the feedback!
A great way to keep potatoes from discoloring once peeled or cut is to put them in the fridge in a bowl full of water. They will last WEEKS like this! It’s been a game changer for me when I want to prepare ahead of time.
I felt 1/8th was too thin for the potatoes, next time I’ll go with 1/4. Fantastic flavors and super tasty dish.
Wow. I’d like to start by saying that my daughter doesn’t eat skin or fat, nor does she like potatoes that aren’t in the form of fries. She is cleaning her plate, including the lemon skins and pith. I used foil to line the pan, so the potatoes didn’t come out quite as expected. More olive oil and maybe some parchment paper next time. Also, because of a previous unfortunate mishap with a mandolin slicer, we no longer have one, and sliced everything by hand. My feeling is that it would’ve made all the difference in an already delicious meal. THANK YOU! 10/10 will make again.
This is a lovely dish, and the lemons are wonderful, adding so much flavor!
This is soooo good! It was so simple I was afraid that it would turn out bland. Far from it! The lemon gets perfectly infused throughout. I didn’t have russet potatoes so used baby red potatoes instead. They worked out fine. Some crispy, some tender. My son is home from school for the summer so I’m making this again tonight for him.
Im so glad you liked it…I really love this too- so easy and full of flavor!
I’ve never cooked lemons and eaten the rind. It’s not sour or bitter?
if you cut them thin, and they are roasted, they are actually really tasty!
This looks simple and delicious, like something those of us who get overwhelmed with cooking can actually do. Thank you for the great recipe.