24 Sexy Chicken Thigh Recipes

Cooked pieces of chicken shawarma and wedges of red onion on a rimmed baking sheet.

David Malosh

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Chicken Shawarma

Serve this incredibly flavorful chicken shawarma with your favorite sides and toppings for an easy weeknight meal everyone will love. Plus, nothing beats a sheet pan dinner, am I right?

Nine roast lemon chicken thighs in a round Dutch oven with lemon slices tucked between them.

Louise Hagger

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Roasted Lemon Chicken Thighs

These roasted lemon chicken thighs are made by pan-searing bone-in thighs until golden, then roasting them in a fresh and preserved lemon sauce with soy, garlic, and thyme.

A red Dutch oven filled with beer-braised chicken with root vegetables on a wooden surface.

Erin Kunkel

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This beer braised chicken is made from chicken thighs and root vegetables–onion, carrots, potatoes, and celery root–simmered in porter along with brown sugar, Dijon mustard, tomato paste, and thyme to create a luscious, rich, satisfying stew with some of the most flavorful chicken thighs we’ve ever experienced.

A metal sheet pan covered with 8 golden and crisp chicken thighs.

America’s Test Kitchen

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Oven-Roasted Chicken Thighs

This oven roasted chicken thighs so ingenious is the technique. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are baked until cooked through and then broiled to crisp the skin. The result? Juicy, flavorful chicken. Marvelously crisp skin.

A white oval platter filled with couscous that is topped with Middle Eastern chicken thighs, lemon slices, and chopped parsley.

Daniel Alexander

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Middle Eastern Chicken Thighs

These Middle Eastern chicken thighs are spiced with cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, and cloves before being gently braised with onions and are on the table in 45 minutes. No time-consuming marinade. No fussy cooking heroics. Just an exceptionally likable and exotically spiced chicken that works perfectly on weeknights.

A tray of chicken thighs with balsamic barbecue sauce, corn on the cob, glasses of beer, forks, and plates

Colin Price

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Chicken Thighs with Balsamic Barbecue Sauce

Why did it take someone so long to think up chicken thighs with balsamic barbecue sauce? Simple, easy, and made with pantry staples, such as ketchup, honey, balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce, this meal comes together quickly. Take advantage of late-season corn to round out the meal.

Four roast chicken thighs with lemon in a cast-iron skillet set on a wooden board with a meat fork resting beside it.

Kristin Teig Photography

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Roast Chicken Thighs with Lemon

These roast chicken thighs with lemon rely on a simple technique that ensures shatteringly crisp skin and exceptionally juicy meat. Tart citrus and olives lend a subtle, simple flair.

Three breaded chicken thighs on a plate with slices of roasted lemon.

Bec Hudson

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Breaded Oven Fried Chicken Thighs

These breaded oven fried chicken thighs come together quickly with just a handful of pantry ingredients. They have all the crispy goodness of fried chicken, without the mess and hassle of deep frying.

A dozen pieces of double fried Japanese chicken on a paper towel.

Marcus Nilsson

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Chicken Karaage | Japanese Fried Chicken

Chicken karaage, or Japanese fried chicken, is made by marinating chicken in soy sauce and sake and then coating it in egg white and potato starch and frying it twice. The result is blissfully crisp and golden on the outside, tender and ridiculously juicy on the inside.

A blue earthenware dish with chicken paprikash--chicken thighs in a creamy paprika sauce, on a marble counter

David Leite

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Chicken Paprikash

Chicken paprikash is such an Old World staple and beloved American favorite from the 1960's that I just had to bring it back. Chicken thighs are seared and then cooked in a tomato-onion sauce. Just before serving, sour cream is stirred in.

Steven Mark Needham

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Cashew Chicken

This cashew chicken is close to the real Cantonese deal. It calls for chicken thighs, ginger, and garlic to be stir-fried with sugar snaps and carrots in a simple, barely there sauce made with rice vinegar and soy sauce. Done in 30 minutes. And darn near keto.

Two bowls filled with chicken biriyani on a blue cloth

Swayampurna Mishra

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Chicken Biriyani

Chicken biriyani is made with chicken marinated in yogurt, chile powder, and garam and biriyani masala layered with fragrant, spiced basmati rice, and caramelized onions.

