Crispy Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs
These crispy pan roasted chicken thighs are super easy, super crispy and super delicious. Ready in just 30 minutes so they’re perfect for weeknight dinners!
You know what I love? Super crispy chicken skin.
Not sorta crispy. Don’t try to tell me your skin is crispy when it’s not. I won’t be fooled.
Oh, and don’t serve me up breaded chicken that has the breading half falling off either. Again, I cannot be fooled.
I want super crispy seasoned skin.
Perfectly crisp with just the right amount of kosher salt deliciousness.
I know I sound like a psycho about my chicken but I really do have my standards.
Luckily I now have the best crispy skin recipes in the history of ever. Super crispy, super seasoned and ready in just 30 minutes.
Rules for making these Crispy Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs
- Put the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, and leave it alone. Don’t go picking it up and moving it around. Let it do its thing. It’s ok. It won’t burn as long as your temperature stays steady.
- Right before you put your chicken in the oven you can take a peek just to make sure it’s not browning too quickly.
- Season the skin with kosher salt and pepper. Don’t skip this step! Trust me, salty delicious chicken skin is awesome.
- No, you cannot remove the skin and still get crispy chicken. Please don’t send me an email about this.
- Chicken thighs are the best cut to use because they don’t dry out easily and since they contain a bone they are super flavorful.
- Chicken with skin will not kill you if you eat it once in a while. Bonus – it’s awesome.
- This recipe does not stink up your house like traditional chicken frying. That really is a bonus in my book.
Seriously, this skin! I die!
Don’t worry if you don’t have coconut oil on hand. You can also use vegetable for this recipe and it will turn out just as crispy and perfect.
Love these crispy pan roasted chicken thighs recipe?
Looking for even more delicious chicken thigh recipes? Try my Sheet Pan French Dressing Chicken Thigh Dinner, Chili Mango Lime Grilled Chicken Thighs, Sweet Soy Marinated Grilled Chicken Thighs, Cilantro Lime Chicken Thighs, Maple Ginger Chicken Thighs, Citrus Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs, Honey Spiced Glazed Chicken or my Sheet Pan Garlic Lemon Chicken and Mushrooms
Crispy Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs
These crispy pan roasted chicken thighs are super easy, super crispy and super delicious. Ready in just 30 minutes so they're perfect for weeknight dinners!
Yield: 4 chicken thighs
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- Kosher salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoons coconut oil
Source: Slightly adapted from BonAppetit
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Lay out chicken thighs and trim off any extra skin.
Cover the skin of the chicken with a desired amount of kosher salt and black pepper.
In a small (oven safe!) skillet set over medium heat add coconut oil. Let the oil melt and get hot.
Once the oil is hot add chicken into the skillet, skin side down. The oil needs to be hot enough so that when you place the chicken into the oil it sizzles.
Let the chicken cook for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes place the chicken in the oven for another 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes flip the chicken and cook for another 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes before devouring.
Note: This recipe can easily be doubled. Just use a larger skillet and 1 more tablespoon of coconut oil.
I ONLY like skin if it’s got that crispety, crunchety yum factor going on! No soggy skin need apply. I love these tips and this chicken.
Winner winner chicken dinner.
Had to. Pinned!
This looks beyond amazing! I haven’t had a good crispy chicken in forever!
oh my gawd, “No, you cannot remove the skin and still get crispy chicken. Please don’t send me an email about this.” I freaking love this. We are a huge dark meat chicken family . . love the chicken thighs and the super crispy chicken skin. . looks fabulous!
Gorgeously cooked chicken. What fabulous crispy skin.
I too can’t be fooled by soggy skin, got to make it happen or hit the bricks! Looks great.
I love making my fried chicken in a cast iron! These look incredible!
I’m the same way – crispy skin is where it’s at! I’d make this for a weeknight meal or for entertaining. It looks that good!
This looks amazing!
Crispy skin is my jaaaam! My grandpa used to take the skin off and eat it first. He was a wise man! I love your disclaimer about taking off the skin, made me lol!
I’m sold! Crispy chicken thighs! YES and YES!
Crispy chicken is the best! This looks amazing!
These look just perfect!
Oh thank you – I just found dinner for tonight!! YUMMY!
