Easy Skillet Chicken Thighs
Updated March 11, 2025
Quick Summary
These crispy and juicy chicken thighs are made in one skillet with a rich, garlic cream sauce. The perfect dinner for busy weeknights or easy entertaining. Simple, flavorful, and easy to clean up!
Crispy Chicken Thighs Made in One Skillet: The Ultimate Easy Dinner
I have a winner, winner chicken dinner for you! This Easy Skillet Chicken Thigh recipe is a family favorite and the #1 dinner recipe on our site! It’s EASY to make and always gets rave reviews.
Chicken thighs are versatile, full of flavor, and absolutely delicious. They stay super juicy, no matter how you cook them. Plus, they are usually less expensive than chicken breasts.
For this recipe, we season the chicken thighs with a simple spice rub and cook them in a hot cast iron skillet so the skin gets nice and crispy, but the chicken stays tender and juicy on the inside.
We also whisk together a simple garlic cream sauce to serve with the chicken. The sauce is INCREDIBLE. We highly recommend serving the skillet chicken thighs with crusty bread or garlic bread to soak up all of that delicious sauce. You can serve a simple kale salad or easy green salad on the side.
This one-skillet chicken meal is the BEST! Make it for dinner tonight. I guarantee it will be a regular meal at your house.
Key Ingredients
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some ingredient notes before you get started.
- Chicken thighs: I recommend bone-in skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe. The bone helps retain moisture during cooking, keeping the meat juicy and tender. The skin crisps up beautifully when seared, adding a rich, savory layer of flavor to the chicken. Of course, you can sub boneless chicken thighs, just note that they won’t take as long to cook.
- Spices: Onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika create a simple and flavorful rub for the chicken.
- Sauce: The garlic cream sauce complements the chicken perfectly. It’s made with butter, garlic, shallot, chicken broth (can use white wine), fresh lemon juice, thyme, and heavy cream. They heavy cream makes the sauce rich, creamy, and so luxurious, but you can also use half and half.
The Best Pan to Use
- For best results, use a cast-iron skillet to get that crispy, golden skin.
- A stainless steel skillet will also work. Both pans allow for excellent heat retention and ensure an even sear on the chicken.
- Avoid nonstick pans for this recipe, as they won’t allow the skin to crisp up properly and might not give you the same caramelized flavor.
How to Make Skillet Chicken Thighs
- Prep the Chicken. Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. This helps ensure a crispy skin when cooking.
- Season. In a small bowl, combine the spices, salt, and black pepper. Season both sides of the chicken generously with the spices.
- Heat the Skillet. In a large cast-iron skillet or stainless steel pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chicken thighs, skin-side down.
- Sear the Chicken. Let the chicken thighs cook undisturbed for 7-8 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown and crispy. Avoid moving the chicken around, as it may stick to the pan or prevent the skin from crisping properly.
- Flip and Cook Through. Flip the chicken thighs over and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for an additional 12 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Transfer the chicken to a plate and let it rest while you make the sauce.
- Make the sauce. To the same skillet, add the butter, shallot, and garlic. Cook for 1 minute over medium heat. Stir in the broth, fresh lemon juice, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the heavy cream (half and half will work too). Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for about 5 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken slightly.
- Finish the dish. Place the chicken back in the pan with the sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley.
- Serve. Plate the chicken thighs and spoon the sauce over the top. Enjoy! If you are looking for a few simple vegetable dishes to serve on the side, try any of the following: roasted broccoli, roasted carrots, garlic mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, or green beans almondine.
Skillet Chicken Thighs Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs, (about 1 ½ pounds)*
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- Freshly chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Use a paper towel to pat the chicken thighs dry.
- In a small bowl, combine the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Rub the seasoning mixture all over the chicken thighs, on both sides.
- Heat a large cast iron to medium heat and add the olive oil.
- Place chicken thighs skin side down in the hot skillet and cook, until skin is crispy about 7 to 8 minutes, flip chicken thighs and cook for another 15 to 25 minutes or until internal temp is 165 degrees. The time will vary depending on the size and thickness of your thighs. Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Add the butter, shallot, and garlic to the skillet. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in the chicken broth, lemon juice, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the heavy cream. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until sauce thickens up a bit.
- Place the chicken back in the pan with the sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve the chicken warm with the sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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Recipe originally posted May 2022, but updated to include new information and photos.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
- Teriyaki Chicken– better than takeout and only takes 20 minutes to make.
- Soy Ginger Chicken– the flavors are incredible!
- Honey Mustard Chicken– a family favorite!
- Lemon Butter Chicken– tastes gourmet but is super simple!
- Greek Sheet Pan Chicken– colorful and bursting with flavor! Clean up is a breeze too!
- Honey Mustard Sheet Pan Chicken with Brussels Sprouts– the perfect one pan chicken dinner!
Made this tonight, it was excellent! I did as another said and deglazed the cast iron with white wine and followed the recipe, except I added fresh mushrooms and capers. It was so good over bow toe pasta. Thank you for a great recipe.
I love the addition of mushrooms and capers!
I don’t typically take time to leave reviews. But I made this for dinner this evening and it was amazing, my husband can’t wait till I make it again. He couldn’t stop talking about how much he liked it! I followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious. I also made roasted red potatoes with it and the extra sauce was so yummy on them. Thank you for sharing the recipe with us!
I appreciate you taking the tine to leave a review. I am glad you loved the recipe!
When it says salt / pepper to taste, how much am I suppose to use to start with?
Start with a little and you can always add more!
Very delicious and easy to make
I followed the recipe exactly but my sauce didn’t turn out as bright? It looks like it’s orange in the photos, I thought maybe the paprika did this, but my sauce came out like a dark yellow?
