Easiest Baked Chicken Thighs Recipe

If you are looking for a simple and yet delicious dinner with minimal ingredients and prep time, try this baked chicken thighs recipe. You’ll use boneless, skinless chicken thighs plus 5 pantry ingredients to make a dish that is flavorful and sophisticated.

What’s to love about baked chicken thighs

Texture and flavor. Chicken thighs are an amazing cut of meat. They’re just fatty enough to have a lovely texture and flavor. That makes chicken thighs the perfect ingredient for a simple meal. You only need a few additional ingredients to enhance the meat’s natural flavor and produce an amazing dish.

Easy to prepare. Chicken thighs are hard to mess up, too. You can cook them a bit too long and they still taste great.

Nutritious. Chicken thighs rank well on the nutrition scale, too. They have more fat than boneless, skinless chicken breast, but they’re still considered a lean protein. According to Eatright.org, 3 oz. of dark chicken meat without the skin has 170 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 3 grams of saturated fat.

Ingredients for baked chicken thighs

You only need 5 ingredients to make this chicken, or 6 if you want to get fancy:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• Fresh rosemary, chopped (optional, for garnish)

Substitution options

1. Meat

You could opt for chicken breast or bone-in chicken thighs with the skin. Either option will affect your cook times, though.

• Chicken breast: You’ll have better results if you lower the oven temperature to 350°F or 177°C and bake for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Bone-in chicken thighs with skin: Bake at 450°F or 232°C for about 45 minutes.

Always verify your chicken is done with a meat thermometer. The internal temperature should be 165°F or 74°C.

2. Mustard

If you don’t like or don’t have Dijon mustard, you can use regular mustard. (I once tried to make my own Dijon by adding vinegar to regular mustard. It didn’t turn out great, so I wouldn’t recommend it. Just use regular mustard if you don’t have Dijon.)

3. Sweetener

Try honey in lieu of maple syrup.

4. Acid

Swap apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or red vinegar for the rice wine vinegar. You could also use white wine.

How to make baked chicken thighs

The prep steps here are minimal. Start by heating your oven to 450°F or 232°C and covering an 11×9 baking dish with foil. Oil the foil lightly with a light shot of cooking spray (or wipe it gently with a teaspoon of oil).

Now mix these ingredients in a bowl:

• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Next, remove the chicken from its packaging. Pat it gently with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Salt and pepper the chicken on both sides and put the thighs into the prepared baking dish.

Pour the sauce over and turn the thighs so they are coated.

Put the dish in the oven and cook it for 35 minutes. At that point, you’ll check the chicken’s temperature with a meat thermometer. You can also decide if the sauce is glazy enough for you. Cook for another 5 minutes if the meat isn’t done or you’ll like to see a stickier sauce.

Remove the cooked chicken from the oven and, if you want, top it with fresh rosemary before serving.

To grill instead of bake

You can also transition this into a grilled chicken thigh recipe. Simply cook the thighs on the hot grill for 7 to 8 minutes. You’ll want to baste the remaining sauce on the chicken in the first few minutes of cooking.

What to serve with mustard maple chicken thighs

Drinks

For drinks, choose something that complements the sweet maple, tangy mustard, and savory chicken flavors — without overwhelming them. Some good options include:

• Chenin blanc
• Unoaked chardonnay
• Pinot noir
• Grenache
• Wheat beer or pale ale
• Apple cider
• Iced tea
• Ginger ale

Side dishes

I love these chicken thighs with a green salad dressed with a light vinaigrette. But you could also go for:

• Pan-roasted Brussels sprouts
• Crockpot glazed carrots
• Mashed potatoes
• Grilled sweet potatoes
• Cornbread
• Focaccia

If you liked this recipe, you will love Cilantro Lime Chicken thighs — an easy way to grill boneless, skinless chicken thighs.