How come I can never make my chicken thighs look this pretty?! You are awesome!
You’ve got some gorgeous color on those thighs 🙂
Hello perfect dinner! I like my chicken skin cooked exactly like you did and call me crazy, I’ll peel it off my chicken, eat the meat and have the skin last. It’s like my dessert. I’m weird, I know.
Crispiest looking skin in ever! I eat all of it!
It took me a long, long time to learn not to fool with the food after putting it in the pan. I think it was ingrained in my head that cooking meant stirring and flipping all the time. Now, it’s all about the brown and I don’t touch the food until it tells me it’s ready to be flipped. What the hell took me so long? LOL
Also, adore that you used coconut oil here. Kudos, Brandy. You’ve got great looking thighs 🙂
Im very very picky about my chicken too… Luckily, this sounds freakin perfect.
You know I love me some crispy skin. This is in the oven right now, excited to devour it!
No, you cannot remove the skin and still get crispy chicken. Please don’t send me an email about this.” Love this!! The struggle is real. People WILL ask about this. I love me some crispy chicken, girl. And this is serious.
Chicken thighs are my absolute most favorite meal and I’m the way way about the skin. I like to hear it crack when I bite it!
Your comment about removing the skin made me laugh out loud.
I can’t get over that crispy skin! I can’t wait to make this for myself!
I’m curious, Nanny (or anyone else), what kind of pan are you using — cast iron or something else? We have a glass-top stove and my boyfriend will have a fit if I use cast iron on it because it will scratch or crack the stove top. I’ve researched the issue and the jury is out on that one, but I’m not going to take a chance. Ugh, I miss my gas stove! I suppose I can just crank the heat under a heavy oven-safe pan, like I usually do.
nutmegnanny replied: — December 11th, 2014 @ 10:00 pm
For this recipe I used my non-stick oven safe skillet BUT I use my cast iron on my flat top range all the time. No scratches or cracks (knock on wood) so far. They say you’re not supposed to can with a flat top stove but I do that too…haha. I’m a rule breaker 😉
Okay, so…my daughter would (and does) forgo the meat and only eat the skin. It is absolutely her favorite part. I must make these for her this week! I mean, the rest of us, too…you know…
So you mean I need the skin if I want it crispy? 🙁
… kidding! Seriously, though. It looks amazing!
Oh yes it’s the skin – if the chicken skin is not super crispy why even bother!!! That is also the rule in our house 🙂 – I agree things are the way to go – so delicious. Love how easy this recipe is and cannot wait to add it to our dinner list next week. Yay 🙂
I love crispy too!!!!!! I haven’t had good crispy chicken in forever.
Awesome!!!
But I was just going to email you to see if I can remove the skin….
This looks to die for. I love chicken and the skin has to be crispy or it’s game over.
Thank you for the nice simple recipe. Have a great weekend.
You would have HATED dinner at our house yesterday. I pan-seared some chicken and the skin and breading was basically all left in the pan. It was gross. So if you could send me a pan of your chicken so I don’t starve to death, that’d be great. 😉
I love some pan-seared chicken! I love your pics of your chicken. That salt sprinkle really looks good too.
What non-stick skillet do you use that is safe to 475 degrees in the oven?
nutmegnanny replied: — March 16th, 2015 @ 11:21 am
Cast iron works great! You can also drop the tempt to 450 (cook just a little longer) and use a traditional non-stick if you want.
I made this last week, SO good! Love that salty crispy skin!
nutmegnanny replied: — January 9th, 2015 @ 12:45 pm
Hi Sharon! Thank you for letting me know! The crispy skin is my favorite!!!
Amazing. Seriously. The 6 yr old that eats nothing ate two thighs. TWO thighs!!! Thank you so much for this recipe. So so easy, cheap and delicious. I used my cast iron skillet and had to sub for the coconut oil bc I only had unrefined. Still turned out great.
nutmegnanny replied: — January 21st, 2015 @ 8:11 pm
Hi Bryn! Thank you so much for letting me know how much you enjoyed the dish. This comment actually came through while I was in the kitchen making this exact same dish…haha.