A clay pot of chunks of Vietnamese caramel chicken in ginger sauce, topped with cilantro

Ed Anderson

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Vietnamese Caramel Chicken

Vietnamese caramel chicken, known as ga kho, is easy to make at home with fish sauce, palm sugar, chicken, ginger, and black pepper. The recipe is authentic as it gets and comes from The Slanted Door restaurant in San Francisco.

An oval dish filled with Baharat spiced chicken pieces and a bowl of couscous and plate of couscous and chicken on the side.

Claire Winfield

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Baharat Roast Chicken

Baharat roast chicken draws on a traditional Middle Eastern spice rub to lend an easy flourish to everyday roast chicken.

A large blue Dutch oven filled with green chicken chili, topped with sliced jalapenos.

Patricia Niven

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Green Chicken Chili

This green chicken chili is a one-pot meal that’s loaded with chicken thighs, tomatillos, green chiles, cumin, oregano, and lime juice. It’s a little spicy, a little tangy, and completely doable on a weeknight.

A white plate filled with orange ginger chicken thighs and orange wedges.

CB Creative, Inc.

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Orange Ginger Chicken

These orange ginger chicken thighs are an easy meal made by marinating chicken in a mixture of ginger, oranges, and soy sauce, then roasting to crispy-skinned perfection.

A chicken burrito bowl with grilled chicken, quinoa, lettuce, cheese, corn, beans, guacamole, and purple corn chips

Katrin Bjork

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Chicken Burrito Bowl

Spice-rubbed chicken is paired with a warm bean and corn salad, along with shredded romaine lettuce and cheese. A scoop of guacamole and a drizzle of lime sour cream are the pièce de résistance. The recipe makes a big batch of guacamole, so feel free to halve it if you’re not so avocado-obsessed.

Two bowls of Instant Pot chicken gumbo in a metal tray with spoons, some cubes of bread, and chopped parsley sprinkled on top.

Tieghan Gerard

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Creole Chicken Gumbo

This Instant Pot chicken gumbo is a comforting one-pot meal made with chicken thighs, andouille sausage, peppers, tomatoes, and a truly Creole blend of spices. It can also be made in the slow cooker.

A roasting pan filled with chicken thighs, cloves of caramelized garlic, and sprigs of fresh thyme.

Erin Kunkel

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Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic ensures the meat remains juicy by using chicken thighs. And our trick for quickly peeling garlic makes it hassle-free. A recipe classic because it’s so damn good. Even kids love it!

A white oval serving platter topped with three skewers of chicken yakitori with honey sauce.

Meikyou

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Chicken Yakitori with Honey Sauce

This chicken yakitori with honey sauce is a simple Japanese style method for grilling skewered chicken thighs. Served with a soy, honey, and garlic marinade and dipping sauce, this easy recipe belongs in your weeknight dinner rotation.

A serving of chicken and preserved lemon salad on a blue plate.

Martin Poole

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Chicken and Preserved Lemon Salad

This is perfect for a summer supper with a cold glass of vino and if the weather’s lousy, it will bring a little of that hazy heat from the dusty hills of Morocco to brighten up your home.

Bowl of stir-fried chunks of Chinese chicken, Sichuan peppercorns, celery, ginger, garlic

Alan Richardson

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Chicken Stir-Fry with Sichuan Peppercorns

Chicken stir fry with sichuan peppercorns is a simple stir-fry of chicken, ginger, and chile peppers enveloped in an aromatic, velvety, mildly spiced Sichuan-style sauce.

A white serving platter filled with slow cooker Indian butter chicken on a bed of basmati rice, topped with almonds and coconut

Elizabeth Cecil

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Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

This butter chicken, which is made in the slow cooker with boneless chicken, coconut milk, spices, tomato paste, and peas, is easy and comforting.

A person pouring spicy maple bourbon syrup over a platter of waffle fried chicken bites, with a white plate with two bites on it beside the platter.

Cenk Sönmezsoy

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Waffle Fried Chicken with Spicy Bourbon Maple Syrup

Waffle fried chicken is chicken coated with waffle batter and fried until crisp on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. With maple syrup for the kiddos and spiked syrup for the adults.