Bright with zesty flavor, these Lemon Chicken Thighs are wonderful paired with Mashed Potatoes and simple veggies like my Sautéed Green Beans. These are always a hit at the dinner table with moist chicken thighs, a savory lemon sauce, and crispy skin. This recipe is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free but incredibly flavorful.
We’ve been loving this recipe for 5 years now, but I wanted to share a new method for how I make them these days! My original recipe called for cooking the chicken thighs skin down for a few minutes to crisp them up.
Watch How To Make Lemon Chicken Thighs
This works great, but of course, there’s the little matter of the giant mess it makes on your stovetop. To make this recipe easier, I started experimenting with temperatures to bake them 100% in the oven with no mess involved.
So, I’m super excited to share with you one of my all-time favorites with crispy skin and no mess! These chicken thighs bake skin side up in the oven at the perfect temperature to ensure crispy golden skin without any panfrying.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chicken thighs – this recipe is best with bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. Boneless skinless chicken thighs cook much faster and there will be more liquid in the pan.
- Olive oil – extra virgin olive oil is rubbed into the skin on the chicken thighs to help them get even crispier.
- Garlic – adds lots of savory flavor to the lemon sauce. Freshly minced garlic gives you the best flavor, and you can try using a garlic press to speed up your prep.
- Thyme – fresh thyme works best, but you can use dried with the ratio listed in the recipe. Rosemary is another favorite we love with this recipe, followed by sage.
- Chicken broth – my homemade chicken stock has the deepest flavor, but any low-sodium chicken broth you like works great too.
- Lemons – fresh lemon juice and lemon slices are added to the sauce that cooks around the chicken thighs, giving them lots of flavor. The lemon slices add flavor from the rind without needing to add lemon zest.
- Sea salt & pepper – I like to season the chicken thighs and the sauce so they both have flavor as they cook.
How to make this recipe step by step
Step 1: Preheat the oven, then pat the chicken skin dry with paper towels. Rub the skin side of the chicken thighs with olive oil.
Season them evenly with sea salt and pepper.
Step 2: Next juice 1 lemon and thinly slice the other.
Step 3: Heat a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the remaining olive oil and sauté the garlic until fragrant but not browned, about 30 seconds.
Add the fresh thyme, lemon juice, and chicken stock. Stir to combine and turn off the heat.
Step 4: Add the seasoned chicken thighs to the pan and place the lemon slices around them.
Place the skillet in the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer reaches 170ºF and the chicken thighs are golden brown, about 35 minutes.
Ways to serve this
- Try this with my Best Mashed Potatoes or Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Sautéed Green Beans or Honey Glazed Carrots. My Roasted Broccoli or Roasted Asparagus are also both really good with these.
- If you have room in your oven, you can bake my Cheesy Mashed Potatoes at the same temperature as these chicken thighs, just reduce the time to 15 minutes or so. Or serve them freshly mashed and skip the baking step.
- For a lighter option, try this dish with my Creamy Mashed Cauliflower and Sautéed Spinach.
- Add something fresh with my Apple Spinach Salad or Strawberry Spinach Salad.
FAQ’s
The best way to ensure juicy chicken is to use an instant-read thermometer. Chicken thighs are done when they register 170ºF at the thickest point. When chicken is overcooked, it becomes dry.
Three things make for crispy skin on chicken: first, the right temperature helps to render the skin and crisp it up. Secondly, I always pat the skin dry with a paper towel to ensure no excess moisture. And thirdly I like to rub the skin with oil to help the skin get even crispier.
Storing leftovers
- To store – place any leftovers into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead – this recipe is best made fresh.
- Reheating – add any leftover chicken thighs to a pan with a little water and cook over medium covered until heated through. The skin will not be crispy. Or you can also reheat in the microwave. You can also try reheating these with the skin side down without water, but watch carefully because the lemon sauce will burn easily.
- To freeze – freeze any leftover lemon garlic chicken thighs in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before reheating as directed above.
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t skip rubbing the skin of the chicken thighs with a little olive oil, it really helps them crisp up in the oven.
- Use a thermometer to make sure you don’t overcook the chicken thighs. I’ve been loving my thermometer from Meater that can stay in the meat while it cooks and alerts you on your phone when it’s almost done. It makes getting dinner right so much easier!
- This recipe is super simple, so fresh ingredients will make a noticeable difference to the flavor. There is a dried herb option in the recipe, but fresh garlic and freshly squeezed lemon juice really do make all the difference.
- For fresh herbs in the winter months, I like to get the small package labeled ‘poultry mix’. In our grocery stores here, it’s a mixture of rosemary, thyme, and sage. That way I get a lot of variety with just one package of herbs.
More Chicken Recipe Inspiration
I really hope you enjoy this recipe for Lemon Chicken Thighs! If you get a chance to make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Lemon Chicken Thighs
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs - about 2 pounds
- 1 tsp sea salt - more to taste added in step 4
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves - or chopped rosemary/sage
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice - from 1 lemon
- 1 small lemon - thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Pat the chicken skin dry with paper towels.
- Rub the skin of the chicken thighs with 1-2 tsp of olive oil and sprinkle them evenly with about 1/2 of the sea salt and pepper.
- Place a 10" cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot but not smoking, add the remaining olive oil to the pan.
- Sauté the garlic in the olive oil until fragrant but not browned, about 30 seconds. Add the fresh thyme, lemon juice, and chicken broth to the pan. Season lightly with the remaining salt and pepper, adding more to taste.
- Place the seasoned chicken thighs skin-side up evenly in the skillet. Tuck the lemon slices around the chicken thighs.
- Bake the chicken thighs in the oven until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer reaches 170ºF, about 35 minutes.
- Serve immediately with your choice of sides.
NOTES
nutrition facts
This recipe was originally published in 2020 and updated in 2025 with new photos, more tips and information, and a change to the recipe to make it easier.