Regardless it was a hit, everyone loved it and we will be making it again 🙂
Maybe a different brand of paprika??
I made this dish last night and it was delicious, the only problem with this recipe is with the rub, you need to triple the amount for six small thighs, besides that this recipe is going into rotation.
We made this tonight, it was a great fall recipe!
Yes, so cozy!
I love this recipe and my husband LOVED IT! It had tons of flavour and I am thinking I will make more sauce next time and use white wine and possibly some mushrooms.
I always try to cook a new recipe exactly as writen (assuming I have all the ingredients) the first time and am often disappointed but this is a winner! It will be kept in the weekly rotation, and will make an amazing meal for guests as well!
Thank you!
I am so glad you loved it on the first try! Thanks for sharing!
I make this all the time. It’s incredible!
I am so glad you love it! A great easy dinner!
Very delicious chicken dish and very easy to prepare. All instructions on point. Had no heavy cream so subbed in organic full fat plain yogurt which did not disappoint the outcome of the sauce. Also used dried Thyme as that was what I had available. Thank you.
I am glad it worked for you!
Best chicken thigh recipe I’ve tried! My daughters loved it!
This makes me so happy!
Made this last night, and husband and I loved it. He really loved the sauce. I didn’t have lemon but it was still awesome. I made it exactly to the instructions, minus lemon. Used dried herbs and a pinch of red pepper flakes, and it tasted wonderful. Great recipe!
I am so glad you loved it! Thanks for reporting back.
Made this for dinner tonight – so easy to prep/cook & very flavorful! 9/10
Such a great weeknight meal!
this was delicious. i used vegetable oil instead of olive oil because i didn’t want it to burn, and i doubled the spice amounts for the chicken. i also doubled the sauce ingredients and added parmesan to make a sauce for pasta and it turned out great.
Glad you liked the chicken!
Really delicious!
I am glad you liked the recipe.
Thank you!
this recipe is outstanding!
I am so glad you love the recipe!
So tasty, I made it twice in a row!! Great over noodles and brown rice. My kids loved it too!
Love this!
I made this tonight and served it alongside roasted parsnips as a last ditch effort to use what was in my fridge without going to the grocery store. It…. was…. AMAZING! I accidentally over salted the sauce in this recipe a little bit but it paired really well with the sweetness of the parsnips. I highly recommend trying something new and roasting parsnips and carrots to serve alongside this chicken and a green salad. Please tell me if I’m absolutely absurd, but I think you’ll really like it!
I am so glad you loved the recipe. Sounds like the perfect sides to me!
So delicious and rich! I now am using this recipe for pork chops as well. I didn’t have heavy cream so I added some cream cheese into the sauce and it worked very well.
Oh nice! Thanks for sharing!
Recipe was great and easy, subbed out low fat sour cream for heavy cream. Next time gonna try a splash of white wine in the sauce.
Wow, this was really good. I don’t cook much, and when I do, I rarely deviate from the recipe. But this time I had chicken thighs in the fridge and didn’t feel like going to the store, so I worked with what I had on hand. I added some cayenne to the rub for a little heat, and also some rosemary because why not? I didn’t have a shallot or thyme, so I skipped those. I didn’t have lemon juice, so I stirred some Dijon into the chicken broth before adding it to the pan. I didn’t have heavy cream, so I used skim milk with flour mixed in. I had no idea if that would work, but the sauce turned out great. I can’t wait to eat leftovers tomorrow!
Oops, forgot to give it five stars.
Yeah…it’s an amazing recipe. We put it on top of rice.
So good with rice!
I am making this now do you drain the grease before the sauce?
If there is a lot you can drain it. If it’s just a little, you can keep it for flavor.
The crispy exterior, juicy meat, and straightforward flavour of these simple skillet chicken thighs look fantastic! I adore dishes that are easy to prepare without compromising flavour. Combining delicious recipes with well-considered presentation ideas, such as plating or serving tips, greatly improves the overall dining experience for the businesses we deal with at PackifyMe. Do you find that readers like this recipe better with a specific sauce or side dish?
You can serve with roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, a salad!
Made this dish at the weekend, very tasty. We added a squirt of dijon mustard which really brought out the flavour.
Yay!
Made this last night, using white wine, then I used the thickened sauce to cook some gnocchi and finished it with Parmesan cheese. It was delicious. Will make again.
Nice!
This dish was absolutely delicious. The thighs in my freezer did not have bone and were skinless but I made sure I crisped up the thigh as much as possible for texture and color. They tasted delicious. We put the chicken over a bed of rice and drizzled the sauce on top. It was a hit! I used smoked paprika doubled the seasonings. I lightly salted/peppered the chicken first then used the rest of the dry ingredients. Did I mention it was super good?!
I am glad you loved it!
This was a WINNER! Served with jasmine rice and a green vegetable – The sauce was SO comforting with the rice – a perfect transitional meal into Spring!
A dinner winner!
So Simple and Delicious! First time making it and this one will have to be made often. For the parent’s that want a quick, easy and delicious meal for the family or friends lol… this is it! I did add Lawry’s Garlic Salt to it and some flour to the sauce to make it a lil thicker and omg it was so good. Next time I make it I will shred the tigh meat and also make some angel hair pasta and make it like a spaghetti 🍝. I didn’t use white wine and I didn’t measure anything I just eyeballed it…. mom of six here and so I’m used to cooking all the time! Thank you for this recipe it was a favorite tonight. My husband and last kid (16) loved it!
Thanks for reporting back! I am glad you loved the chicken!