Made this and it turned out awful! I think perhaps using a cast iron skillet is what did me in, as my chicken was completely burned on one side, which I realized upon turning it after I did the 5 minutes in the oven. Perhaps a different pan is in order? It was so burnt that I couldn’t salvage it. Such a bummer 🙁
nutmegnanny replied: — March 12th, 2015 @ 10:02 pm
Hi Angelique! I’m so sorry the dish didn’t turn out! I have made this before in a cast iron skillet and turned out fine. One thing I always make sure to do before I put it in the oven is just peek at the skin to see how it looks before I put it in the oven. That way I for sure know it’s not browning too fast. I hope you give the recipe another try because it really does taste delicious! I make it at least once a week 🙂
This looks amazing!!! Can’t wait to give it a try!! I have a stupid question for you…it does not involve the removal of skin:):) I am NOT a fan of coconut oil. I have tried it and tried it and anything I use it for still has the taste no matter what kind of oil I use. I am pretty sad because it is good for you and I want to do better for my family but coconut makes me gag:( Have you use olive oil to do this?
nutmegnanny replied: — May 31st, 2015 @ 10:26 pm
Hi Kenda! I have not used olive oil because I fear it might smoke a lot with such high heat. I do however think vegetable or peanut oil would work great 🙂 If you give it a try let me know how it turns out!
WOW if I can get my chicken thighs to look like that I will never eat anything else ever again! They look amazing! Pinned this 🙂
nutmegnanny replied: — August 23rd, 2015 @ 6:48 pm
Hi Chrissa, thank you! These chicken thighs are a favorite around here 🙂
Gorgeous photos, but when I tried this recipe, the skin was pale and the chicken was undercooked. I used a cast iron skillet. I did substitute corn oil for coconut oil because that was what was on hand. Maybe we have different ideas of ‘medium heat’ for the first part of the recipe.
A few minutes on the range at high heat, skin down first, then turned over briefly, rescued the chicken. Then it looked like yours! Sorry, no photos, it was devoured faster than my camera’s shutter speed.
This is the third recipe I’ve seen with similar directions. There is no way you put chicken thighs on medium heat, face down for 10 mins! They burn. Doesn’t matter if it’s electric or flame.
Whomever posted this owes me 7.00.
nutmegnanny replied: — March 2nd, 2016 @ 10:19 pm
Sorry it didn’t work out well for you Forrest but considering I make this dish at least twice a month I would beg to differ. I have an electric stove and cook it on level 5 which is medium heat on my stove. The only time it has ever burned is when I wasn’t paying attention and left my stove on level 7 instead of 5. I also recommend checking on the chicken and giving it a flip if you think it’s burning.
This turned out awesome. I’ve made it several times now, and tried some different seasonings for variety. I won’t go back to my old methods with chicken thighs!
nutmegnanny replied: — April 25th, 2016 @ 10:36 pm
Hi Stuart! Thank you so much! It’s my favorite way to prepare chicken 🙂
I’d been using a very similar method to cook chicken thighs—slightly higher temp, slightly longer cooking time; but I decided to try this one tonight to see how it fared. And WOW. What a difference. The chicken turned out absolutely perfect—tender and juicy. The texture actually reminded me of steak. I didn’t know chicken could be like this!
nutmegnanny replied: — May 5th, 2016 @ 9:36 pm
Hi Ash! I’m so glad you enjoyed the chicken. It’s a HUGE hit around here!
I have made this recipe a number of times in my Le Creuset braiser, sometimes the skin sticks which is sad, but it always comes out delicious. I have chicken legs at home, and I’m thinking about approaching them this way tonight.
nutmegnanny replied: — June 7th, 2016 @ 10:14 pm
Hi Alison! I have made them in my braiser pan as well and they don’t turn out as well as a true non-stick. I think trying this with legs would be great! Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Just made this for my husband and brother. We were all in agreement that it was super tasty! The crispy skin is to die for.
nutmegnanny replied: — July 25th, 2016 @ 9:20 pm
Hi Lindsey – I’m so glad everyone liked the thighs! That skin is pure deliciousness!
So I tried this tonight exactly how the recipe and tips say and had trouble flipping them once in the oven. Half the skin came off when I flipped them with a spatula, and I scraped underneath before I flipped. Is there a trick to that part??
nutmegnanny replied: — April 21st, 2017 @ 12:34 am
Hi, Stacy! I’m not sure what went wrong. If the chicken skin is cooked enough it should flip over pretty easily since there is a good amount of oil in the pan.
I also have a glass cooktop but love using my cast iron skillet OUTSIDE! on the side burner of the gas grill. Bonus… you don’t stink up the house! I fry everything outside now.
Chicken was crispy and delicious. Definitely will make again
Ohmygoodness this was so yummy!!!
I tried this a few months ago and it was just ok. This time, I thought I added too much salt but it was actually perfection! This time I also got it crispier. I used my cast iron skillet. I think I used a non-stick skillet last time. This time?
So.Much.Crispiness.
The skin wanted to come off when I tried to flip it over so I then was more careful and it went fine.
Thanks for such a fabulous recipe! All the people in my house loved it!
Made it. Loved it. Eating the crispy skin didn’t kill me. Thanks for a great recipe.
nutmegnanny replied: — November 14th, 2017 @ 5:20 pm
Hi Marita! The skin is the best part!
I’m going to have to add my comment to this long list, lol. I was looking for a roasted chicken recipe and stumbled onto this. So easy, right? How good can it be though? Oh my! I’m 50 yrs old. Cooked a lot of chicken. This recipe nails simple but sooooo tasty. Turned out just like picture. Crispy skin, juicy, juicy, juicy inside. I added some thyme. But that’s it. Salt, pepper, thyme. Must be some magic in that coconut oil too. YUM!
nutmegnanny replied: — November 20th, 2017 @ 8:45 pm
Hi Loretta! I’m so glad you loved the chicken!
Daddy had dinner duty tonight and I decided to do something different with the chicken thighs. I used non-stick skillets (plural, cooking for 6), but I out a slight spin on it because I wasn’t sure if they were oven safe. I switched them over to a baking tray when it was time for the oven. The skin was crispy to perfection and the meat was juicy. I have already been asked to make it again.
Hi there! This simple recipe looks amazing! Going to try tonight but I only have boneless thighs on hand – they have skin though! Should there be any modifications to the recipe for boneless? Thanks!
Crispy and tender!
We have a gas stove and we used a cast-iron skillet. This recipe is well written. Rather than cooking at medium-high, I turned it down one notch – you’ll need to adjust the heat accordingly; all stoves heat differently. Our thighs turned out crispy and tasty. Once the thighs were 165 degrees, we let the thighs rest in the oven with the door open. In this cold weather, that always feels good! Thanks, Nutmeg, for a quick an easy method!!
Love Chicken thighs, or legs, the dark meat is much more juicer, and tender and the bone give much flavor..
I made this in my cast iron and it turned out great. I didn’t have coconut oil and just used vegetable. Skin was very crispy! I’m tempted to trying this same technique but using split chicken breast with skin on.
perfect the first time! this will become a staple around here. Thanks
I made these tonight, made sure my thighs were dry, added salt/fresh cracked pepper, small amount garlic powder and paprika. Then used my black skillet and flowed your cooking instructions to the letter…timed and all! They were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! The skin was PERFECT and the meat was juicy and tender. This is my new go to for thighs!! Thanks so much!!
A friend led me to this recipe and wow this is my go to for thighs… I traditionally do not eat the skins but with this recipe I eat everything but the bone! I follow the recipe exactly except I do add in some ground red pepper and paprika…Thanks for sharing!
Would this recipe work if you were using, say, 4 thighs and 2 breasts?
This is one of my very favorite chicken recipes! So delicious!
These look delicious! Thanks for sharing!
This recipe is outstanding. I have been cooking chicken thighs following your recipe exactly for years now, and have never been disappointed. Different stoves, different ovens – always fantastic! Thanks.
This is an awesome recipe, the thighs came out so crispy and the meat so tender, I’ll be making these again soon! Thank you!
This chicken has become a staple of ours. We use an All-Clad stainless steel pan on an electric stove and follow your directions to the letter (including the coconut oil). It is FANTASTIC every time.
The only time it didn’t work was when we tried to modify it from your original recipe. Shame on us.
This is an awesome recipe that has withstood the test of time (since original post, I mean). Thank you!
nutmegnanny replied: — January 16th, 2020 @ 12:25 pm
Thank you so much Heidi! I’m so happy your whole family loves this